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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 7, 2004)
Don’t forget to clean house Cleaning is usually a thankless chore that peo ple put off until the last minute. This is especially true for college students moving out during hectic times. However, cleaning an apart ment well can make the differ ence between losing hundreds of dollars or walking away with deposit money. When renting an apartment from property management companies, it can be hard to know their standards of clean liness. It's even harder to re member to clean every comer in the midst of packing, mov ing into a new place and coor dinating with other deadlines. Faye Caswell, vice president of Umbrella Properties, said the main thing to remember is to leave the unit as clean as it was upon moving in. "Most people forget the lit tle things, like moving the stove out, or the refrigerator, but keep in mind while you're cleaning that you wouldn't want to move into a place that had grimy fingerprints all over the walls or cover plates," she said. Caswell said last year tenants owed the com pany a total of over $300,000 for inade quate cleaning. "This is espe cially important for students to understand," she said. "If they owe us money and we send them to collec tions, that can ad versely affect their credit rat ing. It's not a good way to try to start out in life." Like most companies, Um brella Properties provides a move-out checklist that in cludes the cleaning fees it charges. This list is provided when the tenant gives notice, allowing 30 days to ensure proper cleaning. Carmen von Klein, owner of von Klein Property Manage ment, said one problem is that most people leave cleaning un til the last day or two. "My best advice to students is to start cleaning two to three weeks prior to move out," she said. "And call your company to see what their cleaning guidelines are." Von Klein's move-out check list is so extensive that it even provides suggestions for clean ing products that work well on 9. f Leaving places in good condition can help ensure tenants receive their security deposits back By Lindsay Burt • Freelance Reporter things like showers and stoves. It gives descriptions such as "clean under burners, do not use oven cleaner, hot soapy water and a scouring pad work best." Von Klein said the cleaning fees are exactly what cleaning companies charge them. Schedule a walk-through be fore turning in keys in to en sure nothing is missed. University graduate Randy Stokes agreed. "I got this advice out of an OSPIRG handout and made sure I did a walk-through at the last place I moved out of," he said. Stokes also said to double check that the inspector is marking down everything not suffi ciently cleaned to avoid get ting charged for it. Theater arts major Katherine Lewis said she was charged for cigarette butts in the front yard of her corner house rented through von Klein. Although this isn't necessarily stated in the guidelines for cleaning, it is important to remember that the tenant is responsible for every part of the rental. This in dudes lawns and porches, and both von Klein and Umbrella Properties dearly state that these areas must be taken care of as well as the inside of the apartment or house. Lewis said many college stu dents are new to renting and don't know their rights or re sponsibilities as tenants. "Read the tenant landlord act so you know your rights," she said. "Also, save your re ceipts for everything so you and your landlord know that you've paid rent in full and paid it on time." Von Klein said giving back the full deposit to tenants also simplifies things for them. "We want to give back as much as we can," she said. "It saves time and money for us too." 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