In the third year, 55%. and so on, presuming you only touch-up or professionally clean between tenants.

You could have a seperate document that they give it back to you at such time they move.You should be able to scrape and touch up ant cracked or peeling paint without a complete repaint of areas.

Even if the property looks totally turnkey I still budget $1,000 to swap locks, touch up some paint, replace a faucet, upgrade a toilet, etc.When running numbers on a deal I view the potential return on the property as if it were a dividend-paying stock: total ANNUAL cash flow / down payment + closing costs + repair costs = cash-on-cash return %.I am looking at a deal now for $185,000 that probably rents for close to $1,400 and cash flows around $300.

You'll have to trust that it needs rehab (even if it's just touch up paint) at turnover. 

This is now a tomorrow issue, and hopefully it will get resolved as we're starting sheetrock on the first floor tomorrow.We also got some additional bids today:- Interior Paint (Labor and Materials): $5400- Exterior Paint (Labor and Materials): $2700- Trim/Carpentry Materials: $3000- Trim/Carpentry Labor - $3150The interior paint bid seems high to us ($2 per living space square foot), but we've been using this painter for 5 years and he swears that this is his standard price for new construction, as there's a lot of extra cost (caulking, priming, extra touch-ups after sheetrock touch-ups, etc).Also, I had originally estimated finish carpentry/trim and interior doors to be about $13,000.

Buy a place that's ready to rent or just needs a few touch ups in a more rural area.

I started with turnkey to get into REI, but now with a little more experience under my belt, I'm considering selling my turnkeys at a loss and moving on to something with more meat on the bones.Exterior - $225- pressure wash- remove damaged/torn window screens- remove all stickers from all windows- repair hole in soffit to the right of chimneyMain Interior - $825- repair/replace damaged sheetrock- wipe down and clean all walls throughout house- wipe down and clean all doors, trim and baseboards and throughout house- touch up paint on walls- touch up paint on trim and doors- replace missing/broken blinds- replace missing/broken doorknobs- replace missing/broken light switch and outlet covers- replace missing/broken light bulbs- make sure all doors open/shut properly- make sure all windows open/close properly- replace air filter- replace batteries in the smoke detectors- remove all trash from attic- clean and paint all bars and shelves in closets- clean all AC vents and return vents- make sure all drawers and cabinets open and close properly- make sure to clean out all drawers and cabinetsLiving Room - $10- clean and paint fireplace with black high heat paintKitchen - $55- wipe down and clean all cabinets, inside and out- touch up paint on cabinets- paint under sink- tighten loose cabinet hardware- caulk sink, floor, counter- replace broken trim on ends of countertopsLaundry Room - $10- clean and paint inside washer box- clean out dryer ventHalf Bathroom - $25- wipe down and clean all cabinets, inside and out- touch up paint on cabinets- paint under sink- tighten loose cabinet hardware- caulk toilet, sink, tub, floor- tighten door handleMaster Bathroom - $75- paint cabinets inside and out- tighten loose cabinet hardware- caulk toilet, sink, tub, floor- fill in missing grout in showerHall Bathroom - $35- wipe down and clean all cabinets, inside and out- touch up paint on cabinets- paint under sink- tighten loose cabinet hardware- caulk toilet, sink, tub, floorStairs - $20- paint handrail- paint banasterGarage - $25- pressure wash garage floorLocks - $300Yard - $175- cut, edge, weedeat- trim bushes- trim up trees- clean up fencelines- haul off all trash- Remove grass from cracks in concrete- remove all loose limbs and debris- clean out flower bedsFlooring - $275- clean all carpetsCarpet Cleaning Estimate: $275Garage - $100Program two new garage door remotesPest Control - $85- pest control needed: General pest sprayTrash - $350- remove trash at the curbCleaning - $120

You can mitigate some of the cost by putting in hard flooring instead of carpet, but you still have to touch up paint which costs money.

Unless your lease addresses this item specifically, you have a weak argument to make.Overall, I would say that if you only spent a few hours, a few bucks in light bulbs and batteries, and paint touch ups (all from your original post) after the tenant lived there 18 months, you did ok.There are different strategies regarding security deposits.

Im talking about trash-out, touch-up paint, clean-out and multiple offers all on the first week.