Inventory and Check Out reports are very closely related in that most of the info logged in a Check Out Report, created at the end of tenancy, is really an update to the information originally recorded in the Inventory at the beginning (or often just before the start) of the tenancy.
At Check Out, each aspect from the Inventory report should be covered to determine whether any damage, deterioration or other change has occurred. Also Meter Readings, information on Fire Safety, update to Schedule of Condition should all be made during the Check Out inspection.
On the other hand, with a midterm/interim report, the emphasis is somewhat different, since its purpose to provide awareness to the Landlord or Letting Agent of the current state of the property, to highlighting any ongoing issues that might be addressed to prevent them escalating and bringing attention to any breaches of Tenancy Agreement, rather than providing a full record of the final state.
With this in mind, it may not be required to achieve the same level of detail as with a Check Out report since smaller issues are something that would usually be addressed at the end of a tenancy as the tenant isn’t responsible until end of tenancy to return the property to its initial state.
However, during the midterm inspection, it is important to take note of issues involving excessive damage or neglect to the property or contents, or if some form of maintenance is required to prevent larger problems or anything that might affect health and safety.
Midterm report: Areas of Focus
Areas to be addressed during the Midterm inspection, depending upon the Tenancy Agreement, might include:
Damage or Neglect to the property
Poor cleanliness
Need for maintenance (for example to address issues like mould, damp, condensation or water damage).
And, depending upon the Tenancy Agreement:
Subletting
Pets
Smoking
Any other breach of the tenancy agreement
Creating a Midterm/Interim Report in Inventory Egg
As usual, go to ‘Add/New’:
Then tap Midterm/Interim:
Then use Property/Report Lookup to create the report with reference to a previous report, usually an Inventory:
Start typing the property address and choose from the dropdown list. Reports for the chosen property will show in the Box below. Select the latest Inventory Report (usually):
Once you’ve selected the Inventory on which to base the Midterm Report and you are happy with settings, tap ‘Save’ to save the report and to begin logging information:
Once we’ve created an Inventory/Check-In Report for a property (at/before the start of a new tenancy), we may be required to produce a Check Out inspection report for the same property.
What is a Check Out report?
The Check Out report constitutes a record of any significant changes in the state, condition and cleanliness of a property since a previous inspection, usually in reference to the Inventory/Check-In Report that was compiled at the start of the tenancy. It may be that an Interim/Midterm report that was also produced during the tenancy. Nevertheless, the Check Out inspection report should record any significant changes in relation to the initial Inventory/Check-In Report rather than the Midterm/Interim report, since the changes from the very beginning of the tenancy need to be taken in to account., being (at least, in part) the tenant’s responsibility.
Using Inventory Egg, we can base a new report on a previous one in different ways. For more information, see the blog article (Basics of) The Property Reporting Cycle
For example, it may be that a tenant has caused damage to items within the property. In this case, the Check Out should clearly document the damage with relevant information and photos. Items that were present in the original inventory/check-in but that are no longer present should be recorded as missing items. It would be expected that the property should be restored to its original state of cleanliness and where that isn’t the case, it should also be recorded.
Meter readings should be included, being part of the picture of the current state of the property as well as prepayment amounts on meters.
Returning of property keys should be documented, including info on any missing or damaged keys.
Purposes of a Check Out inspection
As well as identifying any issues caused by the tenant, the purposes of the Check Out need not stop at that. There might also be issues that aren’t the tenant’s responsibility but where it would be useful for the party managing the property to have awareness of any such issues in order to address them and to bring the property back to a state where it is rentable.
The list might include:
Deterioration due to wear and tear beyond a point that the item requires replacement for which the tenant wouldn’t be responsible.
Health and Safety related issues such as expired gas certification, testing of fire extinguishers and other fire-safety equipment.
Services and Utilities related issues. For example, awareness of last date of emptying a septic tank.
Information about Gas and Electrical Appliances including whether working, pat test date (electrical)
With this in mind, information within the report can also be used for a variety of purposes, with the intent of restoring the property to a rentable state and can include:
Arranging repairs
Arranging maintenance
Replacement of damaged or missing items
Cleaning
Pat testing
Gas safe certification
Any work required at the property to bring it back to its original, rentable state
Whilst the responsibility for health, safety and security may not be on the shoulders of the the Inspector/Clerk, it would certainly provide a more useful report if information on these areas was included.
After considering some of the principles that can be applied to producing a Check Out inspection report, let’s look at how some of them have been implemented in the Inventory Egg app.
Starting a Check Out report
To create a new Check Out report, we use ‘Add/New’ as usual, selecting the report-type as Check Out. However, instead of entering the property address, setting up rooms and items/contents, we use the Property/Report Lookup function to access previous report for the property.
Enter part of the property address, then select the relevant property and Inventory report
After tapping on the Inventory Report, the property address should show in the address field:
We can then Save our new report, using the default options unless we have a specific reason for making any changes.
Populating the Check Out
Note: in Inventory Egg app, the Midterm/Interim report is structured in a similar way to the Check Out. However, the emphasis in a Midterm report may differ to that for a Check Out. A midterm report is intended to:
Identify any issues early on to prevent them escalating (should a tenant not notice or report them), which might include maintenance problems
Check the state of the property in regards to the tenant’s treatment of it (whilst respecting the tenant’s rights).
Once in our new Check Out report, as well as the Rooms and Items/Contents from the Inventory, we should notice that we can see various fields showing information from the previous Inventory Report against which we compare the current state of the property.
In the broadest terms, there are 2 ways in which we record our Check Out information.
In highlighted Check Out fields
Using ‘Flags’
This provides easily visibility of where to enter our Check Out updates.
Check Out fields (Orange border, yellow background)
For many areas in the Inventory Egg app Check Out report, we see a field for the Inventory Report, alongside which there’s a corresponding Check Out field, highlighted with an Orange Border (and yellow background).
For example, for Electricity Meters (also for Gas and Water meters) the Inventory meter reading field has a corresponding Check Out meter reading field:
Similarly, for Room overview, there’s a corresponding Check Out room-overview field:
Notice that for the Room overview, there’s also the option to add a flag.
Flags
In many sections throughout the Check Out report, there’s also the option to Add a Flag. Flags provide us with some distinct categories that allow us to clearly log the Issue-type and the party Responsible for an issue.
Whereas the app provides specific Check Out fields in some areas such as for meter readings, property overview, room overview notes, returning of keys, Schedule of Condition check out notes etc, where a serious or significant issue has been identified, it should be raised on the report using a Flag.
Flags constitute a clear and distinct way of raising awareness of any significant issues identified during the Check Out.
They provide a clear way of recording the Issue type and also area and responsibility and include an areas for notes and photos related directly to the Issue.
Once we’ve tapped ‘Add Flag’ a new page opens where we can log details, including setting the Issue-type and the Responsible party:
By working through all sections of the report, populating Check Out fields and adding Flags for any significant issues, we can easily compile a suitable and useful Check Out report.
No one likes to have to redo work (as far as we know).
Working optimally and efficiently may not sound like a thrilling prospect to all, but at the end of the day, if it saves minutes in every hour, hour in every day, days in every month, then as well as avoiding the confusion and frustration of using a less-than-optimised system, it should result in a more productive time, a better outcome/product and in the longer term, all the benefits reaped from that.
When it comes to Property Reporting, this is certainly no exception. Following a well-formulated plan which includes making the most of existing information, avoiding duplication of work and having a clear (mental) picture of the whole reporting process, is the basis of a solid strategy.
Reviewing the Property Reporting Cycle
Unless we’re seeing a property for the first time, chances are we’ve already logged a good deal of information about it on a previous visit. With that info in mind, let’s explore how the information can be used to the maximum benefit by considering the Property Reporting Cycle which represents a common chronological workflow, recording important information about the state of a property through a tenancy and then to starting new tenancies
The cycle/flow of property reporting might look like this:
Inventory/Check In -> Midterm/Interim -> Check Out -> Inventory/Check In.
Inventory/Check In -> Check Out -> Inventory/Check In -> and so on.
Inventory/Check In -> Inventory/Check In -> etc.
In either case, at any point in the reporting cycle it’s an enormous benefit, (virtually essential for a midterm/interim report and particularly for a check out) to be able to reference information from a previous report. Of course, the cycle must begin somewhere, hopefully with an Inventory/Check In report, since at that point it’s not essential to reference a previous report in order to determine whether any change, deterioration or damage in/to the property had taken place.
To explore the Reporting Cycle in more depth, we’ll look at how the cycle has been implemented in Inventory Egg app, highlighting the ways in which the application of the system saves time and energy in logging only essential information whilst producing a full and adequate report from it.
First-time Inventory Report
To start an Inventory Report for our first visit to the property (we’ll consider subsequent visits later), we need to set the property address and the type of property. In the Inventory Egg app, we offer a choice of property types (a sort of template), each of which comes with a set of default rooms (optional) that represent a typical room allocation according to the property type. Property types include House, Bungalow, Studio Apartment etc.
In turn, each room is populated, by default (but also optional) with a set of items/contents, according to the type of room.
Once the property has its rooms and each room has its contents/items, adjustments can be made to add any rooms or items/contents that weren’t added by default. Likewise, any rooms/items not needed (not at the property) can easily be removed individually, or collectively via the Manage Rooms/Items functions.
Rooms have a ‘Type’ in Inventory Egg and are named by default, according to the type of room but can also be renamed (whilst retaining the type) in order to cater for any conventions or specifics at the property. The same is true for items/contents in that each has a Type and Name although for both rooms and items, it is the Name that is generally visible (‘Types’ exist in a more behind-the-scenes fashion but can be viewed and also changed).
Once rooms/items have been setup, the Description and Condition/Cleanliness information can be logged. Inventory Egg app has in-built Speech-To-Text via the ‘Speak’ button but it should also be possible to use the device’s Speech-To-Text/Dictation which might be found on the popup keyboard or via the device’s settings, according to type of device (iPhone/Android).
–Services/Utilities (Electricity Meters, Gas Meter, Water, Bins, Septic Tank etc)
–Property Keys
–Appliances (whether Gas/Electric, Model No., Serial No., Pat Test Information etc)
–Schedule of Condition
Each of these areas has a dedicated and easily-located section within the app. Ease of access to these predefined sections allows the user to quickly dip in and out of them, logging information as the relevant area is encountered in the property. Alternatively, the user can address whole sections at a time, such as Health and Safety, if preferred.
Once the report is completed, it can be signed by tenants within the app or at a later time, via PDF, for example.
We’ve now digressed somewhat from the original thread, so with a first report now complete, let’s get back to it.
Back to the Reporting Cycle: Check Out and Midterm
Once we have our Inventory report synced on the system, we can look at moving forward in time.
We may be asked to provide a Midterm or Check Out report for the same property. To do that, we start by by creating the new report (‘Add/New’) within the app. But as we have our existing Inventory Report, we can base our new Midterm/Check Out on the Inventory. We do that by using the Property/Report Lookup during the setup up of our new report, selecting the relevant Property, then the previous Report.
Once our new report is created, we can then see details from the previous Inventory which allows us to easily identify any changes as we navigate around the property.
For example, as well as room/item/contents descriptions and condition information, we can also see previous meter readings, info on Smoke Detectors, Fire Extinguishers etc, alongside which we can enter new details, whether that be the new meter readings, new fuel levels (Oil/LPG) or updates on general overview of a room.
Where a change of issue needs highlighting, on a Check Out, for example, we can a ‘Flag’. Flags are a way of bringing attention to issues, problems which might include damage, cleaning issues, something needing maintenance etc. Flags created during a Check Out/Midterm report, appears as distinct sections on the final report for presentation to the tenants and for allocating repairs, maintenance to contractors etc.
Subsequent Inventory Reports
In the same way that we based our Midterm/Check Out reports on a previous Inventory, we can, likewise, base an Inventory report on previous reports at the property.
It’s important to note that not only is Inventory information passed to the Midterm/Check Out report but that it’s also passed through the Midterm/Check Out reports to be inherited by the next Inventory report. Therefore, by basing our next Inventory report on a Midterm/Check Out report (or even directly on a previous Inventory), the Inventory is prepopulated by the info from that inventory.
The logic for this is that issues/flags highlighted in the Midterm/Check Out report (probably) would/should generally have been fixed or restored to a reasonable state, so inheriting the inventory information provides the most useful starting point for our new inventory. With rooms, item/contents information already in our new inventory, we just need to update that information to reflect the current state of the property.
Note that when creating a new report from an existing one, defaults are set as to what is inherited from the previous report, but these are optional and the list of areas inherited is available so it’s possible to either include or exclude, for example, item description and condition information, health safety info etc.
For example, Photos from an Inventory/Check In report are included by default into a new Midterm or Check Out report since they represent an important source of information and they’re intended for reference whilst carrying out the Midterm/Check Out.
However, when creating a new Inventory Report from a Check Out/Midterm or previous Inventory, photos are not included by default as new photos should be taken, in order to portray the current state of the property.
With all of that in mind, if we look again at possible flows of our reporting cycle, we can see how we can work with the cycle in such a way as to avoid duplication of our work by inclusion of information from the previous Inventory/Check In, whether it may be as a starting-point for the new (Inventory/Check In) report or for reference only (Midterm/Interim/Check Out).
Original Inventory/Check In
-> Midterm/Interim (referencing the original Inventory to determine changes, damage etc)
-> Check Out (referencing the original Inventory to determine changes, damage etc)
-> Inventory/Check In (using the original Inventory as a starting point for the new one)
