The Chickering Rentals team has enjoyed having you live with us over the past academic year. We hope that you have enjoyed your rental property as well. As you prepare to move out of your residence, we want to provide you with the information to aid in preparing your home to meet our move-out standards and maximize your deposit return. If you have any questions or need clarification about any information listed below, please reach out to Lyndsi Thompson (Chickering’s Office Manager) at 812-360-1975 or info@chickeringrentals.com
Please Note: This document is designed to add clarity on certain standards and does not supersede your lease agreement. All move-out guidelines are detailed in length in your signed lease agreement. We advise you to thoroughly review your lease prior to your move-out.
TRASH CLEAN UP-
It is your responsibility to make sure there is no litter or trash on the premise of the property upon your move out (August 1st, 2024). If maintenance has to collect litter from the property you will be charged a fee for the clean up. This includes cigarette butts, cans, red solo cups, plastic bags, etc. Please note that City of Bloomington Waste Management will ONLY collect the items that fit inside of your bins. Any bags and large items left outside of the bins may be subject to fines. We recommend starting the move out process early to maximize trash pick up days.
TRASH BINS-
No trash is to be left in the trash bins upon move out and trash totters are to be pulled back away from the curb and close to the house. Upon move out NO trash or furniture may be left outside of the trash totters.
FURNITURE-
No furniture is to be left on any exterior portion of the house. Please remove all couches, grills, chairs, fire pits, etc. Additionally, per the lease agreement, all furniture must be removed from inside the house. If you have sold furniture to incoming residents, it must be coordinated through our office with supporting paperwork. Any furniture left inside or outside of the house upon move out will be subject to a hauling fee.
PORCHES/WALKWAYS-
Please remove all leaves and debris from the porches, decks, and walkways that have collected over the past year. We recommend taking a water hose or buckets of water and rinsing the front porch, deck, and walkway off prior to moving out. If back decks, porches, or walkways are not clear of debris and need thorough cleaning a fee will be deducted from your security deposit.
GARAGES-
All garages, sheds, etc. on the property are to be cleaned and clear of all debris. Please leave the garage door down and any subsequent doors locked. Any items left in a garage may result in a hauling fee.
STOP MAIL-
Please put in a request with the USPS to change your mailing address prior to moving out. This is especially pertinent if you would like your diploma delivered. As these generally land at the beginning of August, we recommend putting a stop mail request submission in July. Any mail that is left in the mailbox will be sent back to the post office.
PARTY GARAGES-
1004 E 2nd Street, 708 S Washington, and 521 Fess have “party garages”. At these addresses, residents can leave what was there from the years prior at no additional fee. Those areas will still need to be left in clean condition. There should be no alcohol bottles, no cups, or trash etc. left upon move out. You will be charged if these areas need to be cleaned.
Tenants are not responsible for landscaping, lawn care, gutter cleaning, or hot tub cleaning with the exception of removing trash in these areas.
Required Billed Services
WINDOW WASHING-
Per your lease agreement, window washing will be done upon your move out and the fee will be deducted from your lease agreement. We use a local company in Bloomington that offers competitive pricing.
CARPET CLEANING-
Per your lease agreement, professional carpet cleaning will be done on any areas that are carpeted. This includes but is not limited to stairs, sunrooms, and basements. This fee will be deducted from your security deposit.
PROFESSIONAL CLEANING-
We recommend a thorough deep cleaning of your rental prior to move-out. The cleaner you leave the property, the better. If any additional cleaning is needed to bring your property back to move in standard a fee will be deducted from your security deposit. We have attached a cleaning checklist for your use.
PAINTING-
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PATCH HOLES OR PAINT WALLS ON YOUR OWN. Chickering will send professional painters into your home to paint where it is necessary to bring the home back to move in standards. We do not spot paint, so if a wall is deemed to need paint, the entire wall will be painted. Our painters know to decipher between normal wear and tear and tenant neglect and damage. Any paint needed due to tenant neglect or damage will result in a fee that will be deducted from your security deposit.
KEY RETURN-
When the last tenant moves out of your rental, please have them collect all of the keys and place them in a plastic bag or envelope. Take a piece of paper and write your home address down and stick that paper inside the bag/envelope. Bring the bag with keys to the Chickering office and leave it in our mailbox or drop it off with our office manager. For any key not dropped off there is a $25 fee for replacement.
Cleaning Your Rental
DEEP CLEAN-
Prior to moving into your rental property, your house was deep cleaned by professionals. We will be taking whatever measures necessary to return the property to the condition upon which you received it. This means deep cleaning your appliances, counter tops, baseboards, mirrors, toilets, etc. We will send in professional cleaners to each house to do a once over and clean where necessary. These cleaners charge by the hour. If you take the time to deep clean your home the cleaning fee will be reduced. The more time cleaning takes our professionals, the higher the deposit deduction will be.
DEEP CLEANING CHECKLIST-
For your benefit please carefully review the attached checklist that is used as a guideline by our professional cleaners.
What About Paint?
NAIL HOLES, DAMAGES, CHIPS IN PAINT-
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REPAIR OR PAINT YOUR WALLS. We appreciate the effort, but we use professional painters to patch and repair holes and paint over them. If you have put any nails into the walls or if any damage has occurred to the walls of your rental property, please leave it for our professional team to repair so we can make sure it is done properly. If any patches are needed our professionals will also be instructed to paint the entire wall where the damage occurred. We do recommend that you wipe down walls with a damp towel to remove scuffs and/or food splatter.
STICKY TACK, COMMAND STRIPS, and NAILS-
Please take the time to carefully remove all sticky tack, nails and command strips used to hang up decor. Our painters will charge for clean up of sticky tack or removal of command strips. We recommend that you read the instructions on how to remove command strips properly to avoid chipping the paint. Please use EXTREME caution in removing any LED strip lighting!
WIPE DOWN/DUST WALLS-
To avoid additional cleaning fees we recommend taking a magic eraser to any scratches or smudges along the walls particularly in hallways and stairways. Additionally, dusting the walls, especially by the ceiling, baseboard, and in the corners can support a lower cleaning fee.
Odds and Ends
LIGHT BULBS-
Residents are responsible for making sure every light bulb is working upon move out. This includes bedrooms, bathrooms, porch lights, etc. If maintenance has to replace a light bulb upon move out, they will be charged a fee out of their security deposit as laid out in the lease agreement.
FURNITURE REMOVAL-
Tenants are responsible for moving all furniture not provided by Chickering Rentals out of the home. If maintenance has to remove furniture from the home or the street curb a hauling charge will be deducted from the security deposit.
ADDITIONAL MAINTENANCE-
Upon your move out, maintenance will come in and check all smoke detector batteries, blinds, appliances etc. to make sure they are in working order. Any damages that have occurred during your occupancy will be deducted from your security deposit. Please make sure that any smoke detectors that have been removed from the ceiling are replaced upon move out.
UTILITIES-
All utilities are to be left in the resident’s name until the lease end date of August 1st, 2024. If utilities are shut off, they will revert back into Chickering Rentals. All utility bills will be deducted from your security deposit and will incur a $100 fee as outlined in your lease agreement.
Security Deposit Returns
Generally, our security deposit returns go in the mail the 1st week of September. You should receive your deposit return roughly 45 days from your move out. A single check will be mailed to the name and address listed on your original lease agreement. If you wish to change the deposit return address, please send the change request via email.
We want to give you your maximum refund so please take the time to read through this guide, the cleaning checklist, and your lease to make sure you have covered all items expected of you up move out. We will be available to answer your questions should you have any at the number and email above.