CalcStack — free, instant, no signup. The interactive calculator loads automatically.
Three rooms of paint, 400 sqft of LVP, cleaning, and locks: $4,200 — plus $829 of lost rent over 14 days. Every idle day costs $59; sequence contractors tightly.
Turnover scopes grow in the telling. Priced honestly: three rooms of paint at $450, 400 sqft of LVP at $6, a $300 professional clean, and $150 of locks and misc — $4,200 of work, plus $829 of rent lost over 14 make-ready days: $5,029 true cost. Two levers decide the number: scope discipline (renovate to durable-rental grade — LVP not carpet, satin paint, mid-tier fixtures with standard parts) and timeline discipline (every idle day between contractors costs a day of rent). This calculator prices the scope and puts a dollar figure on the schedule, so "the painter can start in three weeks" gets the reaction it deserves.
Landlords use it at move-out: paint, LVP, cleaning, and locks price at $4,200 — plus $59/day of lost rent during make-ready, which turns contractor lead times into the most expensive line item.
The specification that minimizes lifetime cost, not upfront cost. Paint: satin or eggshell in one neutral throughout the entire property — flat paint cannot be cleaned and forces full repaints; a single standardized color means touch-ups instead of repaints, and buying 5-gallon buckets of YOUR color cuts paint cost 30%. Flooring: LVP over carpet wherever tenants or pets go — carpet lasts 5–8 years under tenants and needs replacement every other turnover ($3–5/sqft each time), while LVP runs 15–25 years at $4–8/sqft installed and cleans with a mop. Fixtures: mid-tier with standard parts — a $90 Moen with $8 cartridges available at any hardware store beats a $300 designer faucet whose cartridge ships in six weeks. Blinds: faux-wood standard sizes you can replace per-window for $25 instead of custom orders. The test for every scope item: will the next tenant pay more rent for it? Clean, functional, and bright rents for everything; crown molding and accent walls rent for nothing. Save the design instincts for your own house.
The vacancy number in this calculator is the argument — at $1,800 rent, every make-ready day costs $59, so a 14-day turn versus a 21-day turn is a $413 decision. The compression playbook: pre-stage during the notice period — a tenant giving 30 days means you can measure flooring, order materials, and schedule contractors before the keys are returned; the day-after-moveout start is worth a week. Sequence the trades in the only order that works: repairs and paint FIRST (flooring installers do not cut around wet paint), flooring second, cleaning LAST — a cleaning crew before the floor layer is money burned. Parallel where possible: locksmith, blind install, and appliance swap can all run during paint. Use contractors who work vacant-unit timelines — the painter who can start in three weeks costs you $1,239 in vacancy to save $200 on the bid. DIY selectively: cleaning and blinds are landlord-friendly; paint and flooring done slowly by an amateur cost more in vacancy than the pro premium. Target benchmarks: 7 days for a paint-and-clean turn, 14 for a full refresh — longer means a scheduling failure, not a bigger scope.
Damage beyond normal wear and tear — and the distinction is where deposits are lost in court. Wear and tear (NOT chargeable): minor scuffs, worn carpet traffic patterns, faded paint, small nail holes, loose hinges — the legal theory is that living causes these and rent already prices them. Damage (chargeable): holes in doors, burns or stains in carpet, broken windows, unauthorized paint colors, pet urine damage, missing fixtures, filth beyond cleanable. The documentation that wins disputes: a move-in checklist with photos signed by the tenant, a move-out inspection with the same photos, and receipts for every deduction — judges itemize, and landlords with albums win while landlords with vibes lose. Timing is statutory: most states require itemized deposit returns within 14–30 days, and missing the deadline can forfeit the ENTIRE deposit plus penalties regardless of damage. Price deductions at actual cost, not retail revenge. And the strategic note: a tenant who did $300 of damage and left on good terms is often worth releasing cleanly — the $300 is cheaper than the dispute, and your review scores survive. This is general practice, not legal advice — your state's landlord-tenant act owns the details.