Today I wanted to get a quick blog done on the importance of Inventories for students in rented accommodation. The points obviously apply to all renters but its important the message gets out to first time renters who are sometimes not educated on the matter before they find accomadation. There is a few key areas I wanted to discuss and if there is other important issues please drop a comment at the end.
Checking your list of Inventory with the actual contents in the property
Once you find your property and are set to move in often the landlord or agent will provide you with a list of contents for the inventory which you are to sign. At first glance to yourself this is just a simple process sign it and move in but there are a few things you have to do first.The last rented accommodation I had provided me with a list of the various contents from sofas,dining chairs,curtains,hoovers and more. After signing the lease and the inventory list we noticed several items were missing from our list. Whether the landlord purposely did this or simply didn’t know which is probably the case its irrelevant as you are now liable for that missing inventory unless you inform your landlord or property manager of the mistakes. So always verify exactly everything Thats on your list.
When signing the inventory list/report you may not think in the long term but there is two key issues which often not being addressed with this document, picture evidence and condition. Once you have verified your inventory and made any amendments you have to check the condition of your contents and communicate your findings to the landlord or property manager(do this via e-mail or it will mean nothing). In an ideal world every agent would do a thorough report that captures all this vital information but in reality it often isn’t the case. So you have checked the contents and everyone is clear on whats in the house, now the important part
This is the sticky point with inventories its all well and good knowing the contents or inventories but at the end of the day the most likely disagreement or dispute you may find yourself in is condition of the property and its contents.Ultimately this is what will protect landlords and renters against one and other in any potential disputes at the end of a tenancy. Simply writing down the condition of something is good but not sufficient as evidence of the condition so we need pictures! Taking a photo though has its drawbacks as often cameras wont have dates on them so make sure to send these images again via e-mail and ensure the landlord is aware or agrees with the condition.
Thats all for today and thanks for reading, dont forgot to follow me on twitter @cormac_rentview and search Rentview on Facebook! for more information on inventory reporting and the application Rentview offers to letting agents you can click the link here: http://rentview.tumblr.com/post/11140727179/rentview-inventory