I had my first new tenants in over 2 years. My tenants have just not been leaving me. Anyway I did the thing right where the old tenant moved out yesterday on the 31st and the new tenant moved in today the first. How do you do a make ready between tenants when there is no time?
Not knowing anything else, your rent’s too cheap. Just saying.
No renters I’ve had (when paying full retail) would move in site unseen.
No clean up? Sounds like way too motivated a renter for me (or way too motivated landlord), unless I was getting a giant deposit and a co-signer.
Then maybe.
Two year’s worth of wear and tear, are two year’s worth of wear and tear.
If the new tenants are happy with ‘that’ imagine how happy they’ll be when two more year’s worth of wear and tear rolls around.
The new tenants won’t treat the unit as well as you have …and you’ve skipped a ‘sprucing.’ What’s that say.
Why did you not do a clean up, again?
My rent is not cheap but my product is primo. I did a make ready overnight which is crazy. How do you guys do it. Always take down time for the make ready?
We have been trying to make our places quick and easy to clean, we have started using more hardwood flooring as apposed to carpet. My wife, myself and usually one other person can go in at 8:00 a.m. wipe down walls clean out cabinets, vacuum and steam the floors, clean the bathrooms and have it ready by 6:00 p.m. But if you have tenants from hell all bets are off! The last family that moved out left about $6K worth of damage and that took about 3 days. There are also some cleaning services that can do a quick turn around. When I rented properties it was always my goal to get my full deposit back, but those people are few and far between.
good luck
randyscott
Hopefully, you live in an area where you can charge security deposits that you can deduct a large cleaning charge from to motivate tenants to keep their apartments clean. Regretably, I don’t.
I had to deal with a few moves today. I had one tenant move from a bachelor to a one-bedroom and the fridge was filthy dirty with mold from spills at the bottom. When I knocked on the tenant’s door she said it would be cleaned, but didn’t. My assistant told me he doesn’t want to work on a Sunday.
I had to juggle my day to get the apartment cleaned and just was straightforward to the tenant and told him that the tenant that moved into another unit promised to have it cleaned, but didn’t and that I’ll do it while he’s moving in, which I did. I already had good rapport with him while he was filling out the application. He actually thanked me for not letting him be stuck with cleaning up someone else’s mess. Glad I’m not letting people in with FICO scores less than 730 as in the past the nastiest tenants were the ones with the lowest scores. You just have to deal with problems as they arise and be positive about it. Not much else you can do. I’d rather be working on one of my boats and cruising on the lake, but whatever.
Well, that makes more sense. I inferred that you had no time to clean the place with the question how we do it with no time…
I really don’t see the necessity of putting myself/management into a time crunch like that. It costs me too much in other ways, to be that anal retentive.
The only time I’m willing to work to the bone, is finding and closing on a steal. Then I’ll stay up all night creating blisters on my fingers from rubbing them together. But working overnight to save a day’s lost rent? pffft.
I had tenants today move into a half-cleaned unit. They got a day’s rent deduction for finishing the cleaning themselves.
They also got out of their two suite rentals at Candlewood, thereby saving themselves big bucks. The tenants were two working couples from Texas. They are just here to make money for a few months and then get back home. Our furnished 2-bedroom place really cut their housing cost down. I just tried to put myself in their shoes…“You finish cleaning this kitchen and you get a free day’s rent, and can move right in.” Money talks. Saving money moved them in.
Cleaning a furnished vacant unit can take 3 hours to 3 days. We charge extra when we can, but good will is more important than getting every nickel of cleaning time reimbursed. There is such variance in how people live, and what they consider clean.
We tell tenants via our “Move Out Instructions” sheet what we expect and what we will charge: $20 to pick up cigarette butts, $20 to clean microwave oven, $20 to clean refrigerator, etc."
Turning a house around in a few hours is always our goal. We throw everyone in there to clean, dust, change lightbulbs, re-grout the bathtub, whatever, and just get the unit ready.
We have maintained 95% occupancy since January on our 30 furnished rental homes. This is not easy, considering there has been carpet cleaning, painting, and repairs also as needed. This push for full occupancy has really pushed up profits. You never get back the lost rent.
We do rent a lot sight unseen, unlike javipa. To great tenants.
We do bust our butts to turn around a unit, unlike davewindsor.
So doing a “make ready” overnight is not crazy, Bluemoon06, it is just prudent business practice in my opinion. Have those cleaners (or yourself) ready and just hammer it. Your P & L will thank you.
Furnishedowner
Whoops, it was javipa who didn’t like hustling to turn around a unit, not you davewindsor.
We landlords have figured out what works best for us in our little market niche. I don’t mean to put down you guys who are doing unfurnished rentals and at a different pace.
Here I have high demand, lots of referrals, and I wish I had a whole apartment house that I could furnish right now. I know what people want:
Flexibility on rent payments (Pay checks come in on Fridays)
Cleanliness
Function–everything works
Washers/dryers
TVs, internet, DVR’s
Stuff to cook and BBQ with
King Beds
Recliners, sleeper sofas
Air conditioning
To get out of that hotel ASAP
Furnishedowner
Let’s see…
Monthly Rent: $1500.00
Daily Rent: $ 50.00
Cleaning Costs: $ 500.00 to $1,000.00
Taking one day to clean unit at a loss of $50.00. I’m fine with that.
We can just go ahead and have a ‘down day’ during daylight hours.
:beer