This six-year old home was in excellent condition and one year later was in deplorable condition with over $2400 in damages (before applying the deposit). The tenant received copies of all the bills as well as the overwhelming evidence documenting the damages that were absolutely her responsibility including 364 photographs. *** It does not benefit the management company to retain a tenant's security deposit. Not only must any funds retained be used to correct the damages, but when tenants like this one cause such damage, it actually creates extra work for the managers. We must coordinate getting all the work done and determine how much if any is the tenant?s responsibility and provide the tenants with timely accounting and supporting documentation. *** We use a six-page inspection form to detail the exact condition of every room in the house, everything in each room and the entire exterior of the property as well, both at move in and move out. After the tenants move out, the move-in inspection is carefully compared to the move-out inspection, and the move-in pictures are compared to the move-out pictures and estimates are obtained for all work needed before any discussion happens with the owner regarding how much of the security deposit should be refunded to the tenants. Any uncorrected damages occurring between the inspections that are clearly not normal wear and tear may be the responsibility of the tenant, as is painstakingly detailed in the Welcome info provided to each tenant. If there is nothing to be charged to the tenant, not only will they likely get a full refund of their security deposit, but they will get it more quickly than if there are charges to deduct. We LOVE to be able to refund a tenant's entire deposit. Whether or not that happens is entirely up to the tenant. *** To date, more than seven months later, we have submitted this tenant to a collection agency but she has not pursued any legal action against us as she claimed she would.
Pros: We're VERY detail oriented, both going in and coming out.
Cons: We're VERY detail oriented, both going in and coming out. :)
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