How Inspections Work

Property inspections gather information about the physical condition of the property to help maintain that condition. This includes cosmetic issues like stains or chipped paint as well as symptoms of more serious problems like leaking pipes or mold growth.

Unlike analog, paper inspections, Caretaker's inspections system was designed to thread together all of the data collected about a property's physical condition over time. Each time someone performs an inspection they see all issues submitted by previous inspectors that remain unresolved. This has two benefits:

• Ease of use: Since at-risk areas are highlighted, the parts of the property that must be reviewed carefully are reviewed carefully without the inspector having to review laundry lists of items in each room. We made it easier to complete a thorough inspection specifically because we wanted to collect more data more frequently.
• More data collected: By requiring inspectors to look carefully at specific issues that Caretaker is tracking we're able to collect very granular data - small improvements or deterioration that wouldn't be noticed on their own but serve as important tools for early diagnostics.

Key takeaways

Each room is associated with the correct name and photo: Since inspections are intended to be done in real-time during a property walk-through, they're organized by different rooms of the property. Each room gets an image associated with it to prevent future confusion.

Open issues are always required: Open issues are specific parts of a property that must be reviewed each time an inspection is done to make sure the unit complies with state and federal habitability laws and track components of the home that may be deteriorating.

Who inspects properties?

1. Tenant-led inspections: Tenants are the ones living in the property and the most efficient way to inspect it and track deterioration is through them.
2. Owner inspections: You can complete a property inspection for your own units or send a link to someone else requesting that they complete an inspection.
3. Third-party inspections: You can invite third parties to inspect on a regular basis and on turnovers.

Reviewing inspections

You can see the entire inspections history across your portfolio, but only the most recently completed report is treated as the accurate documentation of the property's physical health. A completed, or locked, inspection contains information that is frozen in time - neither party can go back and make changes to a locked report.

You'll be notified each time a new one is submitted. After reviewing recently completed inspections, you can choose to dispute it by submitting your own inspection or ordering a third-party inspector.