Your tenant has just moved out. Now what?
1. Cleaning.
They may have cleaned well at move out, but with the traffic from showings, and doing any required maintenance, the place will need another cleaning before the next tenant can move in. This could be anywhere from a light spot clean that takes a few minutes, to a whole new cleaning. It just depends on what all had to be done.
2. Normal Wear and Tear.
This includes touch up painting, and is a landlord expense. Minor holes from picture frames, etc. are considered normal and cannot be charged to the tenant's deposit. So just be ready for this. And while touchups are normal, if the wall is 'full of touchup spots', you should just go ahead and paint that wall or section.
Quality Units Attract Quality Tenants. It's kind of a Mantra around here.
3. Rekey and Safety Check.
The Texas Property Code requires you to re-key between each tenant, even if that previous tenant was you, the owner. You'll also want to check smoke alarms not only to see if they're working but also to see if they have reached their expiration date.
Smoke alarms expire at 10 years. And you also want to make sure they work. So as a San Antonio Property Management Provider, we have them tested with Real Smoke, not just pushing the button. The button just lets you know that the sound still works.
4. Security Deposits.
You collected it upfront, now you are legally responsible to return or account for it within 30 days.
As a San Antonio Property Management Services Provider, we can't always charge the whole amount to a tenant for damages. It is required that we pro-rate the replacement cost using the life expectancy of the item in question, and then charge the appropriate amount.
For example, a hole in the wall. We can charge the full amount for that, as the wall is expected to last a pretty long time.
But carpet? Carpet is expected to last for 5 years using a rental grade carpet. So as a San Antonio Property Management Professional, we'd be required to determine the remaining useful life balance and charge the tenant accordingly.
5. You Can't Charge For Your Time.
If you are a DIY Landlord making repairs after moveout, you cannot charge for your time. You can only charge the cost for what you actually paid for the materials. But you could pass along the expense of hiring a pro to do it, as long as you get that invoice and use it to account for the funds with the tenants' final disposition statement.
While we want your business to manage your San Antonio rental property, if you are a DIY'er, we're still happy to answer any questions that you may have. This could be about our service or point you in the right direction for the answers that you are looking for if you want to stay DIY.
Don't be afraid to Contact Us , we're happy to help!