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Better to keep the place from getting too cluttered before moving.
Keep the goods in a packed and ready to go condition, and make sure you don't acquire too many useless artifacts like I see myself doing now.
Just got done dumping and sorting through various odds and ends.
Now I'm deciding upon what "art" projects I should be tossing into the dumpster.
I've never moved into a place that was spotlessly clean. It seemed I always had the job of cleaning prior to moving in, and also again moving out.
My last rental was a small house with hardwood floors. I left that place scrupulously clean but the landlord kept some money back for "cleaning". She also took more money out to touch up the hardwood floors. She had used some Old English scratch cover on the floors, and the first time I washed the floor, I ended up with a bucket of brown water and lots of visible scratches on the floors. I resented the fact that such a cheap solution to covering the scratches cost me $50 from my security deposit. And I honestly didn't know what she had to clean - the place was spotless when I left.
Landlords can be greedy and consider the security deposit their money from the time you hand it over, no matter how clean you leave it when you move out.
My lease says I have to have the place professionally cleaned and carpets shampooed when I move out. I'm ok with that because I don't enjoy cleaning myself.
I have a strict rule always clean the apt or house cleaner than the condition it was when you moved into it ...I have never had a deposit not returned because of a place not being clean . I also use odo ban to get rid of any smells that were in there when I lived in there . Odo ban is sold at home depot . I also clean the fridge and stove twice just to be certain that no germs get left behind . If it has carpet I use my carpet cleaner and clean the carpets twice as well and hard woods or laminate I mop three times with cleaner and clean pads . I use a steam mop and a swifter mop yes I use both . I use bleach and clean the bathroom twice as well . Im sure the people who move in behind me can appreciate my being thorough . I always recommend taking pictures and video when you move out and inform the landlord you have pictures and videos so don't even think about holding my deposit .
Last edited by phonelady61; 05-29-2015 at 06:58 AM..
Reason: added info
I moved to my home this past February. I didn't clean a damn thing at my apartment. I was just too tired out from packing and getting my new home ready.
Out of $325.00 deposit, I lost $92.00 of it due to cleaning. It was worth it for me
Was it like that when you moved in? If and when you sell your home, will you leave that a mess because you're "just too tired?" I bet not.
We all know that landlords do what needs to be done to get apartments ready for the next tenant, but there's no excuse to "not clean a damn thing." That's laziness. And giving up a security deposit as simply the cost of leaving a mess for someone else to clean up is pathetic.
The absolute worst is moving out of a rental into a purchased house. You need to leave the rental spotless, and the house only needs to be broom clean. TWO ovens, TWO fridges, multiple toilets, baseboards, light fixtures, washing two houses worth of walls, etc, all in the same week.
Quote:
Originally Posted by froglipz
Broom clean is the standard for acceptable condition. Appliances need to be as clean as when you moved in. Oven should be clean or it will cost you. Get some good oven cleaner and use it on the racks, give it time to soak, not really that hard and doesn't take hours to clean.
Wait, what? Not only has it always been in my contract that a rental be clean, carpets shampooed, etc but I feel like it helps them overlook wear and tear.
The only two times I didn't get my security deposit back was when the LL died and my deposit was "lost" (stolen) by his ex-wife who cleaned out the bank accounts and fled, plus another time when the LL went bankrupt and I was told to "get in line" behind a bunch of others who wanted their money back. Yes, that was in Michigan during the recession.
I've always done a pretty extensive deep clean and left it as good, if not better, than when I moved in. Windows, carpets, baseboards, toilets, appliances, everything gets cleaned. I've been in my current place since August 2013 and when I moved out in August 2015, I'm loading the moving trailer (cross country move, yeah!) on Wednesday, cleaning on Thursday, and leaving early Friday morning.
I've gotten my full deposit back every single time that I've moved, including out of crappy cheap college apartments from landlords that were notorious for not giving deposits back.
I leave the unit in the same condition as it was when I moved in.
The last place I lived had a disgusting oven, floors, bathroom. Guess what condition it was left in when I moved out? I got my full deposit back.
My current place was spotless. When I move out, it will be spotless.
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