Vacant rental between tenants? 4 things I'd check every week

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Vacant rental between tenants? 4 things I'd check every week

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

The weeks between tenants are when small problems grow, because nobody is living there to notice. Four things we do on every vacant Orange County unit:

- Walk it weekly. Run every tap, flush the toilets, look under sinks and around the water heater.

- Make it look cared for. Utilities on, mail picked up, yard kept up, porch lights on a timer.

- Call the insurance agent. Ask how the policy treats a vacant home and what keeps it covered while empty.

- Log every visit. Date, time and photos for each walk-through, so there's a clean record if something goes wrong.

How often do you check on a unit between tenants?

General information, not legal advice.

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  • Rosina Persaud
    Member since 2023 · 69 posts · 8 votes
    3d

    Leo, for us the vacant period is never open-ended, which changes the checking rhythm. Our turnovers run on a 21-day scheduling system, so a vacant house is on a clock: walk-through and photos at move-out, a mid-turn check while the crew is in, and a final walk before showings start. Between those, we put eyes on it at least weekly — run the water, confirm the heat and air are on, check under sinks for leaks. At 236 doors in Memphis, turnover and vacancy cost more than repairs, so the goal is shrinking the empty days, not just watching the house sit.

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    • Leo SteinBusiness Member
      OP
      Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 177 posts · 41 votes
      3d
      Quote from @Rosina Persaud:

      Leo, for us the vacant period is never open-ended, which changes the checking rhythm. Our turnovers run on a 21-day scheduling system, so a vacant house is on a clock: walk-through and photos at move-out, a mid-turn check while the crew is in, and a final walk before showings start. Between those, we put eyes on it at least weekly — run the water, confirm the heat and air are on, check under sinks for leaks. At 236 doors in Memphis, turnover and vacancy cost more than repairs, so the goal is shrinking the empty days, not just watching the house sit.

      Rosina, a 21-day clock with a move-out walk, a mid-turn check and a final walk before showings is a clear way to shrink the empty days. Running the water and checking under sinks every week while it sits fits that rhythm well. On the mid-turn check, do you photograph the same spots each time so you can compare them against the move-out photos?

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  • Jimmy Samaha
    Staten Island, NY · Member since 2013 · 101 posts · 38 votes
    3d

    Weekly for us too, and more often in the winter. Up here in NY the big one is heat. I keep the thermostat around 55 and if it's going to sit more than a few weeks I shut the main water and drain the lines, because one frozen pipe in January wipes out a whole year of profit.

    On the insurance point, a lot of landlord policies have a vacancy clause that kicks in around 60 days empty and cuts coverage for things like vandalism and water damage. Worth knowing your number before the unit gets close to it.

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  • Jim Johnson
    Real Estate Agent · Memphis · Member since 2026 · 595 posts · 349 votes
    3d

    Once a week is a good baseline, but I'd check more often if the property has had recent maintenance issues or there's been heavy rain or freezing weather. Vacant units can develop problems without anyone noticing, especially leaks. Even a quick walkthrough between scheduled checks can prevent a much bigger repair later.

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  • Patrick O'SullivanBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2024 · 548 posts · 210 votes
    3d

    If you use self-showings or a lockbox, it’s also worth walking the unit after a busy stretch of showings. Unlocked doors and changed thermostats are easy to miss, and an unlocked vacant home invites squatters.

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  • Leo SteinBusiness Member
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    Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 177 posts · 41 votes
    3d

    Thanks, Jimmy, Jim and Patrick, these are all useful. Jimmy, dropping the heat to around 55 and draining the lines on a long vacancy is a smart guard against a frozen pipe. Jim, checking more often after heavy rain or recent repairs makes sense, and Patrick, walking the unit after a busy stretch of showings to catch unlocked doors and changed thermostats is an easy habit to add. Do you change your check schedule when a vacant unit has self-showings, or keep it the same weekly rhythm?

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    • Jimmy Samaha
      Staten Island, NY · Member since 2013 · 101 posts · 38 votes
      3d

      Yeah, with a lockbox going I'll swing by after any day that had a few showings, not just the weekly walk. Mostly checking doors, windows and the thermostat, because people love to crank the heat or leave a back door unlocked. Takes 10 minutes and it's a lot cheaper than finding out a week later.

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  • Rosina Persaud
    Member since 2023 · 69 posts · 8 votes
    2d

    Leo, yes — same spots, same angle, every walk. The move-out photos are the baseline, and the mid-turn and final walks only mean something if you can line them up against that baseline without guessing. Same sink bases, same water heater pan, same ceilings under the upstairs plumbing, same floors at the entries. When a spot changes between walks, it shows up immediately, and the date on the photo tells you when it changed — which is what ends arguments about whether damage was there at move-out or happened during the turn. At 236 doors, that consistency is the whole system: nobody freelances the walk, so no house's record depends on who happened to walk it.

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  • Daniel Jung
    Member since 2026 · 49 posts · 17 votes
    2d

    I would add one simple system to this list. Give the vacant home one short checklist that lives in the same place every time, and have the person who walks it work from that list, not from memory. Mine covers water, heat or cooling, doors and windows, mail, yard, and any smell that was not there last time. After each visit I save the photos with the date in one folder for that home, so anyone on the team can see what changed. I also note who holds the key and when a showing happened. Most vacant home problems are small at first. A steady walk, done the same way each week, is what finds them early.

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

    Jimmy, swinging by after a day of showings to check doors, windows and the thermostat is a cheap habit that catches problems early. Rosina, lining up each walk against the move-out photos from the same spots and angles is what makes a change easy to date. Daniel, a short checklist kept in one place, with dated photos in one folder per home, means anyone on the team can see what changed. Do any of you add a quick check of the lockbox or showing log when you walk the unit?

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    • Jimmy Samaha
      Staten Island, NY · Member since 2013 · 101 posts · 38 votes
      2d

      Yeah I do, mostly because of self showings. I make sure the lockbox code gets changed if a lot of people had it, and I look at the showing log against what I see in the unit. If the thermostat got moved or a light got left on, I know which day it happened and who was in there.

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    • Leo SteinBusiness Member
      OP
      Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 177 posts · 41 votes
      2d
      Quote from @Jimmy Samaha:

      Yeah I do, mostly because of self showings. I make sure the lockbox code gets changed if a lot of people had it, and I look at the showing log against what I see in the unit. If the thermostat got moved or a light got left on, I know which day it happened and who was in there.

      Jimmy, changing the lockbox code after a busy stretch of self showings and comparing the showing log to what you see in the unit is a smart way to pin down which day something moved. Dating a thermostat change or a light left on to a specific visitor makes any follow-up conversation much easier. Do you keep a quick photo of the thermostat setting before showings start so you have something to compare to?

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  • Jimmy Samaha
    Staten Island, NY · Member since 2013 · 101 posts · 38 votes
    2d

    Yeah, I snap one when I set the place up for showings, along with the lights and blinds the way I left them. Takes 10 seconds and then I'm not going off memory when I walk back in. If it's a smart thermostat I just check the history in the app instead.

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  • Muyees Ayilara
    Lender · Boynton Beach, FL · Member since 2026 · 79 posts · 37 votes
    13h

    @Leo Stein — Orange County — this weekly walk list is exactly what saved me on a vacant in Boynton — I'd add one more from FL that bites.

    Your 4 are spot on — especially #3 insurance — most standard landlord policies have 30-60 day vacancy clause — after that, no coverage for water, vandalism, theft — calling agent day 1 of vacancy is not optional — I learned that at day 45 — almost lost water coverage.

    What I added after 2 vacants:

    5. Climate + pests check — 2 minutes that save $2k:

    FL vacant = humidity + no AC = mold in 2 weeks — I run AC at 78-80, not off, and check thermostat log + humidity — CA vacant = heat + pipes — run every tap like you said, but also flush water heater relief + run HVAC fan — sitting water + sitting air = mold + sewer gas

    Put a $15 temp/humidity sensor with phone alert — if AC dies or window left open, you know same day, not next weekly walk — cheap insurance

    Check pest bait + under kitchen sink for leak — vacant units get roaches/ants fast when no one is cooking/cleaning — one bait check per week avoids full treatment later

    And for your #4 log — I do video walk, not just photos — 60-second clip date-stamped — shows you ran taps, flushed, lights on timer — if pipe bursts or squatter, you have proof you were maintaining — insurance and judge love video over photos.

    How long are your OC vacants averaging now between tenants? In Palm Beach, I'm seeing 14-21 days if rent-ready, 30+ if needs paint — your weekly walk keeps it rent-ready.

    Thanks for posting checklist — saving this for my PM.

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