What Actually Happens During a Routine Inspection
We've mentioned our twice-a-year inspection schedule across a lot of these posts — it's come up as the reason we catch undisclosed pets early, the reason deferred maintenance doesn't pile up, and the reason lease violations get resolved before they become expensive. But we've never actually walked through what that inspection covers. So here it is.
Most competitors in our markets inspect annually, if at all. We inspect every property twice a year. Here's what that actually looks like.
Safety Compliance
Every inspection starts with the non-negotiables: smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors present, tested, and within their functional lifespan. This is the single most common compliance gap we find when taking over a new property, and it's also the highest-stakes one — it's the difference between a minor fix and a serious liability.
HVAC and Systems Check
Furnace filter condition, thermostat function, and general system performance all get checked. A filter that hasn't been changed on schedule is one of the most common — and cheapest to prevent — causes of a major HVAC failure. Catching it during a routine visit means a $15 fix instead of an emergency repair bill.
Plumbing and Water Damage Signs
We check under sinks, around toilets, and near water heaters and supply lines for early signs of leaks. Small leaks are easy to miss day-to-day but compound into real damage — and real cost — over time. This is also where we check things like ice-maker connections and any other quiet, easy-to-overlook water sources.
Structural and Exterior Condition
Roof condition, gutters, downspout placement, exterior paint and siding, and general structural signs get a visual check. These are the items that don't announce themselves — nobody calls about a downspout draining next to the foundation, but it's exactly the kind of thing that causes expensive problems if it goes unnoticed for a year or more.
Lease Compliance
This is where a routine inspection does double duty. Beyond the physical condition of the property, we're checking for undisclosed pets, unauthorized occupants, unauthorized modifications, and general lease compliance. Catching these early means a simple conversation and a straightforward resolution — a pet addendum, an added occupant, a corrected violation — instead of a bigger issue discovered at move-out, when there's much less room to fix it cleanly.
Tenant-Reported Issues
Inspections also give tenants a direct opportunity to flag anything that's been on their mind but hasn't risen to the level of a formal maintenance request — a stuck window, a slow drain, a light that flickers. Some of these are small. Some turn out to be early warning signs of a bigger issue. Either way, it's a chance to catch things a tenant might not have thought to call in about.
Photo Documentation
Every inspection is documented with photos, creating a running record of the property's condition over time. This protects the owner in the event of a dispute, and it also means every inspection can be compared against the last one — making it easy to spot a new issue versus something that's been slowly developing.
Why Twice a Year Matters
An annual inspection means up to twelve months can pass between checks — plenty of time for a small leak, a compliance gap, or an unauthorized pet to turn into a real problem. Cutting that window in half doesn't just double the number of inspections; it meaningfully reduces how long any given issue has to grow before someone catches it.
This is also why we've referenced this inspection schedule across so many of the issues we cover — deferred maintenance, lease violations, safety compliance, tenant retention. It's not a single tactic. It's the mechanism that makes most of the rest of our process actually work.
Wondering what your property's last inspection would have caught?
If it's been longer than six months, there's a good chance something's been missed. Let's talk. Blair Allen Property Management serves owners across South Dakota, Montana, and Arizona.
Chris Twiggs President, Blair Allen Property Management 📞 605-545-1218 ✉️ chris@blairallen.com