One of the first things you, as a landlord, will do after you new tenant signs the lease agreement is for you both to take a long and leisurely walk. Not out in a park, but inside the property that your tenant will soon occupy.

You walk around the unit not because you want to introduce the tenant to all the spirits and entities that he will soon share the space with. The little tour is being conducted so that your tenant would be aware of the actual condition of the house before he moves in with all his belongings. He has to remember how the unit looked because when his lease agreement expires, the unit should look that way when it is turned over back to you.

Since not everyone is born with a photographic memory, it would be difficult to remember how the facilities, amenities and built-in equipment were prior to moving in. Luckily, you don’t need to videotape or photograph everything; you can just use a standard Move-In / Move-Out form to make your job of monitoring the condition of your property easier.

A Move-In / Move Out form is simply a checklist which itemizes the important amenities of your unit and all these are grouped together by room. Beside each item are several columns. The first few columns are under the Move-In category; the rest under Move-Out.

When conduction the inspection, point out each item on your list to your new tenant and show him which column you are checking (or have him mark the checklist himself). At the end of your rounds, have him sign the Move-In / Move-Out form, to acknowledge that he agrees to what has been recorded. Leave a copy of the form with him and keep a copy for yourself. Once you’ve filed the Move-In / Move-Out for, you can forget about it. The form will only be needed when your tenant moves out.

After the last moveable piece of furniture has been hauled out, you and your former tenant will, once again, make a sweep of the property. All the items on the checklist will be inspected again and should there be any significant damage (not those brought about by normal wear and tear) on any equipment, deduct the cost of repairs or replacement from his security deposit. If everything is acceptable, the deposit can be released and you can go on your separate ways.

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