Move Out Guide

PLEASE READ TO THE END FOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO SAVE YOU MONEY!!!

Thanks very much for staying with us! We have enjoyed the opportunity to provide a home for you, and wish you all the best wherever life takes you next. We love giving back as much of your security as possible as it means there is less work for us. Here are a few IMPORTANT items to make your move-out experience go as smoothly as possible:

TRASH AND FURNITURE: Large items CANNOT go in dumpsters and must be removed by you FROM THE PROPERTY! With everyone moving out at the same time we do not have the capacity for large furniture. There will be a $150 charge per item left in your unit or on our property. This is to discourage residents from leaving items. If you have large furniture, you will need to schedule a large item pickup. If you have city pickup you can schedule this HERE. For buildings with a dumpster or RUMPKE cans, you can schedule it HERE. Rumpke does charge a fee for this. It is important that you follow all guidelines and DO NOT set anything out before your pickup date. The City has trash fines starting at $500 for large items or trash not picked up properly, and if received, they will be billed to your accounts.

CLEANING: No one enjoys cleaning on the way out of an apartment. It’s often an afterthought in the rush to move, but following this guide will be the SINGLE BIGGEST MONEY SAVING opportunity for most of you. Cleaning is the biggest charge that residents find upon move-out. Please refer to the attached cleaning guidelines to ensure you receive as much of your deposit as possible. We employ a professional cleaning company for every full turnover. We want our units to be as nice as possible for incoming residents, and additionally allergens are a bigger concern than ever before. In order to make this as fair as possible Nazca pays for the first labor-hour of cleaning to make up for any minor details that might have been missed. Keep in mind that the cleaning charge is applied across the ENTIRE deposit, so even if you have already moved most of your belongings out, in order to maximize savings it’s a good idea to return to help your roommates clean. 

ACCOUNTS CURRENT: Please make sure all of your final bills are paid before the end of your lease including any fees. Any outstanding balances will be billed to you after you move out!

UTILITIES: must be kept in your name until your lease end date! DO NOT tell Duke to turn them off! They need to be transferred into Nazca’s name instead or else the new residents may be without power for some time, and our maintenance and cleaning crews will not be able to work. 

MOVE OUT APPOINTMENT: You must be ready to move out on your scheduled move out appointment. If you haven’t scheduled a move-out appointment by this Friday we will need to schedule one for you. All cleaning must be completed and all items moved out and all trash and unwanted furniture must already be disposed of off-site. We have many residents moving out in back to back appointments and are unable to reschedule these appointments. Any cleaning unfinished or items left will need to be charged to your deposit. Please have ALL keys available!

Also, please make sure to have all forwarding addresses for roommates who are not at the move-out appointment.

Good luck! We appreciate you taking the time to read through this. We hope this will help everyone save some money and have a less stressful move-out. If you have any questions give us a call and we will be happy to help. 

Best wishes on the next step of your journey! 

Cody, Eric, Tim, and Catherine, your Nazca Properties team. 

NAZCA PROPERTIES CLEANING CHEAT SHEET

Timeframe: We have reviewed hundreds of cleaning invoices over the years. In our experience, it typically takes 1-2 labor-hours per 100 square foot of unit. This means if you have a 1000 sq ft apartment, it could take three people between 9 and 18 labor-hours to clean. If you plan carefully and spend the time yourself using this guide, our hope is that we will be able to refund as much of the deposit as possible. 

Commonly missed items:

1. Kitchen: Stoves and Ovens are a big one. We recommend using Easy Off oven cleaner (not fume free) with 2-3 applications that you let soak for 10 minutes. Use steel wool or a scouring pad. In our experience most stoves take 2-3 hours of cleaning, including under the catch pans and around the burners. Also, fridges are typically neglected. You will need to remove trays and use warm soapy water to soak and remove any food residue. You will need to pull out the appliances to clean underneath and behind them.  

2. Ceiling Fans: We know with tall ceilings they can be hard to reach. An easy solution to clean the blades is to tape the end of a rag to a broom handle. Lightly dampen the end and flip it over the blades to remove dust. 

3. Baseboards: They are an easy thing to miss! We recommend getting a bucket of soapy water and a good rag and “mopping” them by scrubbing along the entirety of the trim. Pay special attention to kitchens and bathrooms.

4. Bathrooms: This is one of the biggest areas people miss. Tile and shower/tub surfaces get quite a bit of buildup, and many store-bought cleaners don’t work well and we recommend THIS PRODUCT from Zep. It makes it much easier to clean. Also, if you have a vent-fan in your wall or ceiling, remove the cover and clean the grate as well as the fan.

5. Floors: As per your lease, carpeted apartments are different in that carpet cleaning charges are automatically withheld from your security deposit to guarantee sanitized carpets and healthful move-in conditions just like when you moved in. With that being said, carpets should be thoroughly vacuumed, ideally with a powered brush. For ALL other surfaces, a thorough sweeping followed up with two moppings (one to degrease and remove dirt, and another to rinse) will typically suffice. If you have had pets or emotional support animals, expect to spend more time cleaning. We also instruct our cleaners to pay special attention to these units to protect new residents from potential allergy issues. The more cleaning you are able to do, the less time they will need to spend. A degreasing cleaner such as THIS PRODUCT works very well. 

6. Walls: This can be odd to think about, but walls need to be cleaned. A big chunk of our cleaner’s time is spent removing grease and grime from walls, especially in kitchens and bathrooms. Degreasers such as SIMPLE GREEN work well with hot water, and after scrubbing a quick rinse is all you need to do. In addition, MELAMENE (MAGIC ERASER) sponges work well for small nicks and discolorations if you dampen them first.
7. Cabinets, Closets, and Storage: Make sure to clean the tops of kitchen cabinets. Grease from cooking tends to build up and can be easily missed, and the nooks and crannies of closets and other storage should be wiped thoroughly.
8. Common Areas: All items stored in any other area of the property, including yards, basements, hallways and porches will need to be removed. If there are items, trash or anything else left that we cannot determine ownership for, the charge will be split between all residents and units in the property. Make sure everything is cleared out!