Rental Home Cleanout Dos and Donts

When it comes to the list of rental home cleanout do's and don'ts, there are many things which ought to be included. But there are five most important ones you should know about because these will save you a lot of time and grief. Every rental home owner wants to maximize their cash flow while minimizing expenses to make it a more lucrative endeavor. That's why it's important to know what you should and shouldn't do when your tenant leaves at the end of a lease or you are forced to evict.

Rental Home Cleanout Do's and Don’ts

When you have an empty rental property, you necessarily do not have any income being generated. This is why all too many amateur investment property owners make costly mistakes. In their zeal to rent out the property, they rush through the transition process and have a lot of trouble trying to get a good tenant to commit to a lease. For instance, it might be better to do water heater removal and replacement than make a temporary repair.

Dirty tenants can be landlord’s nightmare, and oh boy, are they expensive! They can bring down the real and perceived value of your rental property. Unclean living conditions will not only damage the property, but they will attract bugs and rodents, and ultimately make it very difficult to re-rent. If you learn to spot a dirty tenant before they become your tenant, you will be able to save yourself a lot of grief. --Landlordology.com

Since your goal is to get a paying tenant in the home, you should also consider doing some inexpensive landscaping for curb appeal. Cut down scraggly looking trees, trim the bushes and hedges, keep the grass cut, and put some colorful flowers in front of the entryway. Deal with the yard waste hauling to finish it all up and you'll make a good impression on potential renters. Those are good suggestions, but pay attention to the following rental home cleanout do's and don'ts:

• Do remove and store all personal items. If the tenant left behind personal effects, you cannot dispose of them. Things like electronics, clothing, decor, furniture, and appliances belong to the tenant and must be stored according to the law. The good news is, you can charge your former tenant for the expenses you incur for storage.
• Do a deep cleaning and disinfect all surfaces. As for the true junk left behind, you can dispose of it but that's not all you need to do. In addition, you'll have to do a top to bottom deep cleaning and be sure to take the time to disinfect all surfaces.
• Do consider refreshing the interior. When the property is clean, consider refreshing the exterior with a fresh coat of interior paint, replace the carpeting, and provide a new, clean space for potential tenants to see when they first tour.
• Don’t rush through the rental cleanout. One very important factor is that you do not rush through a rental cleanout. If you do, things will be missed and you'll have longer vacancy period than otherwise. Take your time and pay close attention to detail and your patience will pay off.
• Don’t discard stuff on your own, use a junk removal service. If the tenant left behind a real big mess, just call a junk removal rental cleanout service to do the job for you. This will be the quickest and least expensive way to shorten the vacancy period.

If you have a rental property that’s been littered, go ahead and phone 800-737-5923 or visit Pro Junk Dispatch. We are the go-to source for several property management companies, real estate professionals, and investment property owners.