Back at the desk with forty photos
The property manager spent the morning at two blocks. Cracked paving by the bin store, a fire door that does not close, graffiti in the stairwell, a light out on the second floor, cleaning not up to standard in the car park. Forty photos on the phone and a page of notes.
Back at the office the inbox has filled up. Writing the inspection up gets pushed to Friday, then to next week. By the time it is done, half the issues are hard to match to photos and some are simply forgotten.
Why findings get lost between site and system
The inspection itself is quick. The write-up is slow, because it means copying notes into a report, sorting photos, raising each job separately in the block management system and emailing the directors. That is several different tools for one visit.
Without a fixed checklist, each property manager inspects differently too, so the same block can look fine one quarter and poorly the next depending on who visited.
The cost of inspections that stop at the notebook
Issues found and not acted on are the worst kind. If something goes wrong later, there is a photo showing you knew. Contractors do not get told about poor cleaning or gardening, so the standard does not improve. Directors do not see the visits, so they assume none happen.
And the property manager's time on site is partly wasted, because the output never reaches anyone who can act on it.
The inspection app we build
We build a mobile inspection tool that works on the phone the property manager already carries and connects to your existing systems.
- Block checklist: each block has a checklist for its areas and assets, set up once: entrance, stairwells, fire doors, lighting, bin store, car park, grounds, roof access. You decide the items.
- Capture on site: each item is marked fine, action or watch, with photos and a short note, spoken or typed. It works without signal and syncs later.
- Jobs from findings: action items become draft works orders or tasks, sent to your block management system or job tracker for the property manager to confirm.
- Contractor feedback: findings about cleaning or gardening are grouped and sent to the relevant contractor with photos.
- Director report: a short report with photos and the list of actions is produced automatically in your branding.
- Follow-up: at the next visit, open actions from last time appear at the top of the checklist.
| Finding type | What happens next |
|---|---|
| Action | Draft job raised for the property manager to approve |
| Watch | Carried forward to the next inspection with the photo |
| Contractor standard | Grouped feedback sent to the contractor |
| Fine | Recorded as checked with the date and inspector |
After the change
The property manager finishes the inspection on site and the report is ready by the time they are back at the car. Jobs are raised with the photos attached. Directors see that visits happen and what came out of them, which does more for your relationship with them than any number of emails.
Across the portfolio, you get a consistent record of every block's condition over time. When a block changes hands between property managers, the new person can scroll back through the inspection history and see what has been a recurring problem, what was fixed and what the previous manager was keeping an eye on.
Do your inspections look like this?
- Inspection notes are written up days after the visit, or not at all.
- Photos from site sit on property managers' phones.
- Issues spotted on inspection are found again at the next visit.
- Directors say they never hear about inspections.
- Each property manager inspects in a different way.