5 Tasks You Should Complete At The End Of A Lease
Dealing with a new tenant turnover is never a pleasant experience, but as a landlord, it’s something you just have to deal with. If you’ve a tenant swap coming up, then it is crucial to the whole relationship that the property is in good condition, when it is passed over. If the new tenants are handed a property in poor condition, it can sour the entire relationship from the start and cause big problems down the road.
If the tenants are handed a badly maintained property, they’ll assume you don’t care about it and fail to maintain it themselves. For one thing, they’ll be resentful from the first month which leads to property neglect, late payments, and poor communication.
The other side of this is that if they are handed a clean and well-maintained property, they’ll be more inclined to keep it that way and call you at the first sign of any trouble. A good first impression, will lead to a better long-term relationship and likely lead to them renewing their lease in the future.
You can make a tenant turnover go much easier and forge a good relationship right from the start, by completing these five tasks prior to any new tenant moving in.
- Have A Professional Clean Done. You might think that just spending a few hours cleaning yourself would be enough, but there is a lot that you will miss. Having a deep clean done by professionals, will look far better and make the home look much more presentable. This is one of the best things you can do between a tenant swap. It allows you to restore the property to the condition it was and make a good impression on the new tenants. If a tenant walks into a spotless home that has a nice scent, they’ll feel much more at home and be inclined to stay longer. Spending the money on a deep clean is well worth it, in the longer run.
- Repaint The Walls. If it’s been a while since you last had the walls painted, now might be a good time to give them a new coat. Tenants rarely treat the walls with much care. Other than occasionally washing them, they’re never going to get them painted so that’s your job. This doesn’t have to be an expensive job. Since most landlords prefer to keep the walls a neutral color, you just need to paint over the existing color. There’s no need to prime and you can probably get away with just one coat. You could do everything else right, but if you’ve dirty walls it tends to be very noticeable.
- De-clutter. Your rental property shouldn’t be treated as a storage unit. If you’ve allowed items to build up there, now is the time to get rid of them. Cleaning the property is an obvious step, but many landlords forget about the basement, garage or attic. If you’ve advertised these places in your ad, you need to follow through with it and have these places available for use. Begin by removing any large items. The basement seems like a natural place to store items, but you are depreciating the value of your property by doing so. If you’ve a lot of stuff, you can rent a pickup truck and take it all to the local dumpster.
- Exterior Clean Up. The exterior is the first part of the house that new tenants will see. If it doesn’t look as presentable as the interior, then you’re already creating a bad impression. Remove any clutter that has been allowed to build up around the exterior, and have some landscaping done if necessary. Start by just taking a walk around the exterior to see, what can be improved. If you’re unsure, ask a friend who can give you an honest opinion of the impression the exterior creates.
- Utility Changeover. The final step is to ensure that all utilities have been changed over in the new tenant’s name. It can sometimes take weeks for the cable or broadband company, to schedule a new service appointment. Your new tenant will appreciate that you’ve taken care of this, so that there is no waiting period. This often only takes a timely phone call.
It’s the little things that can make a big impact on how a new tenant feels on entering your property. Create a good impression, while setting a standard. It will mean a better relationship and possibly a long-term tenant.