Every day a rental sits empty costs you money. But rushing a turnover and skipping the walkthrough costs more — small problems inherited by the next tenant become your emergency calls later. Here’s the checklist we work from.
1. Document first
Before anything gets fixed or cleaned, walk the property and photograph everything: walls, floors, appliances, fixtures, the yard, the fence. This protects the security deposit conversation and gives you a true punch list.
2. The inside punch list
- Test every door, lock, and window — including latches and screens.
- Patch and touch up walls; full repaint every few tenancies.
- Check faucets, drains, and the water heater for leaks or slow drips.
- Test smoke and CO detectors and replace batteries (Maryland requires 10-year sealed units in many cases — check your county).
- Service or at least filter-swap the HVAC.
- Deep clean: kitchen, baths, flooring. “Broom clean” is not rent-ready.
3. The outside punch list
Outside is what your next tenant sees first — and what code enforcement sees too:
- Mow, edge, and clear overgrowth from beds, walkways, and the fence line.
- Pull volunteer saplings before they’re trees against the foundation.
- Power wash the walk, porch, and any green-stained siding.
- Clean and flush the gutters; confirm downspouts drain away from the house.
- Walk the fence: posts solid, gates latching, no leaning sections.
- Haul away anything the last tenant left behind.
4. Inspect the big stuff annually
A turnover is the cheapest moment to catch expensive problems, because the property is empty. Once a year, add a roof and drainage inspection to the turnover scope — lifted shingles, soft fascia, and ponding water are far cheaper to fix now than after they show up on a tenant’s ceiling.
Compressing the vacancy window
The biggest time sink in a turnover isn’t the work — it’s coordinating four different vendors who each want their own week. One crew that can clean, repair, haul, and handle the yard in a single scheduled visit turns a two-week vacancy into a few days.
That’s the model we run for landlords and property managers across Central Maryland: one walkthrough, one itemized estimate, one crew, one invoice. Tell us about your property and we’ll give you a real timeline.