What a turnover costs
| Job | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Light turnover Touch-up paint, minor patching, hardware | $1,000–$1,500 |
| Standard turnover 1–2 bed, patch / paint / repair | $1,500–$2,200 |
| Heavy turnover Damage beyond normal wear and tear | $2,200–$4,800 |
| Paint only, per room | $450–$800 |
| Drywall repair and repaint, per room | $1,000–$1,600 |
Vacancy is the real cost
On a unit renting at $2,800 a month, every vacant day costs about $92. A turnover that drifts from three days to ten has cost you roughly $645 in lost rent — often more than the difference between the cheapest quote and the one that actually hits its date.
This is the argument against picking a turnover contractor on hourly rate. The cheap hourly crew that shows up when it suits them is the expensive option.
Documentation that survives a dispute
Deposit deductions get challenged. A lump-sum invoice reading "turnover repairs" is weak evidence. What holds up is a line-by-line record: this door, this damage, this photo, this cost.
Every turnover comes back as an itemized report with before-and-after photos keyed to each line, in your checklist format if you have one. You can forward it to a tenant or an owner without editing it.
Scope
- Drywall patching and repainting, wall or room
- Doors, frames, hardware, locks and rekeying
- Trim, baseboard, casing and minor carpentry
- Light fixtures, blinds and fittings
- Vinyl and laminate flooring repair
- Caulking, weatherstripping, door adjustment
- Punch list completion against your template
Not in scope: licensed electrical, plumbing and HVAC, carpet replacement, appliance installation. We will flag these in the quote and coordinate if useful, but we will not quietly subcontract work we are not set up to do.
See also: property maintenance services · punch list services
Common questions
What is the difference between a turnover and a make ready?
Nothing meaningful — they are the same work under different names. "Make ready" is more common in multifamily and institutional portfolios, "turnover" in single-family and small-portfolio management. Both mean getting a unit from move-out condition to lease-ready.
How quickly can you start after move-out?
Typically next business day for a unit already scoped, and same week otherwise. The bottleneck is almost never our schedule — it is getting access and a final damage assessment. Send photos on the walkthrough and we can have the quote ready before the tenant has finished moving out.
Can you document damage for deposit deductions?
Yes, and this is one of the more useful things we do. Every repair is photographed before and after and itemized with its own cost, which gives you defensible documentation for a deposit deduction rather than a lump-sum invoice you have to justify.