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That landlord on Elm Street changed how I handle walkthroughs
I was doing a final walkthrough for a rental property on Elm Street in Detroit last month, the end of a six month lease. The tenant was this older guy named Mr. Kowalski, really quiet the whole time. He stopped me as I was checking the baseboards and said, 'You know, nobody ever looks at the attic hatch seal until it's too late.' I almost brushed it off but he showed me a tiny gap letting cold air in, said it cost his last landlord $200 a month in heat. I spent 20 minutes sealing it with some foam tape from my truck. That little conversation made me realize I've been blowing through checklists without actually talking to people who lived in the space. Now I always ask tenants if there's anything weird they noticed, even if it's small. Has anyone else picked up a trick like that from a renter during a walkthrough?
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kellyallen2d ago
Honestly that's such a good point about the attic seal thing. I had a guy once who told me the bathroom fan was basically useless because the duct was crushed in the attic. Never would have caught that on a normal walkthrough since I was just checking if it made noise. Now I ask specifically about stuff like window drafts or doors that stick when the weather changes. Tenants have way more intel on how a place actually performs day to day than any inspection checklist.
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dakota_miller932d ago
No way man, I kinda disagree. Some tenants are super helpful like that guy but I've had way more who just want their deposit back and will point out every tiny scratch like it's a construction defect. It's a mixed bag.
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matthewking2d ago
My old man used to do property management back in the 90s and he had a tenant show him once that every single window in the unit had the wrong sized weatherstripping from the factory... the gaps were just small enough you wouldn't notice unless you lived through a winter. That's the kind of stuff you can't catch with a flashlight in five minutes. Tenants know exactly which outlet doesn't work when it rains, or which floorboard creaks at 2am, because they actually sleep there. It's funny how we think we're the experts but they're the ones living with the mistakes.
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