Definition
Make-ready is the process of preparing a unit for the next resident after a move-out. It includes the standard “turn†work required to deliver a clean, safe, and rentable unit— and may include light upgrades if the business plan calls for it.
What Make-Ready Typically Includes
- Inspection: document condition, identify damages, confirm scope.
- Cleaning: full deep clean, appliances, bathrooms, floors.
- Paint & patch: touch-up or full repaint depending on standards.
- Minor repairs: fixtures, outlets/switch plates, doors/locks, blinds, caulking.
- Maintenance checks: plumbing leaks, smoke/CO detectors, HVAC filters, water heater.
- Final quality walk: confirm rent-ready condition before marketing/showings.
Make-Ready vs. Unit Turn vs. Renovation
- Make-ready: baseline work to get a unit rent-ready (often “standard turnâ€).
- Unit turn: umbrella term that includes make-ready and the turnover workflow (move-out → ready → re-leased).
- Renovation (value-add): discretionary upgrades (e.g., new cabinets/counters) intended to increase rents— typically planned as CapEx.
Why It Matters
Make-ready performance drives vacancy loss and leasing velocity. Every extra day a unit sits not rent-ready is lost revenue, and inconsistent quality can lead to more concessions, weaker reviews, and higher churn.
Investor Uses
- Underwriting downtime: assumptions for days vacant between tenants (economic vacancy).
- Budgeting turns: forecasting recurring turn costs vs. value-add CapEx upgrades.
- Operational KPIs: tracking turn time, cost per turn, and first-pass quality.
- Revenue protection: minimizing “down units†and stabilizing occupancy.
Example
A property averages 12 move-outs per month. Each unit takes 8 days from move-out to rent-ready and then 7 days to re-lease, for a total of 15 days of downtime.
- Total downtime days/month = 12 × 15 = 180 unit-days
- If average market rent is $1,700/month, daily rent is roughly $1,700 ÷ 30 ≈ $56.67. That’s about $10,200/month of vacancy exposure (180 × $56.67), before concessions.
Cutting make-ready time from 8 days to 5 days reduces downtime by 36 unit-days/month (12 × 3), improving revenue and occupancy without changing rents.
Common Pitfalls
- No standard: inconsistent “rent-ready†criteria creates rework and complaints.
- Scope creep: turning every make-ready into a renovation blows budgets and schedules.
- Vendor bottlenecks: paint/cleaning delays create down-units that compound quickly.
- Weak scheduling: not pre-ordering materials or lining up trades before move-out.
- Skipping QA: poor quality leads to immediate maintenance tickets and negative reviews.