Security Deposit and handing over the keys

[Bob Drew]

Hi all,

I am a newbie landlord that needs some help. A young couple screened successfully and I am interested in moving forward with the process with them. They'll only be able to move in on March 24. My questions:

1. Should I take the security deposit from them or closer to the moving date?

2. When should I do a walk through of the house and handover the keys?

3. How do I calculate the rent between March 24 and April 1? Will that rent be due on March 24 or should I collect that rent now?

4. The HOA requires them to buy renters insurance. Do I wait for all that paperwork to be done only after I give them the keys?

Thanks

[Kenneth Cowan]

I would recommend having the process from screening to move in laid out in a “Application Procedures” document to give them in the future. We use a deposit to hold the unit which becomes the deposit once a lease is signed. So once we let a tenant know they’ve been chosen we give them 48 hours to put down the deposit which holds the unit until they sign the lease. Then when they sign the lease it becomes their deposit. We do keys at the walkthrough which is day 1 of their lease or possibly day -1 depending on arrangements. I wouldn’t turn over keys before their lease starts. I’d recommend making sure everything is in line with your local laws too. There’s lots of little things here in Chicago we have to do which we didn’t do right the first time around.