Are property inspections included in the monthly fee?

Whether inspections are included in the monthly management fee depends on which inspection you mean and which company you ask. Most managers include the move-in and move-out inspections, because the security deposit cannot be handled lawfully without them. Periodic interior inspections during the lease and vacant-house checks are the ones that are often billed separately, per visit.

So the question to put to any manager is not "are inspections included" but "which inspections are included, how often do they happen, and what do I receive". The fee schedule answers the first part; the second and third separate a real inspection program from a line item.

Which inspections are usually included and which are billed

There are four inspections in the life of a lease, and they tend to fall on different sides of the fee line:

• Move-in inspection. Almost always included, usually as part of the leasing fee. It creates the condition record the deposit will be measured against.
• Move-out inspection. Almost always included. Without it, the manager cannot itemize deductions the way Texas law requires.
• Periodic interior inspection. The one that varies. Some managers include one or two a year in the monthly fee, some bill each visit, some do not do them unless asked.
• Vacant-house checks. Visits to an empty house between tenants. Commonly billed per visit, or included only for a short window after move-out.

Our guide to inspection fees in property management goes through the three pricing models managers use and what a fair fee should buy. This page is about finding your answer and holding the manager to it.

Find the answer in the fee schedule, not the sales conversation

Open the fee schedule and look for "inspection", "property visit", "property survey", "condition report" or "walk-through". If a periodic inspection is included, the agreement should say how many per year. If it is billed, it should give the dollar amount per visit. If the agreement is silent, assume periodic inspections are not part of the service and ask.

Then read the maintenance section for the word "trip" or "visit", because some managers include inspections in the fee and then charge a trip fee for the drive. That is the same charge with a different label. Finally, check whether the inspection fee applies to a visit you request outside the schedule, for example after a neighbor's complaint. A fair agreement allows owner-requested visits at the stated per-visit price.

What "included" should actually mean

An inspection that is included in the fee but never happens costs you more than one you pay for and receive. Included should mean a scheduled interior visit by the manager's staff, with written notice to the tenant, a room-by-room check of plumbing, HVAC filters, smoke alarms, water intrusion and unauthorized occupants or pets, and a dated photo report in your owner portal within days.

Ask any manager you are considering for a sample periodic inspection report with the address removed. If they cannot produce one, periodic inspections are not really part of their operation, whatever the fee schedule says. What a thorough visit covers and what you should receive is set out in how often rentals get inspected and what you receive, and the inspections service page shows the format Perpetual uses.

The math on paying for an inspection you were not sure you needed

Suppose, as an illustration only, a manager bills $75 per periodic inspection and does two a year, so $150 on a house renting for $2,000 a month. Compare that with what an inspection catches early: a slow leak under a sink that becomes a cabinet and subfloor replacement, a clogged HVAC filter that becomes a compressor, an unauthorized dog that becomes carpet and a deposit dispute. Any one of those costs far more than every inspection fee for the term of the lease.

The fee is not the issue. The issue is whether the visit happens and whether the report lets you act. A manager who includes inspections but skips them is more expensive than one who bills $75 and shows up with a camera.

Questions to settle before you sign

• "Which inspections are included in the monthly fee, and how many periodic inspections per year?"
• "What does a periodic inspection cost if it is extra, and can I request one?"
• "Who performs the inspection, your staff or a third party, and how soon do I see the report?"
• "Is there a trip fee or a travel charge on top of any inspection?"

Get the answers in writing as part of the quote, and compare them with the inspection section of the pricing page.

How Perpetual handles this

Every inspection Perpetual performs is documented: move-in, periodic and move-out all produce dated photo reports that you can open in the owner portal, usually within days of the visit. Our written quote lists every fee before you sign, so whether a given inspection is part of the monthly fee or priced per visit is on paper, not something you discover on a statement.

Inspections are done locally by Perpetual in Keller, North Richland Hills and Fort Worth, not by a contractor who has never seen the house. We give the tenant proper notice under the lease, walk the interior, check filters, alarms, plumbing and signs of water, and note any unauthorized occupants or pets. The report goes to you with the photos, and if something needs fixing it becomes a work order you can track in the same portal.

The inspections service page shows what the report looks like. If you want the fee schedule for your house, ask for a written quote.

The takeaway: Find out which inspections are included and which are billed, in writing, then judge the manager by whether the visits happen and the photo reports arrive.

Questions owners ask

Property management in Keller, North Richland Hills and Fort Worth. How full-service management works in Tarrant County →