With rentals, what are you doing at checkout

[Sunny P.]

My tenant is moving out on Friday and I wanted to know what is your checkout process? 

I am planning on getting the carpets steamed but I would like to know about the cleaning.

Should I get the place back cleaned like they got when they moved in?  

Should I get the place back painted with no  nail holes like when they moved in?

Any help is appreciated.  Thank you

[Brendon Woirhaye]

Have you done a "pre-vacancy walkthrough" with the tenant yet?  If you do, you can point out things which they may have overlooked that they can address before they leave, thus saving you from doing it and deducting some costs from their security deposit.  For many of my tenants, I have a completed "move in" form which details the condition of things when they moved in, so if something wasn't in good shape, I don't ding the tenant who wasn't responsible for it.

If the carpets are in good condition, you can steam clean them.  If not, you may want to replace.

I have had tenants who did a thorough steam cleaning of their carpets when they left and had a place close to rent-ready for the next person.  Other tenants left the place a total mess and it was a significant amount of work to clean them up.

When they are ready to leave and hand over the keys, I do a walk through of every room, preferably with the tenant right there, identifying things which go beyond normal wear and tear.  Broken outlet plate?  Missing doorknob?  Cracked window?  Crumpled mini-blinds?  Dirty ceiling fan blades?  Items which are normal wear and tear (noting that your 5 year old carpet is thin in the hallway, the 5 year old paint is chipped and dingy) are not things you would charge the tenant for, but if they ruined 1 year old carpet - note that.  I also look around the exterior - point out that they need to throw out that trash by the back door, take those last two boxes out of the garage.

In my state, I have 21 days to send the tenant a written accounting of any deductions from their security deposit.