Questions for landlords.....

How often do you check on your rental property? if at all.

When a tenant moves out how do you figure out the amount to return from the security deposit? Obviously big repairs, but do things like professional carpet cleaning qualify?

ETA - I ask because the carpet was less than a year old.

Message edited 9/29/2006 9:02:44 AM.

Re: Questions for landlords.....

as a renter I would not expect to have to pay for the carpets to be cleaned or anything other then true damage- holes in the walls- and not nail holes

every lease I have signed takes normal wear and tear into consideration

when I move out my current apartment- it will be cleaned and painted- at no cost to me-

Re: Questions for landlords.....

when our tenants moved out they left our apartment completely trashed.

They painted walls and never painted them back, made many holes in the walls, scuffed the hallway paint, left the kitchen a disaster (the stove was disgusting), the carpets were badly stained, I could go on and on.

They still have stuff in our attic and owe us 1/2 month's rent.

Needless to say, they are not getting any of their security back....that's $1500 bucks+interest for us!

plenty of my friends have lost securities for not painting the walls back....it all depends on your contract agreement.

Re: Questions for landlords.....

When we lived in our apt. They didn't make us clean the carpets or paint the walls..

Thats something that should be done between tenants anyway

Re: Questions for landlords.....

I wouldn't charge for cleaning carpets. Our last tenants painted the walls hideous colors, awful. It took 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint to cover up the colors they choose. They offered to paint before they left but since we were renovating we told them not to worry about it. Big mistake, I should have told them to at least prime it, but you live and learn.

Re: Questions for landlords.....

i wouldnt charge for cleaning carpets.

i would charge for cleaning. i gave them the apartment in a broom clean condition and i expect it returned to me that way.

i also gave them the apartment freshly painted - i would expect the same!

Re: Questions for landlords.....

Our tenant is quite a pain. We only check on the co-op, when she calls us up for something. We already know the damage we have to look forward to. But you can't charge for normal wear and tear. Hopefully, you have a nice written lease that explains exactly what you can charge them for: Painting, holes, cleaning, etc.