You made it through the difficult task of marketing your property, locating a good tenant, completing the background investigation, and moving them into your Los Angeles or Orange County rental property.

So, what now?

Maybe you think it’s time to sit back and collect the rent checks and assume everything is okay as long as the tenant is not bothering you for repairs.

NO.

You should always conduct regular property inspections. Ronald Reagan said “Trust but Verify,” and we think those are wise words.

Good tenants respect your property. Inspections allow you to know for sure the tenants are keeping the home clean and maintaining it in the condition in which they took it.

We’re sharing some examples of our recent experiences taking over properties from owners or other property management companies.

The Grow House

We had a property in California where the owner lived back in Maryland. A friend was supposedly watching the house for her, but when the friend got too busy, she contacted us to take it over.

After some trouble getting in touch with the tenant, we conducted a property inspection and discovered the property was abandoned. After posting the correct notices, we got access to the property and discovered it was being used as a marijuana grow house. There was significant mold all over the property and they had modified all the internal plumbing to get the correct water lines running into the house. We had to go in and rip out all the dry wall and do major mold renovation all to the tune of about $40,000 in repairs to get this property back to rent ready condition.

The Hoarder House

We took over the management of a four-unit complex in Century City. The tenant in one unit had a significant hoarding problem. Due to the amount of debris in the property, we really could not get access to much of the unit. What we were able to see in the kitchen was a significant amount of trash, unwashed dishes, old food items, and filth.

There were bugs and rat infestations, and it was a complete mess. That not only creates a health hazard for the tenant in that unit, but also for all the accompanying units. After we spoke to the owner about what we found, he told us he had not been in that unit for over four years. He didn’t think he needed to inspect because the tenant always paid the rent on time.

The Dormitory

We recently began managing a single-family home in Irvine close to the local community college. When we did our property inspection, we discovered that the two adults listed on the lease had modified the property into some sort of makeshift dormitory for month-to-month student rentals. During our walk through, we discovered 12 beds total within this property. They had also done significant modifications to the living room area to accommodate additional beds that had not yet been rented.

The Breeder

We took over a condominium unit in Redondo Beach from another property management company, and during our initial exterior inspection, we could hear multiple dogs barking from inside the unit. When we spoke to some of the neighbors, they stated that there had to be multiple pets in the property and they heard barking 24 hours a day.

When we finally got access to the unit, we found eight dog crates. When we asked the tenant about this, she claimed the dogs were not hers, and she was just temporarily house-sitting for a friend. That clearly was not the case. The carpet and the flooring was completely torn up, and the place smelled of pet urine. She was clearly using that facility for dog breeding.

You don’t want one of these nightmare stories to become your reality. Get your property inspections on the calendar and get some help from a professional Los Angeles property management company. If we can be of any assistance, please contact us at HCM Property Management.