Move out process for tenant with dogs

[Sam Abe]

My tenant is moving out this month and she is claiming that we have to give her a cashiers check for the security deposit and the pet deposit right away after the walk through or else she will go to court.

I know we have upto 21 days to refund the money but what is the procedure as we wont know right away what the condition is by just doing a visual inspection while they are they standing there. How should we handle this. This is my frst time dealing with a tenant leaving and she is leaving as she has been nothing by headache with exteremely ridiculous demands. The property is in California.

What are some of the top things to watch for after she vacates. Should we bring in carpet cleaners and deduct that from the deposit if the place is in a condition bad that what it was when she rented mainly because she has 2 dogs. She has lived there for 1 year exactly.

What should i tell her as she is expecting the cashier check but I would think I need to evaluate after she leaves rather than doing on the spot.

Thanks.

[Michele Fischer]

In Washington state we have 14 days and we can refund with personal check. Check your local tenant landlord law.

Walk through with her if she wants, point out any obvious issues, tell her it will take more time to take a closer look.

We require a receipt for professional carpet cleaning or we charge them for it, but it is in the agreement that way. Agree the smell and look test is best. Smell the carpet, especially if small dogs.

Figure out what you can do to better weed out high maintenance tenants, annoying is not a protected class.