How much to charge for wall holes, broken lightbulbs, and cleaning?

Question

Here is my dilemma: My tenants just moved out (20 days prior to when their lease actually ended), but they left the house in less-than-ideal condition, after living there for only 2 years.

- They were big fans of hanging heavy stuff on walls. I counted 30 anchors, which will have to be removed, spackled, textured and painted. This is in multiple rooms. My guess is that I will not be able to get the touchups blend in without painting entire walls. The diameter of the holes varies 1/8, 1/4, and (sometimes) 1/2 inch. How much do I charge for each repair?

- Also, 8 halogen bulbs are burned out and need to be replaced. What is a reasonable charge here?

- They cleaned a little bit, but that also leaves much to be desired (oven, fridge, floors, drawers). The house needs a move-out deep cleaning.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

I am located in TX and TX law provides that the tenant to sue the landlord to recover “three times the portion of the deposit wrongfully withheld” plus other fees. This is why I am asking these questions. I do not want to be taken advantage of, but I also do not want to deal with the court system. (The issues I mentioned above are just the main ones. Other issues include, unmoved lawn, weeds everywhere, damaged landscaping, gutters that need to be cleaned etc.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

If you know anything about real estate investing, you know that tenants sometimes leave the rental damaged or dirty. Why wait until that happens to come up with a plan?

Here's the Texas law: https://guides.sll.texas.gov/l...

You have 30 days to handle this. If the tenant fails to provide a forwarding address, the clock doesn't start ticking.

1. Your lease should limit what the Tenant can hang. Mine says "a reasonable amount of small nails" and specifically says they will not mount TVs, shelves, or other large items on walls or ceilings. If they violate that, they get charged.

2. A court typically will not accept charges from the homeowner. They may reimburse you for materials, but not labor. If you want your charges to stand up in court, you need to hire professionals.

3. The damage is beyond "ordinary wear-and-tear" so you should charge them. Sometimes you can't get the paint to match so it's best to just repaint the entire wall. If you can't get one wall to match the other three, paint it a different color like an accent wall.

4. If you hire professionals, they will charge fair market, they will do it professionally, and you won't have to worry about whether the charges are fair.

A halogen bulb may be $5 but it takes time/labor to swap out so the charge will likely be closer to $10 per bulb. I estimate $5 - $10 per bulb with some specialty bulbs running $20. Again, I make sure all the bulbs work prior to occupancy, I have pictures proving they all work, and my lease states Tenants are responsible for ensuring they all work when they move out or they will be charged for it.

Same with cleaning. If they don't clean, I hire a professional at $25 - $35 per hour and that professional determines how much the Tenant is charged.

Do yourself a favor and buy "Every Landlord's Legal Guide" by NOLO. Written by attorney investors, it's full of practical advice pertaining to management of investment property, has sample forms that can be edited, and - most importantly - they tell you what your primary state laws are and where you can read them. It's updated every year and is the best $40 you'll spend as a Landlord. There is one book for 49 states and a separate book for California.

Theresa Harris · Answer

When was the house last painted? Do you have any leftover paint? Hire a cleaner and charge them that amount. for bulbs, again how old were they, how long do they normally last. If they last 4 years and you bought them 2 years ago, charge them 50% of the price for new ones.

If they left before the lease was up, did they pay you for April's rent?

Amanda Janes · Answer

@Marek Kucharski - in most cases, holes in wall due to mounting is considered normal wear and tear. I would be cautious charging for the anchor holes.

For cleaning, hire someone to clean and charge them for it. If you don’t want to charge them for the entire cleaning, request the cleaner to itemize per room or per specific items for you.

If it was in your lease they are responsible for landscaping and there’s no local law conflicting with this responsibility, then charge them what you are charged to take care of the issue.

We provide a standard move out turn over cost estimate sheet to tenants for things that are their responsibility.

For the lightbulbs, charge costs plus labor.

100% get estimates and/or invoices as backup. Document EVERYTHING before and after photos. Keep or ask for receipts for materials.

Randall Alan · Answer

@Marek Kucharski

In Florida you are not required to return the security deposit for two weeks. If you get estimates you can rightfully charge what it costs to repair based on those estimates. We have a fee schedule in our lease that specifies repair charges they sign when they move in. (Food for future thought there). Find a drywall guy and get a quote.

Same with cleaning. Bulbs are at Home Depot… buy them and charge them for them. We add $25 for our time as well on simple things like that…. Driving to and from the store, replacing the bulbs, etc.

all the best!

Randy

How much to charge for wall holes, broken lightbulbs, and cleaning?

How much to charge for wall holes, broken lightbulbs, and cleaning?

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