As your tenant’s lease draws to a close, you may be wondering how you’ll turn the property around before your next tenant moves in. Even with a clean, respectful lessee, your property will still need a deep cleaning and likely a bit of maintenance due to normal wear and tear.
A move-out cleaning differs from a traditional, maintenance cleaning because of its scope. It’s a more thorough cleaning, and therefore more time-consuming. So you may ask yourself, should I hire a cleaning service to handle the move-out cleaning or should I do it myself?
There are no one-size-fits-all solutions; instead, here are a few things to consider to make the best choice for your property.
Turnaround Time
An important consideration when choosing how to turn over your property between renters is turnaround time. A move-out cleaning along with the updates that come along with it is significantly more time consuming than a typical cleaning. How much time do you have before your next lease begins? Do you have time to dedicate to cleaning and updating the property between leases?
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Let’s suppose that yes, you do have enough time to handle a move-out cleaning between leases and you’re considering doing it yourself. Great! Before you grab your mop, broom, and spackle consider doing a cost-benefit analysis.
While the length of a move out cleaning depends on the size of your property and the scope of the project, it is safe to assume it will take the better part of a workday, or longer. One rule of thumb is that it takes a four-person cleaning crew 60 minutes per 1,000 square feet for deep cleaning this means a move out cleaning will take even longer when you account for the additional projects that come with it.
So as you consider hiring someone the move out cleaning or tackling it yourself, be sure to total up the cost of your own time. Sure, it may sound expensive to hire a service but what could you be doing during the time you’d spend cleaning? And, do you know how to clean as effectively and efficiently as a cleaning service? These are questions you have to answer for yourself.
Move-Out Cleaner Resources
If you decide to hire a Move-out Cleaner, do you have a trusted cleaning crew? If not, consider asking friends or fellow landlords for a referral, or hiring a cleaning service through one of the many third-party applications that connect you with professional cleaners in your area.
Perhaps you decide to clean the property yourself, consider enlisting some friends and family to help make the cleaning go faster and be more enjoyable. Turn on some music or a podcast, and make it a fun project that will ultimately help protect your investment.
Whatever your decision, it’s essential to know what a move-out cleaning entails. Consider using this checklist to ensure your property is in tip-top shape before your next tenant takes up residence.
