How To Handle Rent Deposit Cleaning Fee From Relocating Tenant?

[Gil Happy]

Hello,

I need some guidance on how to handle first month rent, security deposit, and cleaning fee.

To explain, I am currently living in my condo with all of my furniture and I have it up for rent and I have someone who is very interested in renting my condo. In fact, they have passed the screening process (criminal and credit check) with flying colors and would like to move forward with next steps

Here is my predicament - they are moving from out of town and found my place online and love it. In fact, their new job starts on September 1, but they want to move in around the middle of August. My question is, since they never viewed my condo in person (it is in a great location and was completely renovated a couple of months ago - I have previously been doing corporate rentals on it for many years), how do I make sure that when they arrive, they don't want to back out of moving into my condo after I have moved all my furniture of the unit, cancelled utilities, etc?

Do I collect all of the rent, damage deposit, and cleaning fee in the next day or so and tell them it is non-refundable? Do I collect everything on the day that they move in? Basically I don't want them to back out after I have moved out in case for some strange reason they say it doesn't look like the pictures, or that the location is not what they think it was, etc? At the end of the day, I want them to feel comfortable with their decision, but I don't want to move my furniture out and have them back out for any reason.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Nathan Gesner]

I have them sign a "Holding Agreement" that basically says I am accepting a Holding Deposit and will hold the property for them until (DATE). On that date, I expect them to sign the lease and start renting the property. At that point, their Holding Deposit becomes a Security Deposit and is subject to the terms of the lease agreement. I also include a "sight unseen" clause that says we use marketing to attract in-person inspections but the individual chose to rent without seeing the property in person. They have to acknowledge we will not refund the deposit if they change their mind because of location, size, condition, or any other issue that would have been discovered by an in-person inspection.

If they change their mind or otherwise fail to rent, the Holding Deposit is forfeited completely.

I manage around 400 rentals and people forfeit the deposit about a dozen times every year. It's usually because their plans change but sometimes they show up and decide the rental doesn't fit their needs.