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

Leo SteinBusiness Member

Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 227 posts · 47 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.

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Rosina Persaud
Member since 2023 · 85 posts · 14 votes
1w
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
1w
This is very helpful.
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Leo SteinBusiness Member
OP
Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 227 posts · 47 votes
1w
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?
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- Rosina Persaud
  Member since 2023 · 85 posts · 14 votes
  6d
  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 · 127 posts · 61 votes
1w
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 · 227 posts · 47 votes
  1w
  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?
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Jimmy Samaha
Staten Island, NY · Member since 2013 · 127 posts · 61 votes
1w
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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James JonesPro Member
Investor · Collierville, TN 38017 · Member since 2017 · 911 posts · 629 votes
4d
One addition that pays for itself: the move-in file and the move-out file are the same file. At 236 doors, the argument at move-out is never about what the house looks like now — it's about what it looked like then, and memory loses that argument every time. So our checklist is shot in the same order the turnover punch list runs, room by room, and the photos, meter readings, and key count go into the property file the same day, not at the end of the week. For Section 8 houses it also becomes the baseline the annual inspection gets compared against. Document it once, in the order you'll need it, and the file argues for you.
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Leo SteinBusiness Member
OP
Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 227 posts · 47 votes
4d
James, I like that the move-in and move-out file are the same file, shot in the same room order as the punch list. Having photos, meter readings and the key count in the property file the same day removes the memory argument later. Do you have the tenant sign the move-in checklist, or is the dated file enough?
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James JonesPro Member
Investor · Collierville, TN 38017 · Member since 2017 · 911 posts · 629 votes
2d
Both, Leo. The dated file is my record, but the tenant's signature on the move-in checklist is what closes the loop.
At 236 properties I cannot rely on anybody remembering a walk-through from a year ago, including me. So the tenant walks it with us, signs the checklist room by room, and the photos, meter readings, and key count go into that same property file the same day. When move-out comes, we shoot it in the same room order and compare against a document the tenant already agreed to.
Is a signature legally required everywhere? That is a local rules question, and I am not a lawyer. Operationally, signed beats unsigned every time.
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- Leo SteinBusiness Member
  OP
  Property Manager · Orange County, CA · Member since 2025 · 227 posts · 47 votes
  1d
  Thanks, James, signed beats unsigned is a good rule of thumb, and walking the checklist with the tenant room by room closes the loop on that same-day file. Whether a signature is required is a local rules question, so that's one to confirm with an attorney, and this isn't legal advice. Do you give the tenant a copy of the signed checklist right then?
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  Real Property Management Optimal 517 Reviews
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Randy Schell
Member since 2026 · 99 posts · 10 votes
1d
Walking through with the tenant and a phone camera saves so many headaches later, and it feels friendlier than people expect. A quick shot of the water heater and breaker panel labels is one that often gets skipped....
Randy, Bunklow
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