Handing over the keys takes ten seconds. Explaining the place takes a few minutes, and it saves you a week of texts.
The lease is signed and the unit is clean. Your new tenant is standing in the doorway with a box and a lamp, and you hand over the keys. Done, right?
Not quite. You know which key opens the side door, where the breaker panel is hiding, and who to call when something breaks at 9 p.m. They know none of it yet, and it isn't written on the walls. So the questions start arriving by text: Which switch runs the garbage disposal? Is the thermostat on a schedule? Where does the recycling actually go?
A few minutes in the unit together can head off most of that.
What I'd cover before leaving
- Getting in. Show them what each key, fob, or code opens. Include any shared entrances, gates, or mailboxes. A ring of unlabeled keys is a puzzle, not a handoff.
- The basics of the unit. Point out the water shutoff and breaker panel, explain the thermostat, and cover trash and recycling pickup. If there's a gas shutoff, show them where it is and who to call in an emergency.
- What's staying. Walk through the appliances and anything else included with the unit. Make sure the condition you've documented matches what you're both looking at.
- Getting help. Tell them how to contact you for an ordinary question and what to do for an emergency. Put it in writing, too. A phone number you said out loud once, in the middle of move-in chaos, doesn't count.
I'd also leave a short written guide with the details nobody retains on move-in day. Nobody remembers a pickup schedule while carrying a couch. It doesn't have to be elaborate: access information, pickup days, the basics of the unit, and contact instructions are plenty.
Then do one last check before you go. Have them lock the door and let themselves back in while you're standing there. It takes ten seconds, and it beats the call you'd otherwise get an hour later from a very polite person on a porch holding groceries.
This is general information, not legal advice. Check your lease and local requirements when putting together your move-in process.