Paid $305 to have somebody else clean the turnover, five days off vacancy

Small thing but it changed how I think about my own time.

Tenant of three years moved out of a two bedroom. Unit was okay, normal wear, but the oven and the bathroom needed real work and the carpet in the second bedroom had a stain I couldn't identify.

My plan was to do it myself over a weekend like I did the last two times. Instead I called a cleaner, got quoted $260 for a standard two bed turnover, and it came in at $305 because I added the oven interior and the fridge pull. Carpet cleaning was separate, $110 for two rooms, and the stain came out.

What I actually got for the $155 difference between the quote and my weekend: they finished Tuesday, photos went up Tuesday night, and I had it leased by the following Monday. Last turnover I did myself the unit sat 12 days before photos, because I could only work on it Saturday and Sunday. Rent is $1,340, so 5 days is about $220.

So the cleaning paid for itself and I got my weekend. I'm not going to pretend that's a stunning insight, it just took me two turnovers to see it.