Turnover is where a rental makes or loses its year. Vacancy days are unrecoverable — every week empty is rent gone forever — and the deposit conversation sets the tone with the departing tenant and, indirectly, with the next one. A good turnover process protects both, and it doesn't need to be complicated. It needs to be sequenced.
Two weeks out
- Send formal notice of the move-out date and expectations, in writing.
- Offer a pre-move-out walkthrough — a hole they patch beats a deduction they dispute.
- Hand over the standard: what "clean" means, what counts as normal wear.
Move-out day
- Inspect with the tenant if possible; photograph everything, timestamped.
- Record meter readings, collect keys, get a forwarding address in writing.
The make-ready call
Separate the work into two lists:
- Must-fix: anything functional or safety-related. Non-negotiable — and cheap while the unit is empty.
- Worth-it cosmetic: the $300–500 refresh — paint touch-ups, a dated fixture swap, hardware — that photographs well and speeds leasing. Cap this list deliberately.
Reset
- Deep clean, including behind and under the appliances.
- Replace filters, test and battery every detector, check caulking and grout.
- Rekey where your local rules require it.
The new baseline
Photograph the unit empty and spotless. This isn't marketing yet — it's the deposit reference for the tenancy now beginning. Future-you, at the next move-out, settles disputes with these photos.
List it
- Photograph while the unit is empty and clean — before anything moves in.
- Write the listing against current comps, not last year's rent.
- Price to lease in the first two weeks; chasing the top of the market through a slow month usually nets less.
Every extra week of 'one more improvement' costs more in vacancy than it returns in rent.
One timing rule
The deposit clock is statutory almost everywhere — commonly 14 to 30 days from surrender of the unit, with documentation required for any deduction. Work backward from that deadline, not forward from when you get to it. (A care service like Kept runs turnovers on essentially this loop; the checklist works fine with a clipboard and a calendar.)
Speed and documentation. Everything above serves one or the other — and together they're the whole game: days off the vacancy, and evidence in the file.