At the end of this month we are moving out of our rental house and into our new home. Per our leasing agreement we are required to have the house professionally cleaned. It is a 1,400 sqft, 2 story, 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home. The only carpet is on the stairs (SMH). Everything else is either tile, wood laminate, or linoleum. I like to think that we are very clean people, and that myself and my wife run a tight ship. We clean a little bit every weekend. Different parts of the house each time so over the course of a month the entire house is cleaned and have the Roomba to take care of the daily vacuuming. I have been quoted about $800 for the cleaning based only on the information provided above. I have another company coming to do an in person estimate next Monday and will see what they say. As I don’t run a cleaning operation I don’t know what I should expect but what has been quoted seems steep. Has anyone had to purchase these services before and what was your experience?
You can clean the house yourself.
$800 bucks sounds like crazy money to me.
When I moved out of the apartment in Dallas, I did all the cleaning myself and they didn’t charge me anything for additional cleaning.
We just added a cleaning lady for our home and her initial cleaning of our 5 bedroom 3 bath, 3000 sq foot house was $200 and only $175 every 3 weeks.
If I were you, I would just do it yourself.
Exactly! Yes, I can and would like to do the cleaning myself. The one issue is that I have to provide an invoice/receipt for the cleaning to the property manager during the move out inspection that proves the home was professionally cleaned.
I know, right?! That was the same when I moved out of my apartment in Shreveport. I would do it myself but read the above post. We are going to clean everything that we normally clean prior to the cleaners coming in hopes that the time to complete the house is reduced. That way they can focus on the items that actually require the extra effort. I will shampoo the carpet on the stairs myself too. I already have the equipment.
Exactly! Yes, I can and would like to do the cleaning myself. The one issue is that I have to provide an invoice/receipt for the cleaning to the property manager during the move out inspection that proves the home was professionally cleaned.
Do you need to have a special license to be “professional cleaner”.
Exactly! Yes, I can and would like to do the cleaning myself. The one issue is that I have to provide an invoice/receipt for the cleaning to the property manager during the move out inspection that proves the home was professionally cleaned.
I’d hire GingerAvenger Services Co., hand write a receipt, and move on. The cause is likely there because some people are fucking slobs who wouldn’t know clean if it bit them in the ass. If you can make it look professionally done, I doubt you’d get any blowback.
Edit: Especially since the house will be empty and it’s really easy to see if it’s actually clean or not.
Do it yourself. Do it well and if they ask if professionally done say it is in your sole proprietorship company of which your the sole client as well.
$800 is a rip off
$800 bucks sounds like crazy money to me.
When I moved out of the apartment in Dallas, I did all the cleaning myself and they didn’t charge me anything for additional cleaning.
We just added a cleaning lady for our home and her initial cleaning of our 5 bedroom 3 bath, 3000 sq foot house was $200 and only $175 every 3 weeks.
If I were you, I would just do it yourself.
That’s cheap! But you’re in Kansas.
OP: $800 is way too much. I’d be asking what exactly they would be doing for that price. I’d expect to pay about half that in Nashville.
800 is a fucking rip off unless they’re cleaning up a murder.
250 bucks for a deep clean of your house is the max I’d pay
They’re probably quoting high so they can drop the price once they see your place, rather than have to increase when discover you’re actually a slob!
Move out cleans usually include cleaning the stove and the fridge, which can take a lot of time. They also need to pull out appliances and clean behind/underneath as well as clean blinds and vents and other things that you usually only do a few times a year. There may be stains or marks that are hidden by furniture that are tough to get out. There may be things that look easy to clean but turn out to be stubborn and time consuming.
It’s definitely more than a regular house cleaning session.
My last two moves I either did the cleaning myself or had friends help and I left both places spotless. We spent hours on it. Then the places I moved into that were supposedly professionally cleaned were gross. There was dried food (chicken nuggets?) in the oven warmer tray. Gah!!!
“The one issue is that I have to provide an invoice/receipt for the cleaning to the property manager during the move out inspection that proves the home was professionally cleaned”
No, you don’t.
This is complete BS , do it yourself !
You are a fucking professional
You can always download an Invoice
I have never heard of this , when I left San Francisco they told me the same thing We did it ourselves
My wife owns a a house cleaning service. She said without seeing it $300-$400
“The one issue is that I have to provide an invoice/receipt for the cleaning to the property manager during the move out inspection that proves the home was professionally cleaned”
No, you don’t.
Says here that I do. Probably shouldn’t have agreed to that “professionally” qualifier. But I’m young and didn’t think I’d be spending an arm and a leg to have someone come out for 2 hours (the quoted timeline).
As well as confirmation from the property manager too. “As long as we receive a receipt for cleaning.
If the unit needs more cleaning, we would have to reach back out to the cleaning company to reclean.”
This I could understand.
They’re probably quoting high so they can drop the price once they see your place, rather than have to increase when discover you’re actually a slob!
Move out cleans usually include cleaning the stove and the fridge, which can take a lot of time. They also need to pull out appliances and clean behind/underneath as well as clean blinds and vents and other things that you usually only do a few times a year. There may be stains or marks that are hidden by furniture that are tough to get out. There may be things that look easy to clean but turn out to be stubborn and time consuming.
It’s definitely more than a regular house cleaning session.
My last two moves I either did the cleaning myself or had friends help and I left both places spotless. We spent hours on it. Then the places I moved into that were supposedly professionally cleaned were gross. There was dried food (chicken nuggets?) in the oven warmer tray. Gah!!!
Hmmm, thanks for letting me know that I am a slob all of a sudden. I think the only thing that they would do that we do not already do regularly would be slide out the range and fridge to clean behind those appliances. I know how much of a nuisance the blinds can be as we have to always dust them and even wipe them down. There is no AC or heating so no vents to worry about. The house is actually cleaner than when we moved in. I have 143 pictures to prove that. I sat criss-cross applesauce for three hours magic erasing the base boards, doors, and walls of scuffs left behind when we moved in and still didn’t get them all removed. I think the main thing that I am worried about is there is the stigma out here of people not taking care of their homes. I believe it. I have seen the inside of many homes that are not well cared for. I am worried that since the owners are not going to re rent the property back out but try to sell that they will nit pick every little detail and my $3300 deposit will not be returned. So maybe it’ll be worth it to spend $600-800 to have it “professionally” cleaned to still have a net return of $2700. We will just clean the house ourselves prior to having a “professional” stop by to get the more tedious items.
$800 bucks sounds like crazy money to me.
When I moved out of the apartment in Dallas, I did all the cleaning myself and they didn’t charge me anything for additional cleaning.
We just added a cleaning lady for our home and her initial cleaning of our 5 bedroom 3 bath, 3000 sq foot house was $200 and only $175 every 3 weeks.
If I were you, I would just do it yourself.
There’s cleaning then there’s deep move out cleaning. That usually involves cleaning the inside of all appliances (fridge, stove, microwave etc), cleaning behind said appliances, laundry machines etc. Deep cleaning the window tracks, blinds etc. Scrubbing tile grout in the bathroom.
It is more then a once over. The place needs to be “move in ready” for new tenants. $800 for that sized house doesn’t sound outrageous. Cleaners here usually charge $35-40/hr. That’s the better part of a working day for 3 people.
We go through this every time we have tenants move out. They always refuse to get a professional clean, they always dont do a thorough enough job, and we always go through the hassle of scrambling to find last minute cleaners then deduct that from their damage deposit. Nearly every single time.
I have been a renter and owner of rental property in many states and cities NYC , SF , DEN
Use your deposit as last months rent you will never see once they deduct If you move out of state they will not follow in my experience
The only good experwas in Park City got it all back
It’s a vicious cycle to be on both ends
.
We had the exact same thing in our lease when we moved from Ventura, CA to Pittsburgh, PA at the beginning of 2016. Professional cleaning with a paid receipt. We paid $400 to have nearly the same sq-ftg as you have but with more carpet cleaned. I think we paid an additional $200 for the windows, bath, kitchen, etc. to be cleaned before the carpets. We had receipts for everything.
After we moved, the owner and property manager sent us a letter saying they were withholding our entire $2K deposit. They sent photos of what they said wasn’t cleaned, and it was MIND NUMBINGLY ABSURD. The spots on the carpet – that they couldn’t prove were there before – were tiny. They said there was a black ring of dirt between the carpet and the baseboard, and that the window sills were not completely wiped out. It was bonkers!
We took them to court, and it was a slam dunk. Additionally, I had built a bunch of shelving in the garage that I did not disassemble, because it would have held up in an earthquake! I thought whomever moved in later would appreciate it, and since we were doing a cross-country move, we had a lot on our plate and didn’t have time. (Everyone who says to do it yourself probably hasn’t had to do much moving. Pay someone and take stress out of your life during this time. It’s worth it unless you really have to pinch pennies.)
This is how stupid they were … the owner said before the judge that the shelving not being disassembled was a part of the reason they were withholding the deposit. 20 minutes later, the judge asked him what he paid to have it taken apart. He didn’t! Motherfucker recognized that it was good shelving and then admitted it was still erected!
Back to the cleaning … after we showed the judge the receipts that we provided to the landlord documenting the cleaning, the judge asked them how this didn’t suffice. They went on to say that they take pride in having high standards and ensuring the place is clean and that the window sills were dirty and there was a ring of black at the carpet and basedboard and yada-yada-yah. The judge told them that what we did and paid was more than reasonable and it was nonsense to expect anything more.
The judge ruled in our favor for $1700, because they did have to do some painting that we didn’t correct. As soon as the parties were dismissed, we saw the owner going to the clerk to ask how to appeal. 2 or 3 weeks later we got an email from the property manager saying the owner was going to appeal and expect a letter but that they – the property manager – was not going to be a part of it and to shift all communication to the property owner.
We had to remind the property manager what was stated in court, which was ALL parties would be subject to the appeal hearing if that’s what it came to. Two days later we received an email from the property manager saying the $1700 was being put in the mail that day.
All of those cunts can still go fuck themselves!!!