I have 5 students who's lease expired and they all moved out, upon inspection inside my rental home, I found damages, took photos of it. hired some contractors from thumbtack app and facebook locally to fix some major wall scuffing, repainting and many more issues.
I sent a certified letter within 15 calendar days notice of intention on the deposit with printed copy of estimates for the damages. Tenant asking for photos and explanations on how I came to this conclusion, I will be sending photos , that is not an issue, but am I required to give detailed explanation how I came to those estimates?
Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes
5y
If you sent estimates and paid those actual expenses I would not worry about it. You DID mention paint though. So you should remember that reasonable wear and tear is NOT damages and may not be offset by the security deposit. If you sent estimates and did the work yourself--you owe that money to the tenants. I NEVER do any work myself for that reason. Sub it out--and charge for it.
If you sent estimates and paid those actual expenses I would not worry about it. You DID mention paint though. So you should remember that reasonable wear and tear is NOT damages and may not be offset by the security deposit. If you sent estimates and did the work yourself--you owe that money to the tenants. I NEVER do any work myself for that reason. Sub it out--and charge for it.
It wasn't normal wear and tear, it was damage from table and chairs that left deep marks and had to have drywall fixed and then repainted, forgot to mention. Do I even have to provide my tenant list of my sub contractors?
In addition I also had to hire cleaners for like major cleaning , since the place that was handed to my tenants was super clean, and had bbq polished clean , yet I received it unclean, unwashed, technically I should be legally able to charge them for that, since the condition i received is not the same.
Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes
5y
You can offset for damage. I document everything and pay hire help to do repairs. If you are doing the same, the odds are you are OK. You cannot deduct for REASONABLE wear and tear.
Investor · Ocala, FL · Member since 2016 · 299 posts · 110 votes
5y
I take pictures of rentals when they move out and just list cleaning and repairs individually on the notice to make a claim on the security deposit. Not detailed, but for example - clean filthy toilet $10, clean bathtub and tile $20, remove broken chair in LR and trash and haul to dump $75, etc. It adds up and I do have pics in case the ex-tenant decides to go to court. If they destroy an appliance, then I put the price of the new appliance and show discount for depreciation (so maybe $500 for new range less $200 depreciation). That makes it harder for them to dispute any charges and it usually adds up to more than the security deposit. I don't charge for paint (unless they painted the room some dark color that makes me do additional coats of paint). Had one tenant get mad and paint several rooms with black exterior paint, including receptacles and baseboard. That took extra coats to cover.