1. If the area is safe and reachable cut off the power to affected areas and do not step in standing water as shock may occur.
2. If the flood is internal, turn off the water source if possible.
3. Once area is safe, using caution as wet floors are slippery, try to clear out any standing water to minimize damages.
4. Remove high value items from affected areas.
5. Call 808-216-3256 and relax….. we will take it from here.
A lot of preparation goes into buying a home and there are tons of lists on the internet for people who are about to move into their new home or preparing a home or apartment for rent or sale. But what about the poor guy who had to get that home back in “like new” shape for them? Well this article is dedicated to that guy, working hard day in and day out preparing a home or apartment for rent/re-rent or sale.
Preparing An Apartment for Rent/Re-Rent
There are two types of people who are tasking with the job of preparing an apartment for rent or re-rent. You have the tenant who is about to move out of the apartment and wants his deposit back. Then you have the maintenance man who’s got to get the apartment back in shape quickly so it’s not sitting vacant. So let’s go over a couple basic things for each of them to check when preparing an apartment for rent/re-rent.
Former Tenant
If you’re moving out of your apartment there are a few things you need to take care of before handing your keys back in. Make sure you:
- Deep clean every surface including walls and window blinds
- The kitchen and bathrooms must be spotless because this is the first place the apartment complex is going to look at
- Clean the carpets thoroughly and try to get all stains out
- Patch any nail holes in the walls from hanging pictures
- Pay close attention to the kids’ rooms because they surely destroyed something and never told you about it
Maintenance Man
Your former tenant hopefully did a proper job cleaning the apartment before you get to it. But they never do everything. You may find a variety of items left behind by them, some of which you may have to dispose of appropriately like an old broken Mac or PC. That’s where you and your punch list come in. Now you get to:
- Clean the refrigerator and freezer and remove all the food the tenant didn’t want to take with them
- Patch the holes that the tenant covered with an end table or chair
- Pull miles of hair out of each drain
- Play find the smell in the kids’ rooms
Preparing a Home for Rent/Re-Rent
If you’re preparing a home for rent/re-rent then you’ll have to do both the tenant and maintenance job from our earlier topic. You’ll be responsible for all the holes, smells, and hair in the inside of the house. Plus you will be doing everything outside the house such as:
- Pulling weeds and vines up from the entire yard
- Cleaning years worth of litter out of the back yard
- Making the above ground swamp look like a pool again
- Pressure washing every surface you didn’t want to wash when you were living there
Preparing a Home for Sale
If you’re preparing a home for sale then it’s a whole different ballgame. The mortgage company will be bringing in a home inspector to check every nook and cranny of the entire property. That’s when the big money comes in. When preparing a home for sale you need to watch out for the following so you can pass the inspection:
- The roof – it may not be on fire but if it leaks at all you’re going to be spending a lot of money to get it fixed
- Plumbing – all that hair down the drains will wreak havoc on a plumbing system, especially if it’s an older septic style
- The foundation – you may think your home is stable but many times small fissures in the walls and floor tiles may spell out trouble at a closing table
If you’re moving out of your own home and into a new one, then chances are you’re going to come across a good 70% of the things I mentioned in this article all on your own. If you’re a landlord with a few rental properties then you’ve come across every one already. Plus you could probably tell me some horror stories! Maybe you might want to consider giving the new tenant a break on the deposit for pulling all the hair from the drains and finding the smells themselves. That would make preparing a home or apartment for rent or sale much easier!