How Long Should Property Manager Have to Make-Ready after Lease End?

[Jordan T.]

Question: how long do property managers normally allow for cleaning/repairing a property once a tenant leaves?

Our old townhouse in Raleigh was having a difficult time getting rented out.  I had lease-up agent list it 6 weeks before the end of the existing lease, and it was seeing few showings in a pretty hot market.

I didn't notice until a few weeks had gone by that the Available Date was listed as the 19th of the following month, when it was actually vacant on the 1st.  When asked, the agent said it was to allow us sufficient time to paint, make repairs, etc.  In reality, it was going to cost us a month's rent, because the potential clients wanted to move in on the 1st, or at least earlier in the month.

This agent is also the property manager for a few of my parents' rentals, and says that their company policy allows 10 days to do the make-ready on the property.

This seems long to me, and would cost a few extra percentage points of vacancy loss over time.

Are there any best practices for property management in this regard?

[Brie Schmidt]

It depends on the repairs.  For a standard move out with no excessive damages, my PM does paint and cleaning in a day.  So tenants are out by noon on the last day and we are ready for move in by 8 am on the first.