Moving Out of Your Rental

What’s a charge-credit on the security deposit return? Or, hey, we were billed for X but my renewing roommates say X was not fixed/done at their place. What’s up?

Good question. Charge-Credits are usually only relevant to leases where some of the tenants leave and some of them return to stay another year. This is called a Partial Renewal. If one person, leaves, or even 4 out of 5 people leave, but others stay on, then its a partial renewal and is handled a bit differently than a new lease.

When a renewal happens, we conduct a renewal inspection similar to a move-out and move-in inspection for a regular new lease. Issues that need to be handled, from broken items, to painting and damage, are all noted. These costs are then charged directly or estimated and billed as part of the partial renewal security deposit return.

Departing tenants are responsible for their share of the issues identified at the time of turnover. That’s fair, right?

All of the current tenants (those leaving and those renewing) are fully responsible for anything noted during this renewal inspection. It wouldn’t be fair to the new tenants, those who join the group, to have to pay for stuff that happened while the departing tenants were there. No. No, it wouldn’t be.

Sometimes the work that is identified as needing to be done is not done at that time–tenants may elect to wait until their leave at the end of their term, for example. This does not mean the departing tenants get off scot free. Again, that wouldn’t be fair. If it looks like your place will need a lot of work, but the returning/new tenants don’t want it done at the time then you are still responsible for ponying up for when the work eventually does need to happen.

Charge-Credits charge departing tenants for work needing to be done, and credit those staying

This is where a Charge-Credit comes in. The CHARGE for the work is put on the outgoing ledger. That is, the old group of folks is charged for the repair/turnover issue. Then a CREDIT is issued on the new lease that bumps their security deposit up by the amount of the charge. Thus CHARGE-CREDIT. The returning tenants will then have a security deposit that is greater than the amount they paid into their security deposit (assuming they have paid the difference between their original security deposit and any amounts deducted during the partial turnover–that is, they need to make the secdep “whole” too).

This way, they have a credit for the work that you would have paid for had you all moved out and you had had to pay your share for when they need to handle move out themselves after the end of the new lease. You pay your part, you move on, and your part helps the returning tenants with issues that you were involved with during your tenancy.

So, Charge-Credits are charges for items noted during a renewal inspection but not addressed at that time. They treat the outgoing, returning, and incoming tenants fairly in regards to damages noted during a renewal turnover.

If anyone in a location is staying but some of the roommates are moving out, this is called a partial move-out.

Leasemates who are leaving are subject to all the terms and conditions of the lease, including move out dates.

You must move all your stuff by the Move Out Date

A departing roommate must remove all of their belongings by the move out date in the original lease. You may not leave any belongings in the room you are vacating, even with the permission of the incoming roommate, unless other arrangements are made with the office, well in advance, and in writing.

This is because we must do a full inspection of the room, and the common areas of the home, for deposit return accounting purposes.

What about my security deposit?

In partial move-outs, a move out inspection will be conducted on the bedrooms vacated as well as the common areas of the home. All costs will be deducted from the security deposit of the previous tenants (including the people leaving and those staying).

Two things can happen with items identified on the move out. First, things may actually be fixed. When they are fixed, all tenants will be charged their portion of the costs as a reduction in the existing security deposit just as if it were the move out for all tenants. This will reduce the previous security deposit.

In some cases, work will not be completed at that time, but instead a Charge-Credit will be posted to the account which provides the continuing residents with a larger deposit, taking into account the costs charged to the departing tenants. This is ALSO reduce the amount of the security deposit divided among the leaving/returning tenants. We do this, because, you know, it wouldn’t be fair for the folks who stay on, and especially for folks who join a place, to be held accountable for damage that occurred previously so everyone of the “old” tenants are affected by this. However, the returning tenants get a credit since the work has not been done (yet).

BUT… returning tenants may also owe a charge to make there own personal security deposit whole when they do not get all of their portion rolled over to the new lease.

An example of partial renewal SecDep handling

Let’s look at an example. Say a security deposit for a unit is $3000. There are 5 people. 3 are leaving. 2 are returning. At the end of the lease $1200 in damage is noted, including broken items (say, $400) and painting and cleaning of $800. The $400 is fixed, but the tenants choose not to have the painting and cleaning done, and instead get a charge-credit for the $800 (they are charged $800 on the old secdep and credited for that $800 as an addon to the NEW secdep).

So, what happens? The security deposit is reduced by $1200 for all the expenses. That leaves a security deposit of $1800. Divided by 5, that’s $360 per person. The 3 departing tenants receive $1080 paid to the primary tenant (to be distributed as they see fit) and the 2 renewing tenants get a rollover of $360 ea, so $720 against the secdep of the new lease. BUT their security deposit should have been $3000/5 or $600 each so each of them owes $500 minus $360, or $140 to “make their portion whole.” So they will see a new charge on the new lease of $280 ($140 * 2) that the returning tenants should pay to make everything even.

What happens to the $400 for work done? It is gone. It paid for work.

What happens to the $800 for work not yet done? It is transferred to the new lease as an INCREASE in the security deposit. This is the “charge-credit.” Making the total for the new security deposit $3800 ($3000 plus the $800). But remember, until all the new tenants PAY (or get credit for) their own $500, it won’t be $3800. We will have “paid” the $800 but it goes to an larger secdep (to account for the work to be done, and paid for, by the old tenants). And then each tenant owes $500. 3 * $500 is the new tenants, so they will have paid $1500 of that. Then the renewing tenants get $360 credit for the rollover, but for them to have “paid” $500 each, they have to pay the $140 each. $280 total.

Then, at the end, you would have the regular deposit, all paid in full, of $3000 PLUS $800 for work that the old tenants (including those that renewed) paid for but hasn’t been done.

And that’s the 411, and is fair to all parties so no one gets stuff paying more (or less) for things they are responsible for.

Move Out Checklist

Partial move-outs are subject to the move out procedures of all leases. Check out our Key Move Out Info, Move Out Checklist, and Got Stuff? FAQs for more move out help.

Thanks for staying with us. Any questions? How can we help?

You’ve been living with a while. Now its time to move on, but you need a few extra days. Is this possible?

The move-out date is specified in your lease. That’s the end of your lease. You have to be completely out of the house by a specific time on that date. In some situations, however, it is possible to holdover a little longer. You need to request the holdover and we have to approve it, and you have to pay additional rent for the time you are there. We cannot always grant permission.

Let’s get this out of the way right up front: your agreement ends on the date in the lease. You have NO right to stay beyond that. If you would like to do so, you are making a request. Some people don’t get this and treat our staff badly when we can’t grant a request. Or when they have to actually pay to spend extra time in their home. 

Again, customers are asking for a concession and need to be nice about it and understand that we are doing you a favor if the concession is granted. We want to be able to help you out, but in order to turn all the units over to our next customers, we have to have the time to schedule and process ALL our homes, and by agreeing to allow you to stay longer, it really helps you out, but it costs us in time, effort, and anxiety to get ready for the next group. Think about it this way: You don’t get to sit in a movie theatre after a show is over to watch the next show unless they provide permission and you pay for it. Similarly, you can’t stay in a home you don’t have permission to be in beyond when you had such permission. Makes sense, right? We are happy to help when we can….

Also, if you aren’t sure about why you would have to pay for a partial month, this FAQ about installments will probably help, though most of you would know all this already!

When do you move out?

Your move-out date is in your lease agreement. Most of our student tenants will move out sometime in early August. Everyone else tends to vary throughout the year. For the August dates, the actual date that this occurs depends on the year. For all of these tenants and their homes, we first have to move out the tenants that are already living in the places, then we fix them up, then we move everyone in. There is about a two-week period for us to do all this. Most the time you can lookup your move out date in your portal, but when in doubt, check your lease, or send us a note.

In all cases, the move-out date on the lease is not modifiable by any form of verbal agreement or other communication. We have to move everyone out and in, and the dates are selected to allow us to do this most effectively. That said, often we can accommodate a holdover request.

Can you stay beyond your lease date? Yes, often times you can, but only with approval and only when several key conditions are met…

Sometimes you would really like to move out a little later. We can try to help out. Here’s what has to happen for holdover. Keep in mind that someone is likely moving IN to your place, and they have a date for that too, and we have to have time to fix any existing damage, etc.

• You need to submit a holdover request.
• We assess whether its feasible to turn your place around in time and examine what is going on with inbound tenants as well as a number of other factors related to our contractors.
• You will have to pay a move out fee, due upon agreement execution, which includes paying pro-rata rent for the period of time you will be holding over.
• You must pay the balance in full for the entire account before the holdover period begins, not just some portion you’ve agreed to among yourselves.
• The holdover agreement may be revoked at any time for failure to meet any of the conditions above and in the agreement, or if, in our sole opinion, your continued occupancy is detrimental to the condition of the property.
• You also understand that Elkins Apartments additional repair and maintenance charges, including expedited or overtime charges, may apply if the state of the unit when you leave cannot be corrected using normal operating procedures during the shortened turn around time caused by your electing to holdover.

The key things here are simply: can we make the holdover request happen at all given the status of the unit, incoming tenants, and our office personnel, practices, and protocols? And, are you willing to deal with the extra rent as well as any potential upcharges from the turnover?

Or, if this seems unreasonable… Question:”When do I have to move out?” Answer:”On the date in your lease.” 🙂

When can I turn off my utilities? At the end of your lease period, after all repairs are completed.

Trying to save a buck by turning off your utilities early is tempting, especially if you aren’t going to be in your place toward the end of your lease. But, having no power in the home, and turning the AC and fridges off, can lead to mold, mildew, and an array of other, potentially very costly, issues. Having no water makes repair and return to readiness that much more difficult–and in fact you’d end up being responsible for either reconnecting it yourself, or for any costs we incur to do so. Your lease specifically requires you to maintain the utilities until after the lease end date and time and only after we have returned the home or apartment to move-in readiness….

Don’t do it. Leave the utilities on. You are required to do so.

Keeping the utilities on helps protect your place from damage plus it is required of you in your lease agreement:

• Section 10. Utilities. Tenant, at Tenant’s expense, shall pay, prior to the delinquency date, for all Utilities. Tenant is also responsible for any deposits required by the utility companies. Tenant shall give Landlord at least three (3) days prior written notice before the Utilities are turned off or disconnected and utilities cannot be disconnected until the home or apartment is returned to move-in condition. Tenant shall run AC/Heat/Refrigerators during periods of extended leave at levels sufficient to prevent damages. Landlord shall not be liable for any loss or damage to Tenant or Tenant’s guests or property as a result of the failure or interruption of any Utilities. If Tenant is responsible for paying utilities and fails to turn the utilities on in tenant’s name or pay the utility bills, the landlord is not required to keep the utilities on if the utilities are on in the name of the landlord. Tenant is responsible for utility bills turned on for cleaning and repairs.

This is also reiterated in your Policies and Procedures, which are incorporated into your lease:

UTILITIES must remain on throughout the lease period and until the unit is processed for turnover. Any charges, fees, damages, or other costs resulting from any gap or discontinuation of services wherein landlord deems it necessary to turn on the utilities or otherwise must handle billing, payment, or connection of a utility, are solely the responsibility of the tenants. Administrative handling fees for landlord’s time and resources may also be charged to the tenant(s).

We know you may not be there. You may have graduated and are 1000s of miles away, but the home is still your responsibility and bad things happen to residences when the utilities are off. Its in your best interest. Moreover, your unit would be required to pay any costs of reconnecting service, an internal service fee, and any and all associated costs.

So, after the lease period and after we have completed all repairs, check. But when is that likely to be?

So, really, what’s the worst case? When can I set them to turn off?

You can expect it to be 1-2 weeks after the lease period. We do ALL the repairs for all our homes between the move out day and the next move-in day. Depending on where your unit is in the list and how much work needed to be done, this may not be completed until the day before the next tenants move in. We certainly hope not, but for a worst case answer, you can certainly turn them off by August 15 (for 2018)–check with us for other years. That’s the worst case….

Please note that incoming tenants should put utilities in their names, and when that happens, the utility companies generally do not allow service for one address under two names, so that would reduce the chances you accidentally pay for their power!

There are some things you can do to reduce energy utilization if everyone is gone. For example,

1. Turn the AC up (not off!) to no higher than 78. This will keep the home from becoming excessively humid (and spawning mold or mildew and other issues) while saving money.
2. Unplug all your energy vampires. They can be surprisingly hungry!
3. Turn up the fridge. Thoroughly clean and turn up, but not off, the fridge. You can turn the fridge off but only if it is spotless. If it isn’t, you risk stuff growing. Really bad things can happen than can even necessitate replacing the entire refrigerator.

On a related note, if you ARE away for a period of time, please have someone check your place for safety and security

While you may not be there, your place is your responsibility. Lots of things can happen if you are absent from your place for a long period. From water damage, to leaky toilets, from break-ins, to who knows what else. Its always a good idea to have someone check in on the place every once in a while to catch any problems before they become even bigger problems! We’d even be happy to check something for you if you think you may have forgotten something or have a specific concern.

I’ve got stuff. What should I do? Sell, donate, or dump it!

So, you have stuff in your apartment, you are getting ready to move out and/or you are leaving town, and you don’t know what to do with it? Do you have furniture, food or clothing that you are thinking about throwing away? Please consider selling, donating, or recycling them!

What shouldn’t you do? Leave it or toss it near a dumpster

Don’t just leave stuff at your place (or outside your place) = Big $$$.

You will be charged for pick up, hauling, and dumping.It will be surprisingly expensive, far more than it would cost to handle it yourself.

Don’t toss large items or furniture in or around dumpsters = Big $$$

Don’t use someone else’s dumpster for your stuff, that’s not cool. And if you happen to live in one our places with a dumpster, you may not use if for furniture or other large items. You will be charged for pick up, hauling, and dumping.

So what can you do with stuff you don’t want? Lots of things!

MOVE IT

There are many local and national companies that will help you move your stuff. Some are…

If you’d like your business added to the list, let us know.

SELL IT:

Furniture Exchange: (812) 334-1236 / www.furniture-ex.com
Blue Moon Consignment: (812) 334-8119 / www.bluemoonconsignment.net
Long’s Landing: (812) 332-5888 / www.longslanding.com

DONATE IT:

Salvation Army (clothing, household items, furniture)
508 W. Kirkwood (½ block north of 5th (Kirkwood) & Rogers)
Updated COVID-19 Hours  10-5 Tues.-Sat. Call ahead for possible pickup (812 334-1366) salvarmy@bloomington.in.us

Goodwill (clothing, household items, furniture)
512 S. College Mall Rd, (812) 331-8170
1284 S. Liberty Dr, (812) 336-8104
M-Sat 9-9 Sun 12-6, Drop off only NO pickups available

Opportunity House (clothing and household items mostly)
Supports MCUM See below
907 W 11th, (812) 336-2443
M-Sat 8:30-3 (drop offs only)
ophousethrift.org

St Vincent DePaul (furniture only)
812.961.1510 and leave a message, and they will return a call or e-mail furnature@bloomingtonsvdp.org.
Items can be dropped off – call to arrange time or they will schedule a pick up. Note, they have a list of items that they will now accept, including large tube televisions, kind beds, and more.  https://www.svdpbloomington.org/furniture-donations

Items most needed: Furniture! Couches, chairs, beds and frames, tables, lamps, dressers, and flat screen tvs! The also would love your working appliances, from vacuums to window air conditioners!

Items not accepted? Generally, tube tvs, projection tvs, pianos, king size beds, grills, clothing

But, hey, they’ll take your car off your hands!

Habitat for Humanity Re-Store Furniture, tools and building materials/NO clothing
300 W. 11TH (½ block w of College Ave) (812) 331-2660
Drop offs: M-F: 11-5, Wed: 12-5, Sat: 9-3
(Call 2 wks in advance to arrange pick-ups)

DUMP IT (if you absolutely must, but that is so not green!)

EXTRA Trash Pickups

Yes, you can schedule extra trash pickups! They happen Fridays. It will be a LOT less than having it sit around, accumulate fines, and us charging you to remove it!

LARGE item pickup by the City of Bloomington.

Bloomington Sanitation offers pickup of appliances and large items. (812) 349-3443, and you can even schedule online!

The “District” also offers free year-round bulky item drop off disposal on a rotating basis at its four rural recycling centers. Please call (812) 349-2020 or visit gogreendistrict.com for the disposal calendar.

What about Food? 
Monroe County United Ministries: (812) 339-3429 (Updated COVID-19 Hours: Tues. & Thur. 12-3)
827 W. 14th Court
Near Tri-North Middle school and Mills pool on the Westside
Accepts unopened perishable and non-perishable food items

Hoosier Hills Food Bank: (812) 334-8374 (M-F 9-5)
2333 W. Industrial Park Drive
1st right on west side of Hwy 37 near Vernal and 37 Intersection

Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard (Updated COVID-19 Hours Tues., Wed. & Thur. 12-2 & 4-6)
1010 S. Walnut St
355-6843,

See also:
Checklist for Cleaning Up and Moving Out
I’ve got stuff. What can I do with it?

Prepping for your Move-Out Inspection: An example checklist

So you are getting ready to move out? You’ve checked your balance, kept the utilities on, and all the rest of our Key Move-Out Information Steps? Please read your lease for more information about move out procedures, costs, and expectations. Start early! Waiting until the day before, or day of, means you won’t be able to do a good job. That will be anxiety filled for you, and liekly costly too. It takes a considerable amount of time to fully clear, clean, and repair a place! Seriously, it got the way it is in about a year (or more), right?!

Want some guidance with some of the things you should clean? Well, everything! This includes all walls, baseboards, cabinets, floors, ceiling fans, doors, door handles, outlets and light switches, vents, appliances… the whole place. When in doubt, clean it!

Here is an additional, but not an all inclusive list, of items to check for the move out inspection:

Pro tip: To avoid large cleaning and maintenance fees, deep clean every and all things, even those not mentioned above. Clean it as if you were a detail-oriented new tenant moving in.

See also:
I’ve got stuff. What can I do with it?
Key Move-Out Information Steps

So you are ready to move out, or already have? Here’s a jumpstart on what you need to know.

• Lease ends at noon! Be aware that the lease ends at noon on the last day of your lease, unless you renewed. Anything left in your apartment after your lease expires will be considered abandoned. We will not be responsible for damage or loss of your personal property left behind so this means nothing can be stored in your apartment after the lease expires. Possession reverts back to Elkins Apartments at noon on the last date of your lease. If you have sold furniture to future tenants, you cannot store the belongings in your dwelling unit as the new tenants do not take possession of your dwelling unit on that day. Please email the office regarding such furniture and we will try to accommodate you. Many area organizations will take your furniture as a donation.

• Check your Rent and Portal Account. Even if you leave town, please stay in touch with your roommates and/or sublessees to be sure that the rent is paid on time and that no damage has occurred in your apartment. Be sure you have responsible roommates and/or sublessees. Staying up to date will avoid unpleasant surprises and late fees. Getting a big bill for past due rent and for any account delinquency additional charges is no fun. Note, you may not elect to use the security deposit toward rent so please check your account to be sure you are paid in full and are not accruing additional rent for account delinquency.

• Keep your utilities on. Even if you leave town, you must keep your utilities on. The utilities must remain on until after lease term ends and we have completed all repair to bring the unit back to move in ready state, and you have given us 3 days notice that they will be turned off (this is in your lease). You will be accountable for any damages incurred if you turn them off before hand (think…refrigerator, not just gross but potentially unsalvageable, among other potential problems). If you turn them off, and we turn them back on in our name in order to complete work, then you will be responsible for any reconnect charges, administrative charges, as well as the utilities themselves.

• Clean Up & Move Out. Arrange with your roommates and/or sublessee about who will clean and paint your apartment at the end of the lease term unless you plan that it be done following your move out and deducted from the deposit. Be sure to get permission and the paint codes from us if you are painting and be sure to use drop cloths and to do a good job of cutting in. A bad touchup paint job can be harder to fix, and far more expensive, than the original paint problems. Do it right, and you might save some money; do it wrong, and it could be even more painful. The carpets will be steam cleaned and deducted from your deposit. You do not need to do this, it is in your lease; however, you need to vacuum all the floors to prepare for this, and you should mop all hard floors.

• All work must be completed prior to the move-out inspection or whatever work is necessary will be done after you move out and itemized on your security deposit statement.

• Tenants are responsible for scheduling a move out inspection during our office hours. You do not have to be present for the move-out inspection; however, do not forget to return keys, mail keys, and if applicable modems & cords, and  garage door openers to our office. The inspection request must be made for, and approved by, at least 72 hours prior to move out.  The move out inspection can only be completed when the unit is empty and keys are surrendered to the office. Tenants that do not schedule an inspection will have their inspection occur on Move-Out Day at our convenience. Please note that move-out day is very busy and delays may occur if you wait until that day to handle everything.

• Sit back, relax (or what about my deposit?). Deposits will be refunded after the water and sewer bills are paid in full and a paid receipt of the final bill is provided to the office.  Security deposits will be mailed, per the terms and conditions of your lease, as a single mailing to the sole legal designate on the the lease within 45 days after the lease term ends. Read more about the secdep inspection and reconciliation process.

Are you leaving but others are staying? Check out our partial move out FAQ, and, yes, you have to be out by Move Out day….

See also:
Checklist for Cleaning Up and Moving Out
I’ve got stuff. What can I do with it?

The primary contact on the account should receive the accounting and refund, or invoice, if any. We are happy to investigate any questions you may have. Send us a note.

If you have any questions whatsoever about your final accounting, we will look into it for you, no problem! Please have one of the named lessees send us a written note describing the details of your question and requesting what you would specifically like done.

A written note

Please don’t call us—it takes time to diligently investigate your concerns and we cannot do it while you wait. It is much better to generate a paper-trail and send us a simple note.

In many cases, you are concerned about something immediate and you want it handled. We get that. You may even be upset, and we get that too, but we won’t know exactly what you are talking about and we won’t have had time to investigate your question or concern right then and there because it can take time to look at what you want us to look at–for example, if you think we missed something that was on the move in but you were charged for it on the move out.

Its much smoother if you simply send us a written note initially so we can take the time to effectively research your question or concern.

From ONE person named on the lease, generally the primary contact

Please get together with your fellow leasemates if you are on a jointly and severally liable lease and come up with a single list. Remember, because you are all jointly and severally liable, we have to address all of you as a group. Similarly, any modification to an invoice, or to the amount of refund due to you, has to pass through the primary contact. Whoever this person is, he or she will be acting on behalf of all parties to the lease.

Its important to understand that such communication must come from someone named on the lease and replies will always be to the primary contact. For example, parents are not a party to the lease, and we cannot discuss your private account with them.

The details of your question

Please describe the details of any questions or concerns you may have. We need enough to be able to research the questions. Be matter of fact and descriptive, e.g. “The itemization includes light bulbs throughout the living room, but those lights all worked when we left” or “The doorstop in the downstairs bedroom on the left was broken when we moved in and never fixed during the year.” This is really helpful for us when we look into what’s wrong. Statements and/or questions that are emotional, complaining about people or us but not about specific things we can help you with, and/or not descriptive of a problem or question are much harder for us to work with or do anything about.

What would you like us to do?

If its simply a question you’d like answered, we are happy to look into or explain a situation. If you want something done, please tell us what you think it should be. We have a better idea of how to help you if we know not only what your question or concern is, but also if you have something you would like. We may not agree to do it, but it gives us a shared place to start from.

A few common concerns, and answers

“Painting and/or cleaning is normal wear and tear, and you can’t charge for normal wear and tear.” Painting and carpet cleaning are specifically contractually excluded from the definition of “normal wear and tear”–please refer to section 6 of your lease agreement and understand that this position has been consistently upheld by Indiana courts for decades. Moreover, realistically, but not really relevant: what happens to many of our homes over the course of a year is often far more than what happens in owner-occupied homes over, well, 10+ years.

“X was like that when we moved in.” Okay, we may have missed it. Here’s what we can do: you tell us X was present at move in. We need to know if you reported it on the move-in form (or some other way soon thereafter). If you DID have it on the move in, then we will check to see if we ever addressed, during your occupancy–that is, do we have a closed work order to address the issue. If no work order exists, we are really sorry that it wasn’t fixed, and we will handle the charge, and wish you had reported it during your stay! If a work order does exist and was closed, we will do some more investigation regarding whether and how it was addressed and will report our decision via the primary contact.

If we, and you, have no record of reporting it, then any associated charge will remain in place. If you have been a respectful, and have a solid history with us, we will consider a request for good will, but remember, this is a request for us to do you a favor, not something to demand.

“$X is outrageous for doing Y.” and the related comment “I could have done Y for $Z.” For the latter, all we can say is, well, then you should have handled it but for some reason, you chose not to do so, so then we had to assign time and materials to the task. We can often do things ourselves for less, or at least we often think we can, especially with seemingly simple things, like light bulbs, or maybe blinds (but there is also always a lost opportunity cost when we do, as well as a learning curve), but when we pay someone else to do it, our charges include the cost of the goods but also the cost of the time to get those goods and to go install them. Overall, in terms of pricing, costing occurs two ways. We, at our sole discretion, either pass along the charges billed to us by our vendors and third-party contractors, or we use a pricing sheet of standardized prices, that is incorporated by reference in your lease/policies and procedures.

It simply costs money to fix things, clean things (baseboards, fans, and appliances any one?), or paint them. Of course, if something seems totally out of line, we are of course happy to investigate it for you. But sometimes things just are shockingly costly. A great example of this is fridge parts. Break those little bars, or a drawer, and it costs quite a lot to replace them.

Short story: Please send us a written request stating exactly what you’d like us to research. We are happy to investigate your question or concern.

Security deposits returns? Who, what, when, where, and why?

So you are all moved out, and you conducted your move-out inspection and have some questions about what happens next? Here’s the 411 on closing out your account and receiving you security deposit and final account reconciliation.

Note, if you are a partial renewal (i.e. you live in a multiperson place and some of you are staying with us, and others are leaving), then your return and reconciliation happens a little differently, especially for those who are staying. Just check in with us.

When (and where) will I receive the final accounting for my lease?

We will mail you an itemized list of damages and deductions, if any, along with either your remaining deposit or an invoice for any costs over and above the deposit. This will happen within 45 days of the end of your lease. It will go to you at your permanent address you provided on the lease. “You” in this case means the primary contact on the lease and the permanent address means the address that person provided when they signed the lease (or subsequently updated).

We really can’t speed this up because our first priority is to get your place fixed back up and turned over to the new tenants. We turn these around as fast as possible, but we generally have to wait for all the work to be completed and all contractors to invoice for it, and so on. You can’t make it go faster by calling or emailing a lot, but doing so might just slow it down. So please bear with us. 45 days. 🙂

How does the move-out inspection work?

We walked through your apartment, hopefully with you but if you weren’t available when the move out was scheduled, then without you. We wrote down any damage we saw inside or outside the apartment. We have a nice, orderly form for doing this. We often take pictures. Sometimes a lot of them (you know who you are!). We generate work orders for your place based on the move-out inspection. These work orders are used to ready the unit for the next tenants.

We take the move-out inspections and the previous move-in inspections and we compare them. We also compare the move-in and move-out inspections to any work you requested during the year. We mark off the things that were on the move-in and were not fixed during the year. We then take the work orders and generate an itemized list of all the labor and materials that would be necessary to address these issues. We then do a final accounting on your ledger, providing you a credit or debit for whatever your unit balance is at the time we close out the account (e.g. did the unit owe money, or did it have a credit balance?), and we tally that with whatever costs are associated with the turnover.

How do I get the refund? Or make a payment?

We then send the final accounting, along with a check or invoice, to the permanent address for the primary contact for the unit. On multi-person locations, like a 5 bedroom home, you are all jointly and severally liable, so its up to the primary contact to work out how much each of you should get back, or owe to us, because you are all, together, responsible for the “one big bucket” that is the account.

If you need to make a payment, it may be made by check to the office. Once you are moved out, your portal access is no longer available for the terminated lease so you will not be able to issue an ACH payment request inside the portal. Under some circumstances, we may be able to assist with this, so send us a note if there is a problem.

Have questions about the itemization?

We have a faq for that, including some common questions and concerns. But the main thing is to simply send us a written description of your questions, and we will respond in detail to the primary contact.

That’s it. Sit back, relax, wait for your primary contact to receive the final accounting. We very much appreciate your choosing to live with us. We hope you enjoyed your time in our place, and that you were able to return the home or apartment to a satisfactory condition. If you need anything, from a rental reference to a question answered, please don’t hesitate to send us a note.