How Long Does an Apartment Turnover Take?

The short answer

A make-ready on a sound unit, touch-up paint, hardware, caulk and a short punch list, is measured in days. A full turnover with several damaged walls, a full repaint and a room of new flooring is measured in a week or more, because each stage has to finish before the next starts. Nationally, the average unit sits vacant 34.4 days between move-out and the next move-in, according to RealPage Market Analytics as cited by Lula. The repair work is the part of that number you control.

Stage 1: Walkthrough and written scope

Every room, wall, door and floor gets looked at and written down. Next-day walkthroughs can be booked when they do not conflict with other appointments. The written scope and price follow the visit, and nothing is scheduled until you approve it.

• What sets the pace: access to the unit, and how quickly the scope is approved
• What you can do: send the address, build year, move-out date and any building or HOA rules with the request

Stage 2: Walls and ceilings

Holes, gouges and ceiling stains are repaired first, because nothing can be painted until they are. Small fills dry in hours. A patch that needs tape and two or three coats of compound needs each coat to dry before the next, usually overnight, so a damaged wall is a two- or three-day item even though the labor is short. Plaster takes longer than drywall.

• What sets the pace: the number of coats a repair needs, and drying time between them
• What adds days: damage on several walls, a ceiling section that has to be replaced, or a stain that has to be sealed and checked before it is painted over

Stage 3: Paint

Repairs get primed, then the walls get touched up or repainted. Primer cures before the finish coat, and the finish coat needs its recoat window before a second pass. Touch-ups that will blend are a same-day item. A full repaint of a one-bedroom, walls, ceilings, doors and trim, is usually two days. Larger units and dark colors covered with light ones add time.

• What sets the pace: primer cure and recoat windows, and whether the scope is touch-up or full repaint
• What adds days: deciding on touch-ups, seeing them flash under the light, and then repainting the whole wall anyway. If touch-ups will not blend, a full repaint is the faster honest answer

Stage 4: Flooring

Repairing a few planks is a same-day item if matching material exists. A room of new vinyl plank is a day or two to install, but the material has to be on site first and acclimated for the period the manufacturer requires. Glue-down products need cure time before heavy traffic. Carpet depends on when the supplier can deliver.

• What sets the pace: whether matching material exists, supplier lead time and acclimation
• What adds days: discovering the floor needs replacing after the paint is done instead of at the walkthrough

Stage 5: Doors, trim, carpentry and fixtures

Doors adjusted until they latch, split trim replaced, cabinet doors and shelves fixed, blinds, towel bars, fixtures and cover plates swapped. Each item is short. The stage takes about a day on a typical unit and can overlap with paint drying in another room. Special-order items wait on the supplier.

Stage 6: Punch list and handover

Caulk lines, touch-ups where a ladder leaned, the last cover plate. Then a walk of the unit against the written scope. The unit is handed back when the list is empty, not when it is nearly done. Your cleaning team goes in after us. Our work carries a 60 to 90 day warranty, depending on the job.

The full order of work is in the apartment turnover checklist. For the last items on a nearly finished unit, see punch-list repairs.

The five things that delay a turnover

• Unknown scope. Work found after the price is approved means a change order and a new schedule.
• Building and HOA rules nobody mentioned. An elevator booked a week out or work hours that end at 4:00 PM change the calendar.
• Drying and cure time skipped. Paint over wet compound and the patch shows through. Floor over uncured adhesive and it lifts. Both get done twice.
• Material lead times. Named on the scope, flooring, doors and fixtures are ordered on day one. Discovered later, they wait.
• Trades in the wrong order. Clean before the floor goes in and you clean twice. One contractor running every trade in sequence is the fix.

How to get the shortest honest timeline

• Book the walkthrough as soon as the move-out date is set, not after the unit is empty
• Send the build year. Pre-1978 units in Maryland fall under the lead law
• Decide touch-up or repaint at the walkthrough, with the lights on
• Approve the written scope in one pass so ordering starts the same day

The same stages run in Washington, DC, Arlington, Rockville, Hyattsville and Waldorf. What the unit costs is in the apartment turnover cost guide.