Rookie landlord looking for advice from wise veteran!

[Rich Cavanagh]

So... a little personal background. I'm rather new to the REI game and hire a property manager. I have 2 rentals and just recently ended a lease with a family on a pretty large family home. (2000 sq ft, 4bed/2bath).

The renters were are really nice family and did a great job at cleaning and leaving the home in good condition minus a few major issues below...

1. They smoked which was prohibited.(smell is noticeable and burn marks in the carpet)
2. They did a very rough job patching small holes from pictures etc and touched up the paint incorrectly. (lease states no painting without permission)

*Also these aren't just a few scattered patches. Some walls have 10-15 baseball sized touch ups. So its almost requiring a full repaint.

I can tell they had good intentions with the patching of the holes and touch ups but they used a different enough color that it is noticeable. The worst part about the touch ups is that they used flat instead of satin so the patches are VERY noticeable at any angle. Especially with all of the natural light that comes in.

The walls were also just freshly painted prior to me leasing it to them.

My property manager is hesitant to take the entire $1200 deposit. I can personally repaint most of the walls and touch up the rest but that only takes care of all the patches. What about the smoke smell? I've heard repainting the whole house may be necessary as well as carpet cleaning.

I'm interested to hear how you vets would handle the same situation so I can get a different perspective.

Appreciate it!

[Alfonso Villafuerte]

1. You need to fire the property manager.

2. You need to hire a second property manager.

Always check on them without letting them know you are checking on them.

Follow this step use primer paint flat with color and always use the same color for all your properties.

I use oyster, Swiss coffee, antique white, and last but not least white.

This helps you keep all in order and you will not need to buy special paints. Keep

2 or 3 Paints in order and you will never run our of paint.