You’ve decided to move to a new place and now have to complete the move-out inspection with your current Landlord in order to get your security deposit returned to you.  How do you go about getting most of your deposit back?

Here is a quick, down and dirty list on things Tenants can look out for without having to spend a lot of money to make their apartment look bright, clean, and rentable to their landlord:

1)  Ensure all smoke detector batteries and light bulbs work.  If they don’t–replace them to avoid charges.  Replace filters in gas furnaces and replace oven burner drip pans (but be careful to grab the right one for your brand as there are different depths/widths of drip pans).

2)  Clean not only inside and outside of appliances, but pull them out and clean underneath them as well.  Most range hood vents also have screens over the fan that can be removed and cleaned.  Most dirty glass light fixture covers and hood vent screens can be quickly and safely cleaned  in the dishwasher.

3) Make sure your drains are properly functioning.  If your bathroom is slow to drain (but wasn’t when you first moved in), it could just be a clump of hair stuck in the pipes and slowing the flow.  Reach your fingers in as far as you can and see if you can pull anything out.  Otherwise, try some Drano and see if that helps the problem.

4)  Clean, Clean, Clean!  Remember what it felt like to move into a clean apartment?  The cleaner you get the place, the less time your property manager will have to spend cleaning it for the next tenant (and charging you in the process).    In all likelihood, you will probably spend as much, if not more, time cleaning than it took for the rest of the packing process.  Make sure and clean all appliances (oven, refrigerator, dishwasher, washer, dryer), sinks, bathtub enclosures, toilets, window panes and sills, wipe down all walls, clean mini-blinds, touch up nail holes with spackle (try to find a matching paint if there are quite a few obvious or large holes), deoderize your garbage disposal, clean out all cupboards/cabinets, wipe down ceiling fans/light fixtures, vacuum out bathroom exhaust fan, and wipe down outlets and switch plates.

5)  If you are unsure if you have cleaned the unit thoroughly, you can always call us for more information or we can schedule a “pre-inspection” to let you know things that we spot that may need further cleaning.

6)  Contact your utility providers to schedule to close out your accounts and pay your final utility bills (W/S/G, electricity, etc)!