While I was sitting at the airport waiting for my flight to Chicago, I was thinking about the inspection I was going to conduct today and its importance for your due diligence checklist. But what are you looking for in an inspection?

For me, the inspection is an opportunity to get myself familiar with the property “guts”. I count on my inspector to provide me with a list of the problematic items and while I am there with him, I will ask questions to ensure he is not missing anything (yes, even inspectors are human and can miss…).

I will get myself familiar with the roofing system and potential issues, mechanicals condition and unit’s situation. During my visit, I will take as many photos as I can take and will store them as a reference for future use. That will give me a baseline for the property and I could get back to those photos when required.

My goal in my inspection is to be able to build my budget for the coming years, taking into consideration the current physical status of the property vs. where I would like to see this property in 5 years. it will give me an idea on how much will I need to invest in order to get the maximum rents as well as provide me information on what will be my capital expenses for the mechanicals and roof which are normally the most expensive investments on a property.

if you have any inspection questions, let us know. We will be happy to help you with yours.

The KERRA Team.

TIP: when taking unit’s photos during the inspection I always start with the unit number followed by the unit’s interior. Doing that ensures that I will know which photos are coming from which unit.