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You packed your bags, hauled the boxes out to the truck, took a nostalgic look, and were off and running.
Then you remembered that maybe you should clean a bit.
After all, there was a security deposit that you gave to the Landlord, and it would be nice to have that back-all of it!! What many people must remember also is the amount of work that goes into preparing an apartment for the next Tenant.
If the costs of time and labor alone were fully factored, it would be difficult to generate the kind of balance on your security deposit that you would come to expect.
For example, buying paint to repaint an entire apartment costs more than $100 by itself.
Now, you have to figure how long it takes to do the job right, which typically means more than one coat of paint.
So to help Tenants, we provide three important things.
The first is during lease signing.
Among the copies that all Tenants receive is replacement cost sheet.
This notice that all Tenants must sign as acknowledgment of receiving and reviewing details the costs to the Tenant for specific cleaning, painting, and restoration jobs should the Landlord need to take care of these items.
The second is the apartment inspection sheet, also given to you at lease signing.
Though we try to do our best to cover all facets of preparing an apartment, there are items that might have been missed unintentionally.
When you have gone through the apartment and if there were any items that were cited, this apartment inspection sheet stays in your file and is used to compare the work needed to be done upon vacancy from the apartment.
The third is before moving out.
We provide you with a move-out checklist.
This checklist will give you very good idea of what you as the Tenant must do, keeping in mind your apartment inspection sheet, to recover that full balance.
Here are some of the items that are listed on our move-out checklist:
- Bathroom: Clean above and below the bathroom sink; clean the shower door tracks, the shower doors, and of course scrub the bathtub and/or the shower base.
Clean the medicine cabinets and make sure that they are in good working condition.
Clean the tiled walls and mirrors.
Make sure the toilet inside and out has been cleaned.
Check the exhaust fan and clean the exhaust fan cover. - Bedroom: Dust off and clean the inside of the windows and window sills.
Clean the closets, closet door(s), shelving.
Vacuum and carpet clean the carpeting.
Paint the room or touch-up marks and scratches, if possible. - Kitchen: Give a nice wash down of the cabinets and cupboards as well as the countertops.
Scrub the oven, range top, and broiler especially if you used the range a lot.
Clean the range hood and check the hood fan to make sure it works.
Mop or clean the kitchen floor.
Clean the dishwasher.
Make sure the refrigerator is nice and shiny clean, both inside and outside.
It is not a basis for income and is only to be used when necessary.
The more time that you can save the Landlord in showing and leasing to a new Tenant, the better your chance is to recovering the full or near full deposit.
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