Move-Ins or "Turnovers"
It is my theory that the kind of apartment or house you give a tenant sets the tone for the way they will leave it and treat it while they are there.
A lovely clean house, with no glaring deficiencies, is what every tenant wants on move-in. They will recommend you to their friends, and renew their lease if they feel they have found a comfortable place to live. It also reduces the amount of "testing" they do once they move in, which really saves the owner more money in the end. It is much easier and cost-effective to do work on a vacant house or apartment.
There will more than likely be customized things to do for a turnover, depending on how it was left. The very minimum, though, is as follows:
- Holes patched
- Touch-up paint
- Paint & Plaster
- Touch-up clean
- Cleaning
- Carpet Cleaning
- Fresh batteries for smoke detector
- Filters for furnace (replace, and leave the rest of the pack for the tenant, and explain how often they are to be changed).
- Clean/service c/a or furnace weather allowing, if not already done
- HVAC service
- Remove anything left by previous tenant
- Hauling
- Hauling things of value
The terms under which a tenant may move out are established in the lease. It is not up to us to interpret this - we have to enforce the language of the lease. As such, tenants usually must give written notice of move-out.
