All Forum Posts by: Susan M.

I need someone reliable and knowledgeable to do turnover cleaning for our properties.  I've hired cleaning people in the past but they don't seem to have a concept of the different things that need to be cleaned as part of a turnover.  Things like light fixtures and pulling out appliances and cleaning behind them, window sills and deep cleaning tubs, etc.

Does anyone have a recommendation for someone in Columbus OH to do this kind of work?  I just had someone quote me $350 which seems WAY out of the ballpark for this.  I'm thinking $20-$25 per hour for 8 hours max and that's probably way more than needed.

I appreciate any references.

I understand your view on both sides but for me it's a matter of the potential precedent you are setting by doing what they are asking.  What's next?  Will they want you to clean the scum out of their tub?  Scrub toilets?  This is a cleaning/maintenance item, just like light bulbs or vacuuming. I would simply respond and say that this type of maintenance is their responsibility.

The only way I would do this if it was dirty when they moved in and they want it cleaned, I would probably just do it but explain after this time that it was their responsibility.  The only other possible way I would do this would be if the light were unreachable by someone without a ladder or something and you were afraid of the tenant getting hurt in the process.  Then I might take care of it the next time I was in the area with a ladder, but I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to do it.

Yes, mountains of paperwork.  It took me about a month to get through the process.

I've had difficulty with the same thing. My property values are low, in the 40s, so no one wants to touch them for a typical refi. I did end up getting a commercial LOC from Kemba financial credit union but it was a lot of work to get it.

Yet another great example of why I do Month-to-Month leases.  Yes, it is in your best interest, and it is your responsibility by law, to keep your property "habitable" which I guess depending on interpretation could include keeping your properties pest free.  But as you know, if you have a tenant who lives in a manner that creates pest problems, this could be very expensive for you.  With a M2M lease, as soon as you realize that your tenant is dirty, you give them notice and find someone who won't live like a pig.

In reading another post on a similar topic (you should search) someone posted that in TX, "lease rules" so apparently you can add things to your lease that supersede law and it's cool.  That wouldn't fly in OH.  But again, I don't worry about these issues because I do M2M leases.

We saw some track lights with integrated LED recently but decided against them since, if the bulb goes bad, you have to trash the whole fixture.  In a single bulb fixture that may not be a big deal, but when you're talking multiple bulb fixtures the odds of having a bad bulb in there increase.  We weren't willing to take the risk.  We'd gladly do LED, just not integrated.

I definitely agree that better pictures of more of the house would help.  I didn't notice a picture of the living room at all, or if there was one it wasn't easily identifiable.  Some cute backsplash in the kitchen would help and is fairly easy.  Also, looks like there was a space for a dishwasher, but you don't provide one.  Do other rentals provide a DW?  I would consider adding one.  Decent ones can be had <$300 from scratch/dent.

I just heard some statistic the other day about something like 70% of people have ZERO savings or something like that.  Don't quote me, but basically the fact is that  you're going to be hard pressed to find someone that has nearly $1500 for a deposit PLUS the first month's rent to move in.  I'd reduce the deposit to one month's rent and I'd consider working with someone on getting it paid in chunks rather than all at once if you continue to struggle, but that doesn't solve your problem of just getting people to respond, but it could be the next step.

Better pictures of the house and yard and maybe just a few upgrades might help. It's a super cute house.

I do something similar and have been doing it for the past couple of years. I use an online web form instead of email and direct everyone to the URL and tell them they must provide the information before being contacted for a showing. Does it cut down on responses? You bet.  Was that my whole reason for doing it?  You bet.  Just like you, I didn't see any point in wasting my time on hundreds of calls or emails from tire kickers and this process has greatly reduced the amount of time I spend on people who I don't want and has quite honestly reduced the pain and suffering that is a large part of filling vacancies.  I have better things to do with my time.  And I ask way more questions than you do.  Who will be living in the unit?  How many pets?  Why are you moving?  Why are you interested in this property?  Evictions?  Bankruptcies?  How many cars for parking?  Some will lie, yes, but some will not and regardless you can Google them and get a head start.

I use it as part of my screening.  If they can't follow instructions and answer the questions then I'm not interested in talking to them.  If they can at least do what I ask, they're a step up.  Do some of them lie?  Absolutely.  Do some people tell the truth and automatically disqualify themselves?  Absolutely.  Do I lose people who would rather talk to someone?  Maybe. Does it still save a ton of time and narrow down your field to a much better pool of potential applicants?  Absolutely.  I get some interesting answers and I'm dealing with the people I am more likely to rent to.  If you want to talk to me in person and won't fill out an online app/form then I don't want you as a tenant because I want my tenants to be savvy in these ways.  It's my choice, these are my tenants.  It works.

Best thing we ever did was change all of our locks over to Landlord Locks.  I carry one key, it opens all my properties.  Tenants all have individual keys.  We can swap out locks between tenants very easily.

http://landlordlocks.com/

With those minor items left to finish, absolutely start showing.  Tenants can't see past ripped up flooring, unpainted walls, missing cabinets, etc. so I've never found it worth the effort to show in this condition, but some quarter round and some tools laying around shouldn't be a big deal.