It is very easy to forget certain aspects of the move in process for a new tenant. You know what helps you remember everything? Checklists. Yes, I literally mean writing or typing out a checklist of all of the things you need to do BEFORE you give a tenant the keys to the castle. Here are 3 things that should be front and center on said checklist…..

Collect Any and All Money That is Due to You

They do not get the keys until you have all move in money required. Period, end of story. Do not give in on this because I can guarantee you will regret it. Let’s say your monthly rent for the apartment is $1000/mo and you require 1 month security deposit and the 1st months rent for them to move in. So that is $2000 total. If they cannot come up with that money, what makes you think your monthly rent will arrive on time every month? If someone is asking to go on a payment plan before their lease even starts that is probably a good indication they cannot afford the apartment.

Make Sure All Utilities Are Transferred Into the Tenants Name

Written in your lease (hopefully) will be all of the utilities the tenant is reponsible for paying. Make sure service has been transferred into their name for those utilities BEFORE you give them the keys. For some utilities, gas and electric come to mind, they can call and transfer them right in front of you if it comes to that. You do not want to be paying for heat, hot water, and electricity or anything else that is their responsbility for one more day than you have to because that eats into your bottom line.

All Lease Documents Signed

In between when you collect the security deposit to hold the apartment and when you collect the 1st months rent on move-in day you should be getting your lease documents signed by the tenant. If you can have them sign them electronically that would be ideal, this way both sides get emailed a copy of the signed lease for record keeping purposes. Never give a tenant keys to an apartment if you do not have a signed lease. For 99% of landlords this goes without saying, but I can tell you the 1% is out there because I have met them.

What we do for our rentals is include complete move in instructions in the email message when we send the tenant the lease docs to review and sign electronically. It explicitly says “here is what you need to do in order to get your keys on [move in date]” and it lists these three things very clearly so that by move in day the lease docs have been signed, the security deposit has already been paid, the utilities have been transferred, and all that is left to do is for the tenant to give the first months rent, we hand them the keys and we are all set.