The following is a list of areas tenants tend to forget or leave dirty when they vacate a unit. It is not intended to cover every possibility as each dwelling is different. However, if you cover this list and remember that the objective is to leave the unit clean enough that a new tenant will not call to complain about dirt, you should be okay. 

1. All pins, nails, and screws used to hang pictures should be removed. If you need to patch or spackle them, there are several products available. If you need to touch-up paint over a hole there are paint stores that can match paint from a small chip. You can purchase as little as a quart to do the touch-up.
   
2. Be sure to wash dirt and marks of the walls and woodwork. Especially note areas around light switches, doorknobs and moldings.
   
3. Tenants almost always forget to dust the front and back of doors.
   
4. Ceiling molding, wall molding, window molding, baseboards, and windowsills should be dusted, washed or wiped down.
   
5. Blinds should be wiped clean of dirt and dust. Vacuuming will sometimes do the trick if you have a soft round brush attachment. This same method should be used to clean any wall or floor furnaces you may have.
   
6. If you occupy a unit where washing the windows inside and out was a condition to move-in, you must wash them again before your move.
   
7. Bathroom walls and ceilings must be free of mold and mildew. A product called TSP can help with this chore.
   
8. Kitchen walls can also be cleaned with TSP, or other similar cleaner, to remove grease and grime that builds up over time.
   
9. All sinks, toilets, bathtubs and showers should be scrubbed clean. There should be no soap scum or hair left behind.
   
10. The inside of the stove and broiler should sparkle. EZ Off works wonders-just follow the instructions and make sure it is wiped clean after.
    
11. The inside of the refrigerator and freezer should be washed. If you have a freezer that frosts up, it must be defrosted and cleaned. Don't forget the refrigerator drawers and door, also top of the refrigerator.
    
12. The inside of all cabinets should be emptied and the shelves wiped clean. All drawers should be emptied and wiped clean. A good vacuum works wonders in this area also. Don't forget medicine cabinets - get rid of that left over toothpaste and hair.
    
13. Closets should be completely empty. That includes hangers and gift-wrap. Be sure to dust any closet shelving.
    
14. All non-carpeted floors should be scrubbed clean - even the corners. Murphy's Oil Soap works wonders on hardwood floors.
    
15. Carpets should be vacuumed and any stains cleaned up. Remember to take special care to vacuum up dirt and dust bunnies along the walls and in corners.
    
16. Decks must be completely cleaned.
    
17. Garages must be cleared of all personal property and broom swept. Oil stains should be cleaned up. "Oil-eater" available through Costco will remove/dissolve oil residue on garage floors.
    
18. If you have a yard or garden and the property does not have a gardener then you are responsible for the maintenance. Make sure the grounds are free of debris. If you have been piling up clippings or dead foliage during your tenancy it is your responsibility to remove it, otherwise you will be charged for clearing the hauling fees.
    
19. Your move-out garbage must go with you or to the dump. Do not leave all the trash cans full and a pile of things to be thrown away. Make arrangements with the garbage service or take it to the dump. Trash and personal belongings left behind will be disposed of at your expense.
    
20. Obviously, dirty glass light fixtures should be washed. Make sure all the light bulbs are working.
    

TENANTS WITH PETS

1. Animal smells and soils must be removed from carpets. If you believe normal vacuuming or spot cleaning is not enough please give the office a call and we can recommend low cost carpet cleaners that specialize in neutralizing odors and removing pet stains.
   
2. Remember to remove any pet feces from the yard, garden or surrounding grounds. This is very important!
   
3. Fleas are a very big issue for tenants with pets. Fleas live only a small portion of their lives on animals. The rest of the time they live and breed in dust and debris in the carpet - especially along the walls and in corners. We recommend a good vacuuming and flea bombing. There are several flea bombs on the market. Usually using twice as many as suggested on the product works. Follow the bombing with another thorough vacuuming and if you're not sure or concerned, bomb again. You should provide proof that this was done. Once the pets are removed fleas go to people. A service hired to remove fleas can cost as mochas $350.00. Generally, a double bombing and care to vacuum thoroughly between bombs will do the trick. If you had pets and incoming tenants complain of fleas, you re responsible. Explanations about "regular flea baths" or "I never saw any fleas when I lived there" will not be accepted. You will be charged for de-fleaing the unit.

For some this cleaning list may seem overwhelming. If you choose you may phone the office and we can recommend a cleaning service that will guarantee that there won't be any deductions for dirt from your security deposit.

One last hint, if you live in a unit where you have been responsible for the utilities, you should notify the utility companies of your move and request a "special reading" on your move out date because you may be responsible for continued utility usage even after you are gone. Utility accounts generally fall back upon the owner or the management company for payment after a certain point, but these charges will be deducted from your deposit if you do not terminate your service and pay the final charges. Requesting a special reading and "final bill" will eliminate confusion.

You are responsible for any outstanding utility bills, late fees, NSF charges or delinquent rent. If you are concerned about this, call the office. We will provide you with a tenant ledger and you can make arrangements to pay this before you move out.

Finally, please understand that myHomeSpot.com is not interested in taking your security deposit from you. We find no greater joy in our job than returning a security deposit, to a recently-vacated tenant because they have left the unit in a condition that is equal to the unit's condition when we first rented it to them. This allows us to re-rent the unit right away and saves us a great deal of hassle and expense.

Once you have provided us with your official 30 days notice of intent to vacate your home you should expect to receive a letter within approximately one week from myHomeSpot.com detailing the process of terminating your tenancy. This letter will informing you of your right to have the premises inspected by a myHomeSpot.com representative to detail what damages could potentially lead to deductions from your security deposit refund check. You will also be informed that this inspection may not be scheduled before the final 15 days of your tenancy. If you would like to have this inspection, please check the appropriate box on the form enclosed with this letter and return it to us as soon as possible.

When your inspection is performed, please keep a few things in mind: first, the inspector does not make decisions about the final deductions from your security deposit. The inspector is simply responsible for informing you whether any damages to your rental unit could be deducted from your deposit. Second, please keep in mind that the inspector’s responsibility is to inform you of which damages could be deduced, not what they will cost. This decision is made after you have vacated the unit and we have had a chance to obtain the opinion of professionals qualified to provide estimations of the cost of repairing any damages. Third, please understand that the inspector does not take into account any damages that existed in your apartment before you moved in.

This is the purpose of your move in condition itemized statement, which you should have filled out within the first 5 days of your tenancy and which should be in our files. Any damages that the inspector suggests could be deducted from your deposit, but of which you have evidence was the condition of the unit before you lived there will obviously not be deducted. If you did not fill out a move in condition itemized statement when you moved in or did not otherwise notify myHomeSpot.com or your landlord at the time you moved in of damages to your property, any damages found after you move out may be charged to your final security deposit.

On the day you have arranged to vacate your apartment please make sure that you have returned your keys to our office. This terminates your tenancy in a very real and tangible way because it means that you have relinquished possession of the implements that allow you to control access to the premises. Please do not expect for us to come to your apartment on the day you told us you were moving out and pick up the keys there. While we do keep keys to your apartment in our office, we do our best not to make unannounced and unsolicited visits to your apartment while you were living there and we do not mean to develop that unpleasant habit even when you have informed us that you intend to move out.

Once your initial 12 month lease expires, you may terminate your tenancy at any time, provided you notify myHomeSpot.com of your intent to vacate the unit 30 days before you stop paying rent. You are free to leave the premises at any time; you are not free, however, to stop paying the rent until your lease obligation has been fulfilled and your 30 days notice period has expired.

You may provide us with formal notice via email or by sending a letter, either by mail or hand delivery. We will acknowledge receipt of your 30 days notice within 15 days by sending you a letter reminding you of the process of moving out of your property and offering you an Initial Move-out Inspection.  If you do not receive this confirmation letter and form offering the Initial Move-out Inspection, please send us an email or call our office to confirm that we have received your notification of intent to vacate your property.

You may provide us with your 30 days notice of intent to vacate at any time of the month. People frequently believe that they need to provide notice effective the end or beginning of the month and this is not true. Simply let us know that you intend to vacate the apartment 30 days in advance of the date you are providing notice and this will be acceptable. Frequently, people forget to provide us with a forwarding address for their security deposit refund check; please do not forget to give us your new address! If we have not been given an address to send your deposit refund check, we will have no choice but to send the check to your old address and hope you have forwarded your mail with the US Postal Service.

For partial months rent, you may pro-rate the rent for the number of days you will actually be staying. Regardless of the number of days in any particular month, rent is pro-rated using a standard 30-day month in the real estate industry. To pro-rate your rent, simply divide your monthly rent by 30 to obtain a daily rent amount, then multiply this daily rent by the number of days you will actually be staying in your apartment. If you choose to simply pay a full month’s rent in advance, we will be glad to refund any overpayment of rent along with your security deposit refund at the time we send it to you.

Please also remember that your lease specifically states that your security deposit may not be used as a last month’s rent. Non-payment of rent in your last month of tenancy may lead to legal attempts to obtain your last month’s rent from you and could result in having an eviction on your credit record.

When you move in to your new rental unit you are asked to sign a 12 month lease.  If you are unable, for whatever reason, to fulfill your 12 month lease obligation, you will be held responsible for any damages that the owner suffers as a result of your inability to fulfill this obligation. These damages begin with your reimbursing the owner for the leasing fee (which is equal to a month's rent).  This fee was paid by the owner of the property where you lived, to compensate our company for the work in finding you to rent a property for 12 months. The owner is entitled to reimbursement of this fee if you do not stay 12 months.

When you move in to your new rental unit you are asked to sign a 12 month lease which acts as proof of that commitment. If you are unable, for whatever reason, to fulfill your 12 month lease obligation, you will be held responsible for any damages that the owner suffers as a result of your inability to fulfill this obligation. These damages begin with your reimbursing the owner for the Real Management Company’s leasing fee, which is located on the lower left side of the cover sheet on your lease. This fee was paid by the owner of the property where you lived, to compensate The Real Management Company for our work in finding you to rent the apartment for 12 months. The owner is entitled to reimbursement of this fee if you do not stay 12 months.

You will also be liable for any loss of rent that occurs because you have stopped paying rent and nobody else is paying rent during the time you had agreed that you would. The moment that you return your keys to us, we will use the same diligence in finding a qualified tenant to replace you as we used in finding you. Until such a replacement tenant is found, you are liable for paying the rent, providing utilities, landscape and other services to maintain the property as you agreed to pay.

Finally, you are responsible for paying for any damages to the premises that you caused. These damages will be determined before the property is placed back on the market and we begin the search for a suitable new tenant. Any damages to the premises will be repaired and these repairs will be charged to you and you will undoubtedly suffer a longer vacancy period for which you will be responsible for paying.

Our hope is that we can work together to minimize any vacancy and the financial obligations you would incur as a result of your decision to break your lease.