General Information
All tenants provide a security deposit as an indication of their guarantee to abide by the terms of the Lease. This deposit is used to compensate the owner of the residence in the event of any monetary losses suffered. In the event that the Owner’s monetary loss exceeds the amount of the security deposit, the tenant will be billed for the remaining balance. Below are some examples of the circumstances that warrant forfeiture of some or all of a security deposit:
- Failure to give written thirty day Notice to Vacate
- Failure to properly clean the premises
- Damage to the building, owner supplied appliances, or landscaping due to negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse.
The type of damages that we find are typically charged back against the security deposit include, but are not limited to;
- Damages made to cabinetry, doors, walls, ceilings and floors (including nail holes, knicks and/or holes, stains, mismatched paint touch-up, etc.)
- Broken or damaged blinds or other window coverings
- Broken or damaged light fixture covers, fan blades, pull strings, etc.
- Damaged toilet seats, towel bars or other fixtures
- All other damages that occur due to negligence, carelessness, accident, or abuse.
- Wall damage caused by larger devices like molly bolts, wood screws, wall anchors, etc. (We recommend that Tenant not attempt to patch nail holes that are left in the walls because often times the patch itself will require attention that would not have otherwise been required. Tenant should gently remove all standard picture nails and/or hooks and leave larger devices in place. While tenants are responsible for the repair of such damages, charges can often times be minimized by allowing us to affect the removal and subsequent repair.)
Please refer to the Tenant Move-Out Checklist (click) for details.
Carpets must be vacuumed and free of debris. After you have vacated the Property, Wakefield, REALTORS will have the carpets professionally cleaned and deodorized. If you have had a pet during your residency, a pet enzyme treatment will also be performed.
Wakefield, REALTORS contracts with a professional cleaning service who will perform a general clean after the Tenant moves out of the property. General cleaning covers all items listed within the TENANT MOVE-OUT CHECKLIST. Floors must be swept and all trash removed by the Tenant.
MOVE-OUT PROCESS
To ensure a complete understanding of Tenant’s responsibilities at move-out, he/she may reference the information in the Statement of Understanding that he/she signed along with his/her Lease or by visiting the Tenant Responsibilities page here in our website.
When Tenant gives notice of his/her intent to vacate the rental property, we respond by mailing a letter to Tenant along with a TENANT MOVE-OUT CHECKLIST for Tenant to complete and turn in with his/her keys and other items as specified within the Checklist. Tenant’s attention to each of the items depicted on the Checklist and the completion of each action noted will minimize charges to his/her security deposit.
A representative of Wakefield , REALTORS will perform a move-out review of the property sometime within five business days following Tenant’s move-out date. Since Tenant will have already turned in his/her keys to the property, we will assume that he/she has removed all of his/her belongings and have completed all cleaning and repairs Tenant intends to do. We will use the Inventory and Condition Form Tenant filled out at the beginning of his/her lease to facilitate the review.
Tenant may leave his/her completed TENANT MOVE-OUT CHECKLIST and the items noted therein in our drop box labeled Wakefield, REALTORS located near the left entry of our building by midnight on or before your scheduled move-out date -OR- he/she may make advance arrangements with our office to leave the checklist and other items in the property when he/she moves out.
If Tenant’s keys are not turned in by midnight on or before his/her scheduled move-out date, Tenant may be charged for additional rent.
SECURITY DEPOSIT RECONCILIATION SCHEDULE
Tenant will receive the final accounting of his/her security deposit at his/her forwarding address within 30 days of vacating the property. This report will include a check for the refunded amount of their security deposit and a detailed accounting of any and all deductions made. There is no reason for Tenant to contact us prior to receiving the written security deposit reconciliation, as it will be mailed as soon as we have compiled the information required to complete it.