Move-In Checklist

Before You Hand Over the Keys
  • ✓Take photos or video of the whole property. Every room, every appliance, every wall. If a security deposit question ever comes up, this is what protects you. Memory doesn't hold up.
  • ✓Get your tenant to sign off on the same condition report. Now you're both looking at the same thing, and there's no argument later about what was already there.
  • ✓Decide how rent gets paid and how maintenance gets reported before you actually need it. Figuring that out during an actual emergency is the worst time to figure it out.

Utilities

We require proof the tenant switched utilities into their name before they move in. But still call the utility company yourself and confirm your name is actually off the account. Don't assume it happened just because you asked for proof.

We've seen owners skip this step and end up paying the tenant's water bill for two months before anyone noticed. A five minute phone call avoids that completely.

Isaiah Tademy, eFamily Homes

Use Real Software, Not Text Messages

We used Innago back when we only managed our own portfolio, and we still recommend it to owners doing this themselves. It's free for landlords. It handles online rent collection and gives your tenant a real place to submit maintenance requests, instead of you getting a text at 9pm.

Insurance

Your landlord policy covers the building. Your tenant's renters insurance covers their stuff and some liability. Require it in the lease. It costs you nothing to ask for it, and it's one less thing you're on the hook for if something happens.

Make sure the policy on the property is actually a landlord policy, not a standard owner-occupied homeowner's policy. Once you have a tenant living there, that's a different type of coverage. We've seen an investor go through a house fire and get denied on the claim because he never switched his policy over after renting the place out. Call your agent and confirm this before you hand over keys, not after something happens.

If Your Tenant Has a Housing Choice Voucher

Two payments come in for rent, not one. The housing authority sends their portion, your tenant sends theirs. They usually land on different days. Track both separately so you actually know when you've been paid in full for the month, instead of assuming a partial deposit means something's wrong.

Before your tenant can move in, the housing authority has to inspect the property and approve it. That has to happen first. Build the timeline around it, because it's not something you can rush.

Keep an eye on HAP amendments too. When a tenant's income changes, their portion of the rent changes with it. That amendment tells you exactly what to charge the tenant going forward. Miss it and you're either undercharging them for months or charging the wrong amount, and either one is a real problem to unwind later. We've missed this ourselves in the past from not having a solid system to catch it, and it cost us real money. Don't make the same mistake.

That's the List

Most of this takes ten minutes and saves you a real headache down the line. If you'd rather we just track all of it for you, that's what full management is for.

Want us to handle this for you?

We'll give you a free rental estimate and a clear picture of what full management would look like for your property. No obligation.

Request a Free Property Review