How picky do you get with move-out inspections?

Question

So I just did my first move-out inspection. Over all the tenants left it in good shape. Besides the obvious things that I will charge them for (like the broken kitchen cabinet door) how picky do you get on inspection and what you charge your tenant for? I don't want to be the knit picky type of LL that tries to nickle & dime people but I am trying to find that balance that is general wear and tear and what is excessive wear and tear and should be taken out of the tenants deposit. Here are a couple specific examples I came across today:

• 1. Hardwood Floors    - How do you treat scratches from the dogs?     - Scratches from furniture? Some areas look like the sofa was sitting there and scratched the floor from ppl getting on & off it. Others      are areas where their self made wooden benches where sitting in the dining room and was pulled back and forth for a year and left       heavy scratches and scrapes.2. Paint damage
•     - Small scratches and chips from maybe a toy or something vs large areas where chairs had rubbed the walls blacks.    - Damage to door jambs. Most of the jambs have a couple dings or scrapes but a couple have A LOT of paint damage. At what point is it      normal w&t vs excessive? Same with base boards. It looks like move-in or move-out type damage.
• 3. Stuff being left - they left a couple small things (nothing major or expensive) but I still have to move it and toss it.4. General cleaning   - They did a good job cleaning but some areas will still need to be cleaned again. Thanks for any input everyone. This is in washington state btw.

Kyle J. · Answer

I'll preface my response by saying I'm not nit-picky, try not to nickle-and-dime tenants, and only deduct for legitimate damage and never wear-and-tear.  However, sometimes it's not always clear-cut because there isn't exactly an all inclusive list of "this is always damage and this is always wear-and-tear".  Sure, there are examples, but it's usually never "this is always..." or "this is never...".   It's often case-by-case.

With that being said, I consider:

1) What does the law say? (Does the law say a particular thing is damage vs wear-and-tear?  Or give an example of something similar enough to be relevant?)

2) Even if it's damage, is it going to cost me anything to fix/remedy it?  (If not, I don't charge the tenant.)

3) If there's damage that's going to cost me, but it's relatively minor and the tenants were good tenants and they were with me for a long time and otherwise fulfilled their lease and made an effort at cleaning the place when they moved out, I'm not going to charge for it.

So, now to use your specific examples:

First, the hardwood floors.  Scratches on the hardwood floors could, depending on the extent of them, be considered damage.  Always harder to tell without seeing photos, but certainly "heavy scratches" could be considered damage.  Especially if the floors were in good, damage-free condition before they moved in.

Paint is a little trickier because, in many states, paint is assumed to have a maximum useful life.  So, in my state for example, I couldn't generally deduct for paint after two years (and only pro-rated if less than that).  So ultimately it could depend on how long since you last painted.  But also whether it would cost you anything to fix/remedy.  For me, I have extra paint and do my own touch-up painting, so what has been described wouldn't cost me anything (and I fix stuff like this all the time and don't charge for it).

As for the stuff being left, if they just left "a couple small things" that you just "have to move it and toss it", then I don't think you should or could charge for that (I wouldn't).  However, I have had tenants leave multiple truckloads of junk/garbage behind because they were too lazy to load it up and take it, and it required me to haul it away to the county landfill and pay to dump it.  You can bet I charged them for that.

Lastly, the cleaning.  This is often dictated by state law.  However, my own personal rule is that if they make an effort and leave it reasonably clean ("broom swept"), I'm not going to charge them anything.  I'm going to have my professional cleaners come in there anyway before I re-list it and give the whole place a professional cleaning so it shows nice and rents quicker.  Most likely if it's just a little dirt here and there it'd fall under normal wear-and-tear anyway.

Ultimately, this isn't an exact science, but hopefully this all helps make it a little clearer.

Ethan Jacobsen · Answer

Everything really depends on how the tenant received the unit and what the expectations were according to the lease. We take 150+ pictures at move in so that we can accurately show tenants before and after examples if they've damaged anything. I usually err on the side of charging though because you can always change your mind and send more money back to them, but you can't ever get that money back. It may feel nit-picky, but that's okay.

Refinishing hardwood floors can be pricey, but the next tenant will likely do the same thing to it. Also if you don't repair them now, you won't be able to charge the next tenant either. This is kind of an owner preference thing I'd say and it's very dependent on the condition at move-in.

Paint should have a normal lifetime of a few years (we say 3), so you can charge them a prorated amount depending on how long they lived there. We don't usually charge beyond the prorated amount we have to pay unless there are obvious things that have to be repaired like holes in the walls or larger damage. Scuffs are fairly common and touch up shouldn't be too bad usually so pro-rating that shouldn't be too bad.

If you have to haul away stuff, that should be charged to them. Otherwise most cleaners can take a bag or two and throw it out.

Cleaning is something that you should always have a professional do. In my experience, I've done TONS of move outs and only about 3 units have been cleaned by a tenant to a professional standard. If you gave them a professionally cleaned unit, they should return it that way.

Percy Matsunaga · Answer

@ Nik

I think whenever you do a final walk thru most time the tenant is going to expect the obvious. 1- they will be charged for cleaning the whole house. Carpet cleaning or general cleaning.

2- anything major repairs for the next tenant to be able to live comfortably. if cabinets are broken then those need to get fixed.

3- excess trash or garbage that needs to get dumped. If they left it, then we should charge them to dump it. They need to understand that they leave the house just like they way the entered at the start.

Other than that, I think it’s all minor stuff that might be wear and tear during the years of living.

Try not to sweat the small stuff.

Nik Moushon · Answer

Thanks for the response. I know there is no clear line on a lot of this stuff. Thats why I'm asking. Trying to get a general sense of what others are doing. I've only been on the receiving end of this and don't want to be like the a-holes I've dealt with in the past. I have updated my OP since your questions are things I should've mentioned. They were only there for 13 months. Prior to them, I lived there with my family (wife and kid). The hardwood floors has been completely refinished when we moved in a year before that (so two years ago). We do not have a dog and my wife is obsessive with making sure furniture has pads on all the feet. So I know the floors where in near perfect shape. We painted the entire house before we turned it to a rental. Painted all one color (except ceiling, its white) so its easier to touch up. I don't mind doing to small touch ups as I know that just comes with the business. Its the bigger areas I was focusing on. I will probably just bill for the couple hours it will take to do all that (walls, jambs and base boards).

I will make sure to double check the state laws. Thats a good one to make sure i get right.

How picky do you get with move-out inspections?

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