First Turnover Advice

[Brian Washburn]

I currently own 1 SFDU rental in Omaha, NE and my first tenants are going to be moving out at the end of October. I am looking for advice/tips on how to execute a turnover with maximum efficiency. Here are a couple of questions I am thinking about:

- They have told me they are moving out at the end of their lease a few months ago, but have not given written notice that they are vacating yet. Do I need to wait for that written notice before I start advertising the house for new tenants?

- At the actual time of turnover, how do I minimize the time the house is vacant? I am going to need to get a carpet cleaner in there, likely have a cleaning service come in for a day, and a few other small maintenance tasks. How does the timing work here? If they move out the last day of Oct, I will ideally have a new tenant ready to move in on 11/1, but that would not allow me any time to tackle these items? Do I just need to try and schedule the carpet cleaners and cleaning crew for the same day and tell the new tenants they will need to deal with a few days of work in the house? I could get the carpet cleaning done before they move out, but all their stuff would still be in the way?

You can see the main jist of my question. What are your best tips for making turnover quick and easy?

[Daniela Filbrandt]

Hi Brian! :) 

I would suggest asking them to move out by noon the day their lease ends and scheduling the cleaners right away for when they vacate the property. We have had a cleaning crews come in after-hours as well to make sure we have the least amount of vacancy time. 

Maybe moving forward add language to your contract regarding move out procedures that would give you time to turn over the property quicker. Hope this helps!