Reasonable cost to paint, patch, sand a 10X10 room

[Jackie Liu]

Hello BP members, I have a SFR rental location in Indianapolis in the Near Westside area. My tenant of 1 year just moved out recently (work transfer), but during the move-out inspection we found that one of the 10X10 bedroom has all four side of the wall covered in screw holes from the time they used it as a computer room (I believe the holes were from the sound deadening foam that they used to attach to the wall) So I was wondering what would seem to be a fairly reasonable cost to be deducted from their Security Deposit for the excessive holes and needing to repaint.

[Sean MacDonald]

If your tenant left the bedroom with all four walls covered in screw holes, you're looking at costs for both patching and repainting. For a 10x10 room, patching all the holes could run about $100 to $200 depending on the extent of the damage and local labor costs. Repainting the entire room would likely add another $300 to $600, so in total, you're looking at a reasonable deduction of around $400 to $800 from the security deposit. It's a good idea to get an estimate from a contractor to back up your deduction and keep everything transparent for the tenant.