Turnover Logistics Question for Zero Vacancy

[John Woodington]

I'm going to be doing my first turnover on our rental property at the end of April, and I can't wrap my head around how this works so that I have no vacancy for the year.  If my current tenants move out on April 30, and the new ones move in on May 1, where do I squeeze in the time to have the cleaning crew run through, plus patch and paint any wall damage?  Do I just tell the new tenants that move in day is May 5 and prorate the first month?  That wouldn't be ideal for them, since they'd probably be moving out of some other place on April 30 as well.  Any feedback on the logistics of turnover would be appreciated.  Thanks!

[Julie Hartman]

It can be tricky but the way we do it is have the out going tenant have the carpets professionally cleaned and provide the receipt. They also must clean the property. If they don't get them done or not well enough, we have service people that can get it done quickly. I ask the tenant ahead of time if they plan to do the carpets and if they don't, that gives me time to schedule it for very early on the 1st or late on the 30th. If there are no major repairs, then we hold off on the small repairs until the tenant is moved in. They usually have a few small repair requests anyway, so our handyman only goes out once. The larger PM's usually have their own in-house staff and can make things happen at a moments notice. If there are major repairs, then you can see if the in-coming tenant is willing to move in a few days late.