turning over a unit

As mentioned in this post, we had tenants leaving one of our units this weekend.  When I did the final inspection, the place was spotless.  They’d obviously worked really hard to get it spick and span, and it looked like it did when they moved in.  We’d completely renovated it and finished just before they did move in, so to all intents and purposes, it looked ‘brand new’.

And yet, despite all this, it took SO and I about three and a half hours to get it up to scratch for the new tenants.  Why is this?  Well, there are things that tenants just never do.  By default, it’s our responsibility to do these things before we hand the unit over to the new tenants.  Usually this is ’spring clean’ kind of stuff, but some of it is fairly routine (you would think).  These things include:

• cleaning around taps and spout fittings with an old toothbrush and a cream cleanser;
• emptying the light fittings of the bugs that have died in them;
• washing windows and sliding doors;
• cleaning the oven (I’ve never met a tenant yet who cleans the oven <sigh>);
• vacuuming dirt out of window and sliding door tracks;
• damp dusting every surface, including tops of wardrobes, door jambs and the fridge;
• wiping every cupboard shelf down with a cream cleanser (gets the marks off);
• properly cleaning the fridge;
• moving the furniture and vacuuming underneath everything;
• checking all the lights and replacing any blown globes;
• wiping sundry marks off walls; and
• cleaning filters for air conditioning units, expel air fans, etc.

This doesn’t include the handyman-type stuff, which SO takes care of – things like changing the flyscreen on the screen doors, changing tap washers, etc.  It also doesn’t include the ‘extra’ stuff that finds its way onto the list, like scrubbing graffiti off the external part of the air conditioner, which was needed for this turnover.  (Luckily it came off relatively easily). 

Then there’s organising the paperwork – drawing up two copies of the lease, the bond documentation, the initial inspection paperwork, as well as remembering to put in the two receipt books, and the little guide we produce for every unit which outlines handy info such as who’s responsible for what utilities, local shops/doctors/chemists/you name it. 

So yes, it’s a full on process.  However, it’s all worth it – when we do it all ourselves, it saves money, and gives us a better idea of how the place is looking generally.  We also become aware if there are any potential problems that might arise in the near future.  For example, when I opened the kitchen cupboard which houses the water heater, I saw two little cockroaches.  Yuck!!  Now, both SO and I remember the cockroach infestation that was in this unit when we originally bought it.  They particularly love the water heater, because it’s warm, and the main plumbing duct is an entrance and exit to our unit for them.  While our tenants didn’t mention any problems with cockroaches, we now know that they do still get in, so we can take preventative measures and give that cupboard a spray and some baits to manage the problem.

So yes, it can be very handy turning over rental properties.  You keep an eye on the place, save money, and have a better awareness of how it’s travelling generally.  It’s definitely worth it for us on cost savings alone.