Move-in day: 4 things I document before handing over the keys

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Move-in day: 4 things I document before handing over the keys

Leo SteinBusiness Member
Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 177 posts · 41 votes

The record you make on move-in day is the one you lean on at move-out. Four things we do on every new tenancy in Orange County:

- Walk it together. Room by room with the tenant, filling out a written move-in condition checklist.

- Photograph everything. Dated photos and a short video of every room, appliance, floor and wall, plus meter readings.

- Sign it and share it. Both sides sign the checklist and each keeps a copy.

- Put it in writing. How to report a repair, who to call in an emergency, and any HOA rules, handed over on day one.

What's on your move-in checklist?

General information, not legal advice.

[email protected]949-391-1019
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  • Rosina Persaud
    Member since 2023 · 69 posts · 7 votes
    2d

    Leo, ours overlaps yours, with two additions that pay off later. First, the key record: how many keys went out, and a function check on every lock with the tenant standing there, noted on the checklist — a lock that sticks gets fixed before handover, not reported in week two. Second, the money conversation in writing on day one: the one rent payment method that is in the lease, the same for every house, so there is never a "nobody told me" later. On photos, we shoot the same spots and angles we will shoot at the mid-turn and final walks, so move-in, turn, and move-out records line up against each other. At 236 doors, that comparability is what settles deposit conversations without an argument.

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  • Benn MartensonBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Ventura, CA · Member since 2026 · 20 posts · 7 votes
    2d

    This is very helpful.

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  • Leo SteinBusiness Member
    OP
    Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 177 posts · 41 votes
    2d

    Rosina, the lock function check with the tenant standing there is a great addition, since a sticky lock gets fixed before handover instead of in week two. Shooting the same spots and angles at move-in, mid-turn and final walks also makes the records easy to compare. Benn, glad it helped. Rosina, do you give the tenant a copy of the key count and photos at move-in, or keep them in your own file?

    [email protected]949-391-1019
    Real Property Management Optimal 514 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
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    • Rosina Persaud
      Member since 2023 · 69 posts · 7 votes
      1d

      Leo, the tenant gets a copy of all of it — the signed checklist, the key count, and the photos — before we leave the house on move-in day, and our file holds the identical set. Two reasons. First, a record the tenant has never seen is worth very little at move-out; when both sides signed the same pages and hold the same photos, most deposit conversations end before they start. Second, it changes behavior: a tenant who watched you document the house tends to hand it back closer to that condition. Same-spots photos at move-in and move-out only work as a comparison when nobody can claim the record was built after the fact.

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  • Jimmy Samaha
    Staten Island, NY · Member since 2013 · 99 posts · 36 votes
    2d

    Mine is pretty close to that. I'd add photos of the smoke and CO detectors with the test button pressed, the serial numbers on the appliances, and the keys you're handing over, so there's no argument later about how many fobs or garage remotes they got. I also take a quick photo of the water heater and under each sink, because that's where a slow leak shows up first and it's nice to have a dated starting point.

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    • Leo SteinBusiness Member
      OP
      Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 177 posts · 41 votes
      1d
      Quote from @Jimmy Samaha:

      Mine is pretty close to that. I'd add photos of the smoke and CO detectors with the test button pressed, the serial numbers on the appliances, and the keys you're handing over, so there's no argument later about how many fobs or garage remotes they got. I also take a quick photo of the water heater and under each sink, because that's where a slow leak shows up first and it's nice to have a dated starting point.

      Jimmy, photos of the smoke and CO detectors with the test button pressed are a good addition, and so is a count of the fobs and garage remotes handed over. A dated photo of the water heater and under each sink gives you a starting point if a slow leak shows up later. Do you have the tenant sign off on the key and remote count at move-in?

      [email protected]949-391-1019
      Real Property Management Optimal 514 Reviews
      WebsiteView Page
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  • Jimmy Samaha
    Staten Island, NY · Member since 2013 · 99 posts · 36 votes
    1d

    Yes, it's a line on the move in checklist with the count of each thing, keys, fobs, mailbox key, garage remote, and they initial it. Then at move out whatever's missing comes out of the deposit. In a lot of NYC buildings a replacement fob runs 50 to 100 bucks each, so it adds up quick.

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