First one in a long time! But we knew it was coming. She was two months behind in rent, she was a real slob (why is it some extremely pretty girls turn out to be the worst slobs??) and was leaving on a trip (had money for the trip but not rent...)

As we were sweeping and such, DH commented that most landlords deal with this stuff every turnover. He is right. We are really spoiled...

LUCKILY new tenant doesn't need the place until middle of month so we have plenty of time.

At least you were braced for it.

Spoiled by your own good management, maybe.

Can't be perfect, I guess - you can only influence others just so much.

As long as you put collectable tenants in units-- who cares?

think positive-- it's how you upgrade your unit each turnover on someone else's dime.

This was a weird one. She left trash but it was all bagged up. She left furniture but it was all lightweight and all outside. She left dead flowers, all in pots. He just threw it all in trailer and did a few dump runs.

Water damage to subfloor appeared in just the last week, between the time I showed and rented the place and when she moved out. Not sure how or why! So DH has been pulling up Allure and replacing subfloor. Just a small hallway.

It's not FILTHY she was just a slob. Dust and MAJOR cobwebs and maybe wiping down a few cabinets. Vacuuming out kitchen drawers.

Some of my first partners on single family homes weren't happy with the cash flow. I was running a mean ship where every dollar mattered. If not for the 15 year rapid depreciation on the structure, we would be running in the "red", instead of being in the "black" -- profitable with only a 20% down payment.

After tenants would move out and we conducted a walk thru, partners would nit pick at every speck of dust, dirt, etc.

So I'd pull out the vacuum and cleaning supplies from my car and say, "Let's all pitch in an clean up the place, maybe we can list it for rent over the weekend"!

We don't have a cleaner "on call" any more because our units are returned to us SPOTLESS 99% of the time! I knew this one was going bad but with Covid...you know the drill. And she was so sweet and compliant at all times.

My lease is clear: $50 per hour for our people to clean.

I have no mercy for people who leave a mess. They KNOW they left a mess and their momma taught them better.

I think our 2 Minute In Home Visit prior to final approval has greatly improved our move outs.

Good looking people often rely on their looks and nothing else. They are rewarded for being attractive at an early age, thus getting away with a lot and being spoiled.

i am in this business to make real money. Dimes are not big money.

Ken thank you for the acknowledgement.

my last clean up: took 1200 of the deposit and an agreement to pay 800.00 per month for 2 months to cover cleaning. Just got first 800.00 Friday. Next payment is end of march-- another 800.00. 2800.00 goes a long way. We turned the place in 3 days. Rented it for 300.00 more a month.

We are collecting many thousands of dollars a year for dirt.

So 2 thoughts-- if I charge a low deposit say 400.00 they walk thinking it's just 400.00-- then the rest of the cleaning bill comes for 3 or 4K more OR and this is a biggie-- I charge 1200.00 deposit and they make a half hearted attempt to clean up and then bill them 3 or 4K more?

I am going with double deposits these days, so all are well over 2k, approaching 3k. But not this girl, I only had 1 month plus $500 (old policy) or about $1700.

In the old days pre-Covid, I would have issued her an eviction notice after first missed rent, but courts were closed so I just tried to "work with her" and she kept promising she would make it up. Then second missed payment and she agreed to leave...