When you shop for and buy a property to turn into a rental property, you want it to be and remain pest-free during the time you own it. Here are some tips to help you look for and prevent pests during a home search and after you rent it out to tenants.

Look for Pests During the Home Tour

While you look through a property to decide if it has all the features, amenities, and space you need for a rental house, you should also look for any signs of pests living inside. There are some indications you can spot on your own as you walk through the home, even before you make an offer.

Look for mice droppings along the edges of the floor, or greasy areas of corners and walls and shredded paper or fabric inside dark cupboards and crawlspaces. Also look for any signs of moth or insects problems as indicated by dead insect bodies on surface areas, holes in packages, and small openings in windows or around doors where small insects can enter. Pull out the stove or refrigerator in the home to inspect what is living in that space or what droppings and dead insects are left there. These areas are common hiding places for cockroaches and other pests.

Last, hire a pest inspection on the property along with a traditional home inspection when you have made an offer on a home to buy as a rental, as most home inspections don't check for pests. If there is a big pest problem with the property, you will have an exit clause out of the contract if a pest problem is discovered in the home.

Complete Regular Pest Control Service

After you buy and rent out a house, you want it to remain free of pests, such as cockroaches, termites, mice, ants, and spiders. Because these types of pests can take up residence in your home and make it difficult to remove them, prevent them from taking up residence in the first place with a regular pest control service. Then you can use each pest control treatment as an opportunity for you to visually inspect the home's interior while a tenant is living inside it.

Let your tenants know when they move in you will provide a regular monthly, or quarterly pest control treatment on the property. This stipulation should be included in your rental contract and will allow you to inspect the unit visually as you escort the pest control professional into the home. Your tenant can be at home during the inspection, but if they are at work, you will be able to let in the pest control service technician to complete the treatment.

This will help you look for any problems in the home, such as damaged walls, moisture and mold problems, or another type of structural issues in the home, you can have them repaired and taken care of. And if there are any problems occurring with your tenant, you can address them for correction or to begin an eviction process.

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