Personally, the only place I’ve lived (except the house I owned, although I suppose I didn’t get much “deposit” back on that, either) that returned my deposit was the farmhouse I rented in Kansas in the early 90s. The owner said we DID leave it better than we found it - the previous tenants had trashed it, and I guess he felt he didn’t clean it as well before we moved in as we did when we left. Every other place I’ve lived has never even mentioned the deposit when I left.

I’m definitely going to get some bed risers and under-bed storage boxes. I’m also going to be “de-cluttering,” too, though…

We roll rather than spray, since we have multiple colors and hardwood floors and aren’t just painting the whole thing white semi-gloss. We also use a $14-18 gal. latex/plasticine flat or semi-gloss paint instead of the $6.50 clay based stuff most places use. It should clean up if you have had the place repainted white several times, with a Magic Eraser, or just a light colored sponge and water or vinegar. Don’t use 409, Orange Glo or anything oil based, because that will just make a bigger mark. Toothpaste is twinkly and sometimes has titanum powder in it, and often has oils in it that leave bigger marks that have to be KILZED as they will bleed through the new paint. If you toothpaste holes in a red wall, and then it is painted over with latex Kilz and then two new coats of paint, you can get “bleeding walls” as the oily toothpaste will take the red pigment right through the KILZ and two new coats of paint. OIL based KILZ over toothpaste, then latex KILZ, then the new paint. “This is resident #1101, I’ve been here for two weeks, and, well, my wall is ‘bleeding’, can you come look at it.” So this is why I know this.

Places that keep your whole deposit are typically scamming you and make a profit on your move out. We always lose money on a move out, to varying degrees. This is why a well run place will bribe you to keep you as a tenant, and other places will upcharge you on month to month (rather than nag you about renewal and just irritate you by showing your home - what we do, since people prefer that over paying $100-200 more per month) since they will make money on flipping you anyway.

Let’s use a typical B property 1 bedroom average unit for example: $100 painter labor, $25 in cheap spray paint, $65 cleaning (typical 665 sq ft 1 bdrm), $100 for low-grade carpet = $300 including cleaning sundries. Your deposit was $550? They just cleared $250 and will have a new tenant in 3-4 days, subtract vacancy loss = $150 profit. Or better yet, $150 equals two new faucets (upgrade) and a new ceiling fan. New tenant rents at $100 more than you, you paid for the upgrades. I have been in this business for a while. How it SHOULD work: Based on wear and tear of 5 years lifespan for high quality paint, fixtures and carpet or 3 years on the cheap stuff, after 1 year occupancy, pro-ration of expenses at 20% for 5 or 33% for 3 year expectancy per year. And they should be up front about that at move-in.

So, for example, $100 painter labor, $25 paint, $65 cleaning, $35 carpet cleaning, $10 paint sundries, $10 cleaning sundries, [$245] - 550 = you get nada and they net $305 on you. I have been a renter plenty of times and expected reasonable expenses.

FYR: I have also been in court while my staff has been screamed at by people whose dog shat on the wood floor for 6 months and burned a hole in the countertop with a cigar and called that “normal wear and tear”. Normal for who? Anyway….

…correctly processed is 20% off painter, 20% off sundries, you pay all of the cleaning (will explain later), carpet clean should be free annually as part of GM (general maintenance), $8 paint sundries, $10 cleaning sundries (you pay all) = $183 your share, plus $550 deposit equals $367 REFUND to you, to tell people how wonderful you are.

1) Some people will complain, even about a $367 refund from $550
2) The property loses money on the vacancy days
3) The property pays for upgrades on its own, not out of YOUR pocket

Exceptions: Smokers. You need to buy an ozone machine. You guys also kill the carpet and require a full paint to be done rather than a partial. The professional grade ones are $278 (Queenaire) from Home Depot Supply, and they work well. If they hire it done (the property) they can nick you for $50-75 per day, which is outrageous, and why I bought my own machine. We do NOT charge people for this, though we are allowed to in the Lease. Ask your property why they don’t have a machine. If they have more than 65 units, it is a worthwhile purchase. It kills all odors and bacteria in the air.

Exceptions: Pet owners. Pet damages require carpentry repairs. Be sure they are not overkilling on the restoration, most chewed areas can be BONDOED for $15-20, sanded and painted.

Exceptions: Barbie’s dreamhouse. Do you really think we can kill magenta semi-gloss paint in one coat? We allow our residents to custom paint, tastefully. Sometimes the next tenant who is pre-leasing sees it, and they love it - you are off the hook. Otherwise, you have to pay to have it put back to neutral. That we allow this is unusual, and it is more work for us, but the customers love it. Reds and pinks are hard to kill, and will result in a significant upcharge.

Exception: Fire, water damage. Have renter’s insurance added to your auto policy. Avoid the potential problems for $10-15 per month. Really. Your insurance will talk to our insurance, and it is painless for everyone.

Exception: 171 nails in the wall. This actually happened. Plus 51 hollow wall bullet anchors. So we charged 80% of the paint and mud, fill expense to the resident after a year’s occupancy, and took pictures in case they argued.

Exception: Acetone based nail polish takes off chrome, so if it looks like the finish on the new faucet we installed at move-in for you has been melted, after a year, you pay 80% to replace it, including labor. Women/trannies: Please do not pour nail polish remover on your tub drain, sink stopper or faucets, for this reason. Acetone is used to de-silver film.

Exceptions: Flushing an orange down the toilet (found in your pipe), nail polish in the new carpet in a place that just installed new carpet for you (We use a DuPont Stainmaster I Class A), large gouges in the wood floor. Most people take reasonable care of their places, but a few really, really live like pigs, and it continues to amaze me that people who make 200, 300 thousand a year can’t budget $65-80 every other week for a maid service.

Finally, some people are really clean. Most companies I worked for did a half-ass job cleaning and charged you for it, even though they may have had two girls in there for an hour or two or even three, at 6.75 an hour. We clean behind the appliances to keep the places bug free, and residents “who left it cleaner than when I moved in”, well, I’ll give you that one. If it is an old place and you are paying $400 a month, that’s what you should expect. No place I have ever moved cleaned like we have OUR staff clean. Places you forget: patio and window sill tracks, on TOP of cabinets, sucking the lint out of the fridge motor and keeping that from dying prematurely and running inefficiently, the “fart-snatchers” in the bathroom and washer/dryer room, around the water tank, fans, lights. We even put the vanity bulbs abd everything that is loose/detachable in the dishwasher first thing. On move out, you should do that and take a picture of it. How can they accuse you of not cleaning it? Next to the stove, under the removable stove drawer, shelving is never dusted, all the moulding gets dusty, the air return grilles, under the sinks, toilet seats, corners, behind the toilet (nasty) and my number one gripe and place that tenants waste money is NOT using any shower cleaning product. I hate seeing white/frosted glass and blackened grout/caulk. That’s $100 right there, not to mention how unsightly it is for visitors while living there. The $1.99 off-brand (Target) shower spray, applied daily, will keep it clean for years. Also, older folks with polyester pants, we have to restain and re-polyurethane your cabinet facings since your pants wear off the poly and stain like sandpaper, as you stand there leaning against the kitchen islands. Funny thing - we finally figured out what was causing it. The last thing we do is sit on the toilet and where the sofa will be and look for anything that might be noticed, a cracked tile by our feet, a booger of texture staring back at you across from the commode on the wall, a different colored screw than the rest. People will spend 50% of their waking hours sitting in these two places in the unit, on the toilet or on the sofa watching TV, and will notice and remember these little things.

Good luck and remember, no matter how incompetent or unfriendly your staff may be, be nice, you will end up with a better result. Flattery will get you everywhere. (unless you burned a hole in your countertop, then you will still have to pay to fix it).

A long time renter

A Former Renter