Moving into a new home is an exciting time for any family, but move-in day can also be overwhelming. Between the move and unpacking, there are many details a landlord needs to take care of before your new renters move in.
One important detail that's tempting to rush through is the "make-ready" process. Taking care of every detail in this process ensures that your property will be move-in ready with clean and repaired items throughout the house. Luckily, our Seattle property management team has what you need to know to get the job done right!
What is the Make-Ready Process for Rental Properties?
The make-ready process is a checklist of cleaning and repair tasks that ensures your property will be move-in ready when new tenants arrive. This includes repairing (or replacing) all items in the property to welcome your residents into a "like new" home.
Skipping or rushing this process can start a new resident relationship off on the wrong foot. When tenants move in and find a dirty refrigerator or a dripping showerhead, they'll become frustrated by putting in a maintenance request so soon after moving in.
Why Is The Make-Ready Process Important?
A thorough process is essential to ensure your Seattle property meets all landlord-tenant requirements, as well as providing an excellent experience for your renters. Landlords who take care of every detail beforehand ensure their property has:
- Clean carpets
- Fresh paint on walls,
- Sparkling windows & doors with no signs of wear and tear
- Fully-operational appliances
- No bad smells
- All light switches and outlets working as they should
- No signs of wear and tear from prior tenants
Prioritizing this process is critical to impress new tenants, but it's also a lot of work!
What If You Didn't Have to Do the Make-Ready?
If you’ve ever had tenants move in and find problems that were never fixed before move-in day, you know it’s frustrating for them (and you) when something gets missed during this process. However, devoting the time, resources, and expense of the make-ready can be frustrating for you before new tenants move in.
While the make-ready needs to happen every time a rental property owner experiences tenant turnover, owners don't have to be the ones to handle it! Getting someone else to do it for you is a smart way to deliver excellent rental homes on move-in day (without spending your valuable time cleaning the fridge or painting the bedrooms).
A Seattle Property Manager Masters the Make-Ready Process
The right Seattle property management company is the ideal resource for a thorough (and impressive) make-ready process. They have contractors and resources already lined up to make quick work of preparing your rentals for new tenants to minimize the time your rental property sits vacancy (and without sacrificing any quality of the work it takes for a well-done make-ready).
However, many rental property owners fear that bringing in a property manager to handle the make-ready means they also have to sign up (and pay for) more services to benefit from the one thing they need help with! Traditional property management companies include rental-ready services in a plan that includes leasing, maintenance, marketing, and more. If you don't need help with those services (or have the budget for them), property management help for the make-ready process is often out of reach.
Watch Out for Lead-Based Paint Hazards
A property manager also has the experience to make sure your rental complies with lead paint disclosures when preparing a property for new residents. If you're conducting make-readies on your own, you could be unaware of lead-based paint hazards or costly risks in your rental properties that are dangerous to residents and violate the law.
Choose "Only" Make-Ready Services With the Right Property Management Solution
RentWatch understands that problem, and we've done something about it. We offer property management solutions that meet the exact needs of landlords in Seattle--without requiring a package of additional services to force a pricing plan that makes professional property management unaffordable or undesirable for rental property owners.
If you only need help with the make-ready process, you should be able to choose a property manager to do that for you with no other strings attached. Our team delivers that very thing and other one-off services for landlords who just need a little help to improve the renter experience or boost returns. If you don't need full-service management (and costs), there's no reason why you should have to pay for it to get only the services you need!
Tenants and Landlords Benefit from Expert Make-Readies!
The make-ready process is important for landlords and tenants alike. A rush job or lack of attention can mean new tenants move into a property that may not be in proper condition for them to live in. While most property managers only offer full-service packages at fixed prices, rental property owners don't have to go this route if all they need is someone qualified and reliable for specific services like make-ready work.
RentWatch offers specific solutions without the higher costs of an all-inclusive package, so you can get exactly the help you need to impress tenants and maximize returns! Let's talk about how we can help.
See clearly how RentWatch pricing and services compare to traditional property management costs. Get our free Hidden Cost of Seattle Property Management Calculator!
Meta: What should landlords know about the make-ready process? Read here from an expert Seattle property management company to get the job done right!
