Step 1 — Inspect and Document Before Anything Moves
Walk the unit with a camera before any work starts. Photo documentation protects the deposit disposition, gives the owner a factual basis for the spend, and creates the punch list the whole schedule is built from.
- Room-by-room photos including flooring, walls, ceilings, and fixtures
- Appliance condition and function
- Plumbing leaks, water staining, and ventilation
- Smoke and CO detectors, GFCI protection, and door hardware
- Exterior, entry, and any shared or storage areas
Step 2 — Separate Damage, Wear, and Upgrades
Split the list into tenant-caused damage, normal wear, and discretionary improvement. Owners approve faster when the scope is presented in those three buckets with pricing attached to each, and it keeps the deposit conversation defensible.
Step 3 — Sequence the Trades
The order matters more than the speed of any one trade. Rough repairs and any plumbing or electrical work come first, then drywall and patching, then paint, then flooring, then fixtures and hardware, then the final clean. Running them out of order is what turns a five-day turnover into a two-week one.
- Demo and repair (drywall, trim, subfloor)
- Plumbing and electrical corrections
- Patch, texture match, and prime
- Paint
- Flooring
- Fixtures, hardware, appliances, blinds
- Detail clean and final photos
Step 4 — Clean and Re-Document
The final clean is part of the scope, not an afterthought. Re-photograph the completed unit in the same order as the move-out photos so the owner and the incoming tenant see a clean before-and-after record.
Multi-Property and Recurring Work
For managers running several properties, we work from a standing scope template so each turnover is priced and documented the same way, and schedule around the actual lease dates rather than a generic lead time.