Y-Säätiö's housing manager, Mika Ukkonen, shares his experiences using Komu's apartment inspection product.

We interviewed Mika Ukkonen, a housing manager at Y-Säätiö, about his experiences using Komu's apartment inspection product. Y-Säätiö is Finland's largest nonprofit landlord operating nationwide, and Komu has been successfully collaborating with Y-Säätiö's M2-Kodit apartment portfolio since November 2021. The aim of using Komu's apartment inspection product was to test whether a move-out cleaning guide could more effectively reach residents, thereby improving the cleanliness level of the apartments.

A high completion rate has been achieved with the digital report template.

Mika Ukkonen has been pleasantly surprised by the high percentage of apartment inspection forms that have been returned to the property manager by residents. In Mika's own apartment portfolio, forms were sent to 150 departing tenants from February 2022 to September 2023, with as many as 106 forms returned. Thus, the digital report template has achieved a completion rate of over 70%, meaning seven out of ten (7/10) movers read the instructions and follow them accordingly. "For new developments, 60 warranty inspection forms were sent out, and 40 were returned. That also approaches a 70% completion rate - it's a really good percentage," Mika explains with satisfaction. Y-Säätiö has tried warranty inspections in a few new developments with good experiences. "In warranty inspections of new developments, when using paper forms, the completion rate is not the same," Mika notes.

With the adoption of Komu, the cleanliness level of the apartments has improved.

The implementation of Komu's apartment inspection product has had several positive effects. The three main benefits achieved with the product are:

1. Cleanliness has improved in apartments where the form has been filled out.
2. It has been possible to anticipate potential damages to apartments in advance.
3. The completion rate of the forms is high.

"Apartments have been left in a generally cleaner condition. Preliminary information about any damages that may have occurred in the apartment, which need to be repaired, has also been obtained from residents. This allows for anticipation. I have made direct repair requests based on the information found in the form, as the repair requests coming through the form are very credible, and can be trusted," Mika explains.

According to Mika's experiences, the form contains all the necessary factual information, including the return of keys. It is crucial to remind residents of basic things, such as the proper defrosting of freezers, as these simple matters can easily be forgotten.

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Documenting the condition of an apartment is in the interest of both the landlord and the tenant.

It's always advisable to inspect a rental apartment at both move-in and move-out to avoid any uncertainty about the condition of the apartment for either the tenant or the landlord. Both parties benefit when there is no need to bill the outgoing tenant afterwards, and disputes and misunderstandings are avoided.

"The product is particularly useful in situations where the new and old tenants might exchange keys among themselves, thanks to Komu's apartment inspection product, there's documentation of the condition the former resident left the apartment in," Mika explains.

Komu was recommended at the Kiinko training event.

Mika has been so satisfied with Komu's product that he also recommended it to other property managers at a training event organized by Kiinko (February 3, 2022).

"I shared with other property managers my own way of conducting move-out inspections using Komu's product, as well as the positive experiences resulting from its implementation. When showing the form to property managers, they nodded in agreement that it looks good. I recommended the product to them, saying that it's worth considering for making move-out inspections easier," Mika explains.

Would you like to hear more about the apartment inspection product?

Komu's products are already used in over 83,000 apartments in Finland, and our clients include Y-Säätiö, Asuntosäätiö, Espoon Asunnot, and NREP, among others. Our move-out form has been found effective by our client companies, and we offer new clients a pilot period at a reduced price.

If you're interested in piloting and a broader product presentation, please contact us!

Elmo Rantala

elmo@komuhomes.com