return of the apartment inspection

[KellyHabersham]

Had a notice from the property manager on my door Tuesday night that lenders from a mortgage company are visiting the complex next Monday, and to be prepared because they will want to see occupied units, and she won't know ahead of time which ones they will pick.

Anyhow, in light of some problems I've had with past inspections, good thoughts would be appreciated that all goes well if the lenders do pick my apartment to enter. (Not that I'm NOT cleaning things, but since I don't know what exactly they are looking for, it's hard to know what will/won't be a problem)

[blas]

Oh no, not this shit again.

I feel so bad for you.

There has to be some law about notice. You cannot be expected to just open your apartment to whomever wants to come in and inspect it.

The property management company pulled that with me last year. This year, they will be told they are giving me proper notice, or I will not answer the door.

I was ripped a new hole because I hadn't vaccuumed or mopped or swept or dusted. I was given an hour and a half's notice and I wasn't even home and I had to bust ass to grocery shop and get home before they could get in. I won't let them in if I'm not home.

[KellyHabersham]

I think that under the law here in Arizona, as long as they give you more then 24 hours notice, you "have" to let people in for inspections. (Which is one of the reason I intend to move out as soon as my lease is up)

[Frantic Freddie]

Oh no, not this shit again.

I feel so bad for you.

There has to be some law about notice. You cannot be expected to just open your apartment to whomever wants to come in and inspect it.

The property management company pulled that with me last year. This year, they will be told they are giving me proper notice, or I will not answer the door.

I was ripped a new hole because I hadn't vaccuumed or mopped or swept or dusted. I was given an hour and a half's notice and I wasn't even home and I had to bust ass to grocery shop and get home before they could get in. I won't let them in if I'm not home.

Actually they can enter the property in case of an emergency (e.g. your pipes broke & water's draining into the apaprtment below),but yes,most states have a notice requirement,generally 24-48 hours.

[telecom_goddess]

I was ripped a new hole because I hadn't vaccuumed or mopped or swept or dusted. I was given an hour and a half's notice and I wasn't even home and I had to bust ass to grocery shop and get home before they could get in. I won't let them in if I'm not home.

Well how bad could it have been? That's unusual for property managers to bitch about cleaning...I've known plenty of people who were PIGS and had floors that were white at one time and were now black with crud, and had trash thrown everywhere and stains like you wouldn't believe in the carpet. That I could see complaining about. But I'm sure yours wasn't like that....geeze.

[Bright_Star]

I don't even let my landlord into my house unless it's a very good reason. I figure that I'm paying her rent. Yeah, she owns the building but it's MY house that I'm renting from her. Proper notice ALWAYS.

[MaggieTheCat]

When my husband and I were renting an apartment here in Texas, we would occasionally get notices like that, that some building inspector was going to be on the premises a certain day and that they would be going into random apartments to do safety inspections or whatever. The apartment managers didn't know which apartments exactly the inspectors would pick; the inspectors could go into any or every apartment that they wanted. You didn't have to be home. If you were, you had to let them in. If you weren't, they'd let themselves in. On the day of the inspections, I had a horrible migraine and called the apartment office early in the morning begging them not to come to my apartment because I was going to be trying to sleep. They said they had no control over which apartments would be picked for the inspection and if mine was picked, they would be coming in regardless of whether I was home or how I felt. They could get away with this because they did provide more than 24 hours notice that your apartment MIGHT be picked, even if they couldn't specify which apartments exactly would be entered. Fortunately, mine was not picked on the day I had the migraine, but I always hated getting notices like that.

Good luck, Kelly.

[Frantic Freddie]

I have a property that I enter with no notice,even if the door's locked & my tenant's home.If I'm hungry I'll raid the refrigerator,get a beer & sit down & watch TV or use the computer....








I own the house & my crippled but mobile mother lives there,she's always glad to see me

[Aethian]

Freddie, you are such a nut.

[TTAZ]

I think that under the law here in Arizona, as long as they give you more then 24 hours notice, you "have" to let people in for inspections. (Which is one of the reason I intend to move out as soon as my lease is up)

48 hours. Trust me, I do this crap for a living. Go online and read up the Arizona Landlord Tenant Act. You can also get a packet of example forms and the laws themselves at MVD offices, or call your local Legal Aid office and they will send you one.

Things they look for are mostly structural in nature as well as the age of major appliances such as water heaters. They have somebody on their staff with blueprints to compare the actual structure to discern any remodels or updates done and not reported to the city/county. Run down properties are tougher to insure and insurance and mortgages are all meshed in together. I don't think they'll give a tin plated damn about stinky litter boxes or a dusty table.

However, the mangement person with them will. If they happen to see anything that is a direct lease violation while they happen to be in there they will nail you for it.

Any questions on how the lovelies in AZ multihousing work, PM me.

[KellyHabersham]

Well how bad could it have been? That's unusual for property managers to bitch about cleaning...I've known plenty of people who were PIGS and had floors that were white at one time and were now black with crud, and had trash thrown everywhere and stains like you wouldn't believe in the carpet. That I could see complaining about. But I'm sure yours wasn't like that....geeze.

My property management company does fuss about cleaning, unfortunately.........that was one of things which I'd gotten dinged on during an inspection this summer. (no mention as to the purpose of the said inspection) And I'm certainly not against management wanting to check up on things, but this latest notice makes for the fourth inspection we've had this year, and that's a little excessive in my opinion.

[blas]

I got the riot act that my lack of vaccuuming, mopping, dusting, et al was "depreciating the value" of my apartment.....like these buildings can depreciate even more than they already have. Hanging on to old buildings built poorly, insulated poorly....and you whine that a tenant doesn't always keep their place neat as a pin? A little dust on the fans is nothing compared to the fact that I can hear my neighbor's toilet flush and that in the winter, for at least 30 minutes after you take a shower or bath, the pipes rattle. Older buildings built like this, sure you can hear water running if your neighbor is showering or doing dishes but you shouldn't be able to hear their toilet flush from the other side of the apartment. Ugh.

I don't have anything on the floor and I am by no means a slob. I was baffled that they were that upset with my apartment, especially since unlike my neighbors, I had almost no notice.

[telecom_goddess]

I got the riot act that my lack of vaccuuming, mopping, dusting, et al was "depreciating the value" of my apartment.....like these buildings can depreciate even more than they already have. Hanging on to old buildings built poorly, insulated poorly....and you whine that a tenant doesn't always keep their place neat as a pin? A little dust on the fans is nothing compared to the fact that I can hear my neighbor's toilet flush and that in the winter, for at least 30 minutes after you take a shower or bath, the pipes rattle. Older buildings built like this, sure you can hear water running if your neighbor is showering or doing dishes but you shouldn't be able to hear their toilet flush from the other side of the apartment. Ugh.

I don't have anything on the floor and I am by no means a slob. I was baffled that they were that upset with my apartment, especially since unlike my neighbors, I had almost no notice.

Wow that is a bit extreme. The last apartments I lived in were built really cheaply....and those were the ones that got flooded almost 2 years ago. I bet the floor is STILL warped and the shower is still leaking into the place downstairs.

[TTAZ]

t this latest notice makes for the fourth inspection we've had this year, and that's a little excessive in my opinion.

I bet you dollars to donuts that the owner of the place is either looking to sell in order to avoid foreclosure, or it's already in receivership. That many inspections is incredibly odd if it isn't for those two situations.

If it is going or has gone into foreclosure, then you can at least take heart that the bank will more than likely replace the management company that has been so pissy to you in the past.

[KellyHabersham]

I bet you dollars to donuts that the owner of the place is either looking to sell in order to avoid foreclosure, or it's already in receivership. That many inspections is incredibly odd if it isn't for those two situations.

If it is going or has gone into foreclosure, then you can at least take heart that the bank will more than likely replace the management company that has been so pissy to you in the past.

Well, all I know is that the one we had in January was mortgage lender stuff, and the two this summer were for all apartments, no mention of what the purpose of inspections were.

And to be honest, the main reason I'm not intending to renew my lease isn't because of the frequent inspections, my finances have taken a hit this year and I sure can't afford rent plus other expenses.