1–20 unit landlords
Inspection & condition reports on DIY landlord software — move-in/out checklists, photos, e-sign
For a 1–20 unit DIY landlord, inspection tooling is the bridge between “we walked the unit” and “we can defend a carpet / wall deduction.” Among the three DIY tools, TurboTenant wins the native job: customizable online Condition Reports (Move-In / Move-Out / Periodic), room ratings, photo uploads, time-stamped entries, tenant or third-party completion, landlord Sign & Approve, PDF download — marketed for free on Free-plan feature lists. RentRedi wins storage + optional e-sign of a file you already have: printable inspection checklist (help + blog PDF), upload to Unit Documents (private) or Tenant Documents with a Signature Request — no published interactive room-by-room Condition Report product like TT’s. Avail wins simple education + free PDF + lease attachment: Move-In Checklist article, downloadable Move-In/Out Inspection Checklist, community practice of scanning and attaching to the lease — but no published native digital condition-report workflow with in-app photo ratings. None of the three publish AI damage detection, automatic deposit-deduction math from photos, or video-analysis products in the sources we used — don’t invent them.
What this page is (and is not)
- Is: a side-by-side of published move-in / move-out / periodic inspection and condition-report features; photo / notes depth; who completes and who e-signs; how reports tie to deposits and maintenance; free vs paid gates where published; cutover handoff for signed reports.
- Is not: legal advice on what your state requires for move-in checklists or deposit itemization; a claim that a portal e-sign equals courtroom proof; an inspection franchise or third-party inspector marketplace review.
- Uncertainty rule: TT’s product page and Free-plan help list Online Condition Reports as free; Premium notes about assigning to Admins/Assistants via Team Roles are Pro-adjacent — confirm live. RentRedi’s help article is an example checklist, not a product tour of a digital form builder. Avail’s checklist is education + PDF resources; lease-attachment behavior follows their document model (see document vault). Re-verify before you redesign your move-in packet.
Definitions (read this first)
- Move-in condition report: Room-by-room baseline of the unit at (or just after) occupancy — ratings, notes, photos — signed or acknowledged by landlord and/or tenant. Becomes the reference for later deductions.
- Move-out inspection: Walkthrough at vacancy comparing current condition to the move-in baseline. Feeds cleaning / damage itemization for the security deposit (see security deposits & move-out).
- Walkthrough photos / video: Evidence artifacts. May live inside a Condition Report (TT), on a maintenance ticket, or as files you upload to Documents / lease attachments. Timestamped phone photos still matter even when software does not stamp them for you.
- Deposit deduction evidence: The packet you keep when retaining part of a deposit — itemized letter + invoices + before/after photos + signed condition reports. Software helps assemble; state statutes set deadlines and required content.
- E-sign of a condition report vs e-sign of a lease: Different documents. Lease e-sign (Dropbox Sign / native lease tools) is covered on the lease & e-sign page. Condition-report e-sign is a separate acknowledgment that ratings/photos are accurate — TT bakes it into Condition Reports; RR can Signature-Request a PDF you upload; Avail’s published path is usually wet-sign or signed PDF then lease attachment.
Feature snapshot (verify on vendor pages)
| Capability | RentRedi | TurboTenant | Avail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native digital condition report / inspection product | No published interactive builder like TT’s. Help: “Rental Inspection Checklist” = example checklist. Blog: printable PDF with room checkboxes + landlord/tenant signature lines | Yes — Condition Reports: customizable template per lease profile (spaces + items); types Move-In / Move-Out / Periodic; Docs & E-Sign summary across rentals | No published native digital form. Education “Move-In Checklist” article + free Move-In/Out Inspection Checklist PDF from resources. Community: keep separate checklist, scan, upload to lease |
| Room ratings / templates | Your printed or PDF checklist structure. Unit Documents help lists “inspection reports” as example files you store | Customize spaces (beds/baths) and items (floors, walls, doors, cabinets…). Ratings: Good / Fair / Poor / Not On Site; Fair/Poor require notes | PDF / education key examples (e.g. S / NC / NP / NR…). You design the form offline |
| Photos / media | Upload photos/videos as Tenant Documents (“Other Documents”) or keep with inspection PDF on unit/tenant files. No Condition Report photo-append UI found | Photo upload in-report; help cites photos appended to sections; time-stamped entries emphasized on product/help copy. Create maintenance request from a report | Photos typically via maintenance tickets after the fact; checklist itself is PDF/paper unless you attach image files to the lease yourself |
| Who completes the walkthrough | Landlord and/or tenant offline; you coordinate (blog recommends joint or parallel inspections with dated photos) | Assign to Tenants, Yourself (Fill Out Now or print blank), or Someone Else (email link; no TT account required). Premium/Team Roles: Admins or Assistants in-product | Landlord sends checklist ahead (education suggests ~2 weeks; return often within ~72 hours). Tenant or joint walkthrough — offline |
| E-sign / acknowledgment of the report | Upload completed PDF to tenant → Signature Request (tenant e-signs the file). Or share for view only. Unit docs private by default | Tenant Agree and Sign → landlord Sign & Approve on same report. Optional auto-complete/auto-approve when every section is Good. Landlord cannot edit after tenant completes — cancel/restart if needed | No published condition-report e-sign product. Lease e-sign (HelloSign / Dropbox Sign historically) is for leases/docs you place signature fields on — not the same as TT Condition Reports. Wet-sign PDF then attach is the common path |
| PDF / export of signed report | You hold the original PDF; Export from Documents Hub / tenant or unit file list. No “Condition Reports” portfolio tab found | Download PDF from Actions on the report; completed copy in tenant portal Documents after landlord approval; Docs & E-Sign Condition Reports section for portfolio view | Download whatever you attached to the lease; keep local archive of signed PDFs |
| Tie-in to deposits / Moving Out | Education + refund-letter templates; store condition docs in tenant/unit files. No “Moving Out Checklist” product named like TT’s (see deposits page) | Moving Out Checklist on the lease + Condition Reports + in-app Return Security Deposit (photos/receipts). Help frames reports as evidence for deposit deductions | Education on move-out inspection purpose; deposit refunds typically external (see deposits page). Attach move-out packet to lease / keep local |
| Free vs paid gates | Documents + Signature Request sit on RentRedi’s paid flat subscription in current pricing pages we use — not a separate “inspection SKU” | Product page: streamlining condition reports online “for free.” Help Free-plan features list includes Condition Reports. Team-role assignment to Admins/Assistants called out for Premium users — confirm Free vs Essentials vs Pro labels live | PDF resources + lease attachments described as standard flows; not marketed in our sources as Plus-only. Confirm Unlimited vs Plus live |
Sources (Sep 2026): TurboTenant help — “Condition Reports for Landlords” (template, assign Tenants/Me/Someone Else, ratings, photos, Sign & Approve, PDF download, maintenance request, upload your own report); “Condition Report for Tenants” (portal To-Do, Agree and Sign, Documents download after approval; updated May 2026). TurboTenant product — condition-reports page (“for free”); pricing/help “Is There a Cost…” Free plan lists Condition Reports; Premium product-update Nov 2025 assign-to-anyone + Premium Team Roles note. TurboTenant marketing — Moving Out Checklist / rental inspection checklist pages; Return a Security Deposit help (move-out path). RentRedi help — “Rental Inspection Checklist” (example checklist, Jul 2024); “Upload a Document to a Unit” (inspection reports as unit-doc examples); “Upload a Document for a Tenant” (Signature Request vs Other Documents — photos/videos). RentRedi blog — printable inspection checklist PDF; move-in checklist / move-in-move-out inspection guides (store/share via dashboard). Avail education — “Move-In Checklist for Landlords and Tenants” (updated Aug 2026; key codes; ~72h return; maintenance tracker cross-sell). Avail community — separate checklist, scan, upload to lease; staff links to free Move-In/Out checklist PDF on resources. Cross-cutting: document-vault page notes on TT Condition Report photos; deposits page on TT Moving Out Checklist. Not found: AI damage detection, automatic dollar deductions from photos, or native video-analysis inspection products on RR/TT/Avail. Re-verify menus and plan gates in a live account.
Free vs paid: who should upgrade for inspections
- TurboTenant: Stay Free if Online Condition Reports + PDF download + Moving Out Checklist meet your needs — product/help treat Condition Reports as free-tier tooling. Upgrade to Essentials / Pro for leases pack, unlimited e-sign depth, Accounting, Team Roles (Admin/Assistant assignment called out for Premium) — not because Condition Reports suddenly appear.
- RentRedi: You’re already on the paid flat product for Documents Hub + Signature Request. Don’t invent an inspection add-on we didn’t find — decide on broader plan value.
- Avail: Do not buy Plus “just for a move-in checklist” based on the education/PDF path — that workflow is offline + attach. Pay Plus only for Plus features you need; confirm live.
- None: A PMS condition report is operational evidence, not a substitute for state-required notices, itemized deposit statements, or licensed inspectors when your situation needs them.
Worked example: SFH move-in → move-out carpet & wall deductions
Single-family rental. At move-in you want a signed baseline with photos of existing carpet wear in the living room and a scuffed hallway wall. Eighteen months later the tenant moves out: new carpet burn and a fist-sized hole in the same wall. You plan to compare reports, attach invoices, and return the remainder of a $2,000 deposit (illustrative dollars — not legal advice). Paths below are what help centers document.
| Step | RentRedi | TurboTenant | Avail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Create move-in baseline | Print RR checklist PDF (or your own). Walk unit; take phone photos of carpet + wall. Fill notes; both parties wet-sign — or complete digitally and export PDF | Lease Profile → Condition Reports → create template (spaces/items) → Send → type Move-In → assign Tenants (or Me / Someone Else) → due date. Tenant rates rooms, uploads photos, Agree and Sign → you Sign & Approve → Download PDF | Download Avail Move-In/Out checklist PDF (or your form). Tenant completes within your window (~72h education tip). You review and sign if you agree |
| 2. Store so both can find it later | Upload signed PDF (+ photo album if separate) to Tenant Documents; use Signature Request if you still need e-sign. Optionally keep a private copy on Unit Documents | Completed report lives on the lease profile + tenant portal Documents. Portfolio summary under Docs & E-Sign → Condition Reports | Scan/upload signed checklist as a lease attachment so landlord and tenant can download later (community pattern) |
| 3. Move-out comparison | New walkthrough with the same checklist layout; new dated photos of burn + hole. Store second PDF on tenant/unit files | Send a second Condition Report type Move-Out on the same lease template. Compare section ratings/photos to the move-in report side by side | Complete move-out column / new PDF walkthrough; attach to lease. Compare manually to move-in attachment |
| 4. Deposit closeout packet | Itemized letter (blog templates help, not legal forms) + invoices + both inspection PDFs + photos. Return via Send Money (beta) or external ACH — see deposits | Moving Out Checklist → Return Security Deposit; attach photos/receipts; keep both Condition Report PDFs in the lease file | External refund + itemized letter; lease attachments hold evidence. No published ACH deposit-refund wizard |
| 5. Cutover folder if you switch tools | Create inspections-YYYY-MM-DD/: every signed move-in/out PDF, raw photo folders labeled by room/date, a one-row sheet of report dates and who signed. Portal statuses and TT in-app ratings do not migrate. |
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At one door, TurboTenant wins if you want digital ratings + photos + dual e-sign + PDF without leaving the lease profile — and Free-tier access to Condition Reports per published lists. RentRedi wins if you already run a paper/PDF checklist and just need vault storage + Signature Request on the paid flat plan. Avail wins if you want free PDF + lease attachment simplicity and accept offline completion.
Cutover / switch handoff for inspection files
- Download every signed PDF first: TT Condition Report Downloads; RR tenant/unit Exports; Avail lease attachments. In-app rating UIs do not travel.
- Export photo originals: Prefer original phone/camera files (EXIF dates) over only in-app thumbnails when a dispute is possible.
- Rebuild templates: TT templates cannot be copied property-to-property per help FAQ — expect to recreate spaces/items on the destination tool or keep a master PDF template offline.
- Pair with deposit + vault pages: Security deposits for return workflows; document vault for where files sit; switch checklist for cutover timing.
- Do not assume e-sign audit trails migrate: Re-issue acknowledgments in the new system only if you still need fresh signatures — historical PDFs are your archive.
Fit notes for 1–20 units
- Want one native digital Condition Report with photos + e-sign on Free: TurboTenant.
- Want to assign a walkthrough link to a non-tenant helper: TurboTenant “Someone Else” assignment (Premium Team Roles for in-app Admins/Assistants — confirm).
- Want Signature Request on a checklist PDF you already use: RentRedi Tenant Documents.
- Want private landlord-only inspection archive on the unit: RentRedi Unit Documents.
- Want simplest free PDF + attach to lease: Avail resources checklist + lease attachment.
- Need deposit return with photos in the same product: TurboTenant Moving Out path — deepen on the deposits page.
- Need AI “detect damage and price it”: none of the three published that — don’t buy a PMS expecting it.
Honest uncertainty callouts
- TT Free vs Premium matrices change; we cite Free-plan Condition Reports + Premium Team Roles language as published — confirm the live matrix before you upgrade “for inspections.”
- RentRedi help’s inspection article is a checklist example, not a full product tour; we do not invent a room-rating UI that help does not describe.
- Avail community upload-to-lease tips are landlord practice, not a formal Condition Reports help article — treat as operational pattern plus education/PDF.
- “Time-stamped” in marketing may mean report activity timestamps, phone EXIF, or both — keep original photo files.
- Portal e-sign of a condition report is not the same as statutory deposit compliance or certified-mail notice requirements.
- No RR/TT/Avail source we used claims automatic dollar deductions from image recognition.
Related
- Roommate & co-tenant changes — walkthrough of a departing roommate’s space mid-lease
- Prorated rent & move-in charges — first-month proration, move-in bundles, mid-month credits
- Pet fees, pet rent & pet deposits — move-in photos for pet damage claims
- Renewals & lease extensions — notice windows, e-sign renewals vs new lease, rent bumps, free vs paid gates
- Applications & lead pipeline — inquiry → showings → application → screening handoff, free vs paid gates
- Security deposits & move-out — TT Moving Out Checklist + returns; where deductions land
- Document vault & lease files — where Condition Report PDFs and lease attachments live
- Lease & e-sign — lease signatures vs condition-report acknowledgments
- Maintenance & work orders — TT create request from a Condition Report; photos on tickets
- Tenant notices & communication logs — entry notice before routine inspections
- Insurance & COI reminders — newest peer; policies ≠ inspection reports
- Switch checklist — export binaries before you migrate
- RentRedi vs TurboTenant vs Avail — full criteria table
- Best PMS for 1–5 units — shortlist before you standardize move-in packets
- Rent roll & occupancy — vacancy timing pairs with move-out inspections
- Per-unit vs flat-rate break-even — subscription math
- Buying or selling with tenants in place: the buyer’s baseline walk-through for inherited tenants
- Required lease disclosures & addenda: the disclosure packet that goes out with the move-in condition report
- Abandoned units & left-behind belongings: inventorying what a tenant left behind
- Small Portfolio Desk home
Educational product research only — not legal, tax, or deposit-compliance advice. Condition reports and portal signatures are operational aids; allowable deductions, notice periods, and itemization rules are state- and lease-specific. Feature labels and plan gates change — confirm in a live account and with your attorney before you rely on a software workflow for a dispute.