One of the biggest problems that a letting agent has to face is carrying out inventory, otherwise known as a condition report. Inventory has to be carried out right at the beginning of a tenancy, ideally on the same day that the tenant moves in, and with the tenant present. It also needs to be carried out on the day the tenant moves out, again also with the tenant present if possible.
In addition, of course, interim condition reports need to be carried out during the life of the tenancy. Just how often these should be conducted are a matter of some debate. Some letting agents say they should be carried out annually, others every six months, and some say every three months. Perhaps every three months is a little too often, and the tenant may also find it tedious. However, every six months is reasonable.
No matter, the fact is that as a letting agent you can spend a lot of time carrying out inventory, particularly if you look after, say, 300 or 400 properties. Even if you only carry out a condition report every six months, that is still a lot of time doing inventory. If your landlords let properties empty then that is time-consuming enough, but if they let their properties furnished it can become a full-time job.
Traditionally, of course, inventory has been done with nothing more than a clipboard and a biro, and also a small camera. Today, however, we have moved into the 21st century and we have technology which can help considerably. There are apps which you can download on to a mobile phone or tablet which can help to save a considerable amount of time taking inventory. Furthermore, some of them are free to use!
They will guide an inventory clerk through each room making suggestions as to what to check. The clerk can either type in his comments, or in the case of some apps there is an audio feature when he can just speak his comments and then type them out when he gets back to the office later on.
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