Tenant turnover repairs between leases

Patch, paint, and repair between tenants so units do not sit empty. One crew, a price before the work starts, and photos when it is done.

Every empty day costs rent.

Turnover work is different from ordinary repairs. The list is long but each item is small, the deadline is fixed by the next lease, and nothing can be left half done. What matters is getting through the whole punch list in one visit rather than stretching it across three.

We work from your walk-through list, or we can walk the unit and build one. Either way you get a price before anything starts.

How a turnover job runs

What changes the price

We will not quote a number sight unseen, because turnover scope varies enormously between units. These are the things that move it most:

Make-ready, unit turns and rent-ready work

Different owners call it different things. Make-ready, unit turn, rent-ready, turn work, between-tenant repairs — it is the same job: taking a unit from the condition the last tenant left it in to the condition the next one will accept.

The scope is what varies. A unit coming off a long, careful tenancy may need nail holes filled and one wall repainted. A unit coming off a hard one may need every wall patched, doors rehung, hardware replaced and a trailer load hauled out. Both are make-ready work, and both get priced off what is actually there.

Damage beyond normal wear

When a unit comes back with real damage, the repair and the record of it both matter. We photograph damage before the repair as well as after, so you have the before-and-after pair in one place if the deposit is disputed.

The damage that comes up most often:

• Holes in drywall, from doorknob dents to full sheet damage
• Doors split at the strike, kicked panels, and doors off their hinges
• Interior paint covered in marks, or painted a color that has to be covered
• Cabinet doors, drawer fronts and hardware pulled loose
• Torn screens, cracked window glass and broken blinds
• Trim and baseboard broken away from the wall
• Property left behind in the unit, the garage or the yard

We will tell you plainly when something is wear rather than damage. That is your call to make with your tenant, not ours, but you should hear it straight before you make it.

Repairs after a rental inspection

If an inspection came back with a list, send us the list. Handrails, loose steps, missing smoke detector mounts, doors that will not latch, damaged trim, deteriorated caulk and the rest of the usual findings are ordinary repair work.

Send the inspection report itself rather than retyping it. We will work from the items as written and tell you which ones are outside what we do, so you know what still needs another trade.

Tenant turnover in Ames, Boone, Ankeny and Madrid

Rental property across Boone County and Story County and down the Ames–Des Moines corridor. The regular run is Madrid, Boone, Ankeny, Ames, Woodward, Slater, Granger and Polk City. If your property is just outside that, ask — a second unit in the same town often makes the trip work.

Single-family rentals, duplexes, small apartment buildings and student rentals around Iowa State are all ordinary work here. Student rentals run on a fixed calendar and that window fills early, so those are worth booking well ahead of the date.

The work a turnover is made of

Most turnovers are a handful of these in one visit. Each has its own page if you want the detail.

Common questions