Quote:
Originally Posted by Spottednikes
Umm..I'm a landlord.
I will work with my tenants. You'll notice I said to ASK if the ll will allow them to cancel utilities and return keys then. Yes, legally they have to keep utilities on. That's why I said ASK. I would allow them to cancel, if I were going to remodel, and get keys back, and transfer utilities then. That way, I am being paid tent, but can start remodel right away. But I am not charging utilities for remodel to tenant. I set up walk thru to be done on last day, because I have a good idea of condition of my properties and am specific about what needs to be done well before their move out day. My final walk thru rarely brings up surprises. MoSt tenants get their full security deposit back.
I do it on last day, so there are no changes between the walk thru and them leaving. If you do a final walk thru 2 weeks in advance, usually there is stIill furniture there and carpets aren't cleaned, and boxes everywhere so you can't see walls/floors and how well it's cleaned..
If you are a landlord that ignores your rentals and don't have a clue what they look like, you may want to do a walk thru in advance, but you'll still need to do one on the last day.
Waiting until they are gone, and going back in later is, IMO, unfair to tenant, and can result in made up charges...a lot of unethical landlords will intentionally wait until they have returned keys and moved out, so they can slap fake charges on their for cleaning, yard work, etc and force tenant to fight them, vs having the tenant there and pointing them out at final walk thru.
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What exactly is wrong with the way I do it? On their last official occupation day the transfer of utilities gets completed and they walk away. Out if all my tenants only two got some charge backs. The lease states I have the right to go in and do any repairs I need to while you are a occupant as long as I give notice.
Trust me I know exactly what my rentals look like. I do three walk through a year.
It's not a final walk through that's the two weeks prior to their last day walk through. It's a preliminary walk through. By law I have to offer them a pre inspection walk through to give them a chance to repair any damages.
It's not a matter of unfair. In some cases (like my last walk ) I did not see carpet damage until after they moved all their items out of the unit. There was also some damage fine when they moved their items out of the house. The damage was mostly hidden by a couch and night stand. Some was visible. The tenant chose not to correct it so I did and charged back. That's why my final walk is done on the last day after every item the tenant has is gone. Not then can I actually see the damages they caused.
Tenant has the right of possession until the last day. So like I said keep the keys. It doesn't matter. He doesn't have the right to prohibit entry to do repairs or modifications.
Sure some unethical LLs will eat and then use the tenants deposit to remodel. I'm not that LL. On my last walk I had about $700 out of a 3800 dollar deposit. Charges were for carpet cleaning and incidentally for damage (dirt and stains that were mostly removed but you could see the carpet was darker in a area. Since the carpet cleaning did not take care of the cleaning I charged for the damaged carpet repairs on a prorated basis. Dirt and food stains are not wear and tear. Her cats clawed the carpet on the stairs as a scratch pad. Damage. Chargeable. And I only charged in the area they damaged as costs to replace. Carpet was literally installed two days before they moved in so T was brand new. Two broken blinds and one vertical blind. All broken due to tenants pets. Chargeback. For repairs. I could of charged about $700 additional as the blinds were about $300 a pair and replacement verticals ran $120. But I bought repair kits. And only charged for the kits. My labor was free.
If the carpet cleaning would of cleaned the carpet all I would charge for was about $300. Tenant chose not to do any repairs. I did not charge for any of the dirt smudges dings and gouges in the walls. My painter just took care of it. I did not charge the paint job. So no I don't tend to squeeze the tenant, but I will charge if the damages are excessive.
Al charges were explained, the receipts and itemized letter was sent within 21 days. I later spoke to the tenant and she understood why he was being charged. Her answer to me was That's fine you have been more than fair with us.
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