What to use the Deposit for?

Question

I have tenants leaving in a couple of days. They cleaned up the place really good and I see no damages except for a few nail holes on walls which they filled and patched, but needs paint now.

I have the paint but not sure if I will end up painting the whole room to avoid color miss match or just over the patches. If I painted the rooms do I need to take it out of their deposit? or is painting considered a wear and tear? House is in NC.

thanks a bunch!

Alexander Felice · Answer

good tenants, short lease, left the place clean. The only thing the unit needs is paint touch up and MAYBE a rekey......why has it taken so long for the correct answer to be mentioned?

Give them back their deposit.

The deposit is holding money in case they damage your property. it's not profit, it's insurance. The landlord happens to hold this insurance in case of claim. If there is no claim, they get the money back since it's their money.

Ron T. · Answer

If your checklist says to fill and patch holes then they have have written proof that you expect holes in the walls and they did what was asked.

Are we talking 5-10 picture nail holes or are we talking fist through the wall patch holes?

If its picture hanging nails, dont sweat the small stuff. Give them their deposit and thank them for being a GREAT tenant and ask them to send you all their like minded friends who take care of property.

Joe Splitrock · Answer

I agree with Sue K. that hanging things on the wall falls under reasonable wear and tear. You should be able to patch the holes and touch up paint. This assumes you have matching wall paint and that the walls were painted sometime recently. If you are trying to touch up ten year old paint, you could have trouble. I have also learned that higher quality paint is easier to touch up. When I first started in rentals, I bought cheap paint and repainted entire walls. Now I buy expensive paint and just wipe down/touch up between tenants. If you are forced to paint the entire wall due to the age of paint, then you shouldn't be charging the tenant.

Mike F. · Answer

If you have the paint you should be able to blend in the patches as long as the repairs blend with the finished wall surfaces. For what it's worth, nail holes shouldn't be 'patches' it's a nail hole, it should be filled with caulk and touched up and they should disappear not 'patched'. If they did big patches using drywall compound you can probably just wipe them and remove them with a wet sponge and then fill, not patch the holes and touch up and be on your way.

We had a tenant do something like this a long time ago, they patched over their tiny nail holes, turning a 1/16th hole into a 4'-5" god awful mud smear over textured walls, they then for some reason primed over the patches, that was considered damage to us, as it required retexturing the walls to blend in the patches and then repainting the entire walls, the patching cost that tenant about 2K.

Yvette M. · Answer

I would think changing would be under the cost of doing business.  You should get a "master key" system and keep extra lock mechanisms to you can rotate them between tenants.

Account Closed · Answer

So true!  We told tenants not to fill in nail holes and we wouldn't charge them for them.  The worst thing they'll do is use toothpaste!  Unfortunately, this is mentioned on tv shows, etc., as an easy way to cover up nail holes.   Next thing you know, you've got a greasy spreading stain.

Account Closed · Answer

Personally, I think it's unreasonable to tell tenants they can't hang any pictures or artwork.  Really?  Do you live in a house that has nothing hanging on the walls?  Is that normal living?

Now, if they put giant bolts into the studs, which required some massive drywall repair, okay, they should be charged for that.  But, I think some paint touch-up is normal wear and tear, and that includes minor spackling for nail holes.

Buy paint that is the same color for all your rentals.  Then, all you have to do is some minor spackling and paint from the floor up to about eye level, normally.  Makes the unit look and smell nice and fresh for the next tenant.  Consider that a normal, quick part of turning over a unit.

That's what we did, anyway.

Now, if there were giant holes in the wall from someone putting their fist through it, etc., that was "damage" as opposed to normal wear and tear.

But, let's be fair here.

This is for CA, so may not apply to you, but it's a good reference for normal wear and tear and the normal life of paint and carpets, etc.:

Scroll down to the blue section:

http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/se...

Dustin Beam · Answer

@Sada Rafi, I hope you don't think I'm trying to hijack your thread, hoping to just expand a little since I was about to start a similar thread.

How does everybody determine cost? For instance, what if the tenant leaves a bunch of junk there. Moving it does have some monetary value (maybe taking to a dump or whatever), but what about the hassle of actually moving it? Things like that I'm unsure how it should be handled. I'm new so just trying to figure out the details....the correct details on how to landlord property.

Sada Rafi · Answer

thanks everyone for your input! They all are greatly appreciated. This was my first time posting as i am new member and quiet impressed with many responses from experienced landlords!

Sada Rafi · Answer

Thanks Yvette, I like the idea of adding that to my lease for the new tenant who are moving in in 3 days! However, it needs to be an addendum to the lease as you can't revise the original lease from NC real estate association which I use.  And, sure I can share the checklist I use. Is there a way I can attach here?

Ron,  thanks for your reply. I know when I was a tenant my landlord made me hire professional cleaners, carpet cleaners and flea treatment, etc with receipts. Even with all of that, she took couple of hundreds out of my deposit for painting which is considered wear and tear. But I don't want to be that kind of landlord and were satisfied with these tenants. So agreed.

thanks all!

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