The headline number — $3,872 per turnover — comes from Zego's 2024 multifamily benchmarking data and gets cited constantly. But it bundles four different costs into one: the physical make-ready, lost rent during vacancy, leasing and marketing, and concessions. A landlord trying to budget the actual work — what the crew charges to get the unit rent-ready — needs the number pulled apart. This covers the make-ready cost by itself: what each component runs, what separates a $1,500 turn from a $5,000 one, and where the money actually goes.
What a Turnover Actually Costs: The Four Buckets
Before breaking down the make-ready, it helps to see where the $3,872 average comes from. Turnover cost is not one expense — it is four:
| Cost bucket | Typical range | Who controls it |
|---|---|---|
| Physical make-ready (labor + materials) | $1,000–$5,000 | Maintenance vendor or in-house crew |
| Lost rent during vacancy | $1,000–$2,500+ | Turn speed, leasing pipeline, market conditions |
| Leasing and marketing | $200–$500 | Listing fees, agent commissions, advertising |
| Concessions | $0–$1,000+ | Market-dependent; free rent, move-in specials |
Lost rent is typically the single largest component — 35 to 50 percent of total turnover cost — and the one most affected by how fast the make-ready gets done. The average stabilized unit sat vacant 34.4 days between residents at the end of 2024. Every day the turn runs past schedule is another day of zero rent on that unit. This is why turn speed matters as much as turn cost: a $2,000 make-ready finished in five days costs less than a $1,500 make-ready that takes twelve.
Make-Ready Cost Breakdown by Line Item
The physical make-ready — the work a crew does at the unit — breaks into predictable components. Here is what each one runs:
| Line item | Cost range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trash-out and junk removal | $79–$600+ | Biggest variable — depends entirely on what the tenant left behind; a clean move-out is $79, a full cleanout with hauling is $400–$600+ |
| Move-out cleaning | $150–$400 | Most predictable line item; deep clean of kitchen, bathrooms, floors, fixtures |
| Paint prep (patching, caulking, nail holes) | $250–$800 | Prep only, not full repaint; includes minor drywall repair, caulking, and sanding |
| Full repaint (walls and ceilings) | $800–$3,500 | Only on heavy turns or when the unit has not been painted in multiple tenancies |
| Punch-list repairs (doors, hardware, fixtures, screens) | $150–$1,500 | Replaces broken door stops, cabinet hardware, outlet covers, screens, towel bars, and similar |
| Lock change or rekey | $50–$300 | Depends on number of locks and whether the unit uses a master-key system |
| Appliance clean and function check | $75–$350 | Cleaning plus basic testing; replacement is a separate capital cost |
| Drywall repair (beyond nail holes) | $150–$1,500 | Holes larger than 4 inches, water damage, pet damage |
| Rent-ready inspection with photos | $75–$200 | Final walkthrough documenting every room; photo set for the file |
A light turn — a unit left in good condition by a tenant who cleaned before leaving — lands between $1,000 and $1,500. A standard turn with a moderate trash-out, cleaning, paint prep, a half-dozen punch-list items, and a lock change runs $1,500 to $3,000. A heavy turn with a full cleanout, drywall repair, repaint, and appliance or flooring work reaches $5,000 to $12,000.
What Separates a $1,500 Turn from a $5,000 Turn
The difference between a light turn and a heavy one is almost always deferred maintenance — work that should have been done during the tenancy but was not. The tenant reported a dripping faucet that nobody fixed, and now the subfloor is soft. The HVAC filter was not changed for two years, and the coils need servicing. The screen door has been off its track for six months, and the track is bent.
- Trash-out volume: a tenant who leaves a few bags of garbage is a $79 line item. A tenant who leaves a unit full of furniture, boxes, and appliances is a $400–$600 hauling job before any other work starts.
- Paint condition: if the previous tenancy was short and the walls are clean, touch-up and patching is enough. If the tenant lived there for five years, smoked indoors, or had pets, the unit may need a full repaint — $800 to $3,500 depending on square footage.
- Flooring: carpet replacement ($3–$6 per square foot installed) and LVP or tile work ($5–$12 per square foot) are the items that push a turn past $5,000. If the flooring is serviceable, the turn stays under budget.
- Trade work: plumbing, electrical, or HVAC repairs that require a licensed trade add $100 to $600 per item and often introduce scheduling delays that extend the vacancy.
How to Budget Make-Ready Costs
Operators who track make-ready cost per unit over time — not just total turnover cost — can identify patterns: which units consistently cost more to turn, which tenant screening criteria correlate with lower turn costs, and whether deferred-maintenance decisions during the lease are saving money or deferring it into a larger bill at move-out.
- Budget $1,500 to $2,500 per turn for a standard unit in average condition. This covers trash-out, cleaning, paint prep, punch list, lock change, and inspection. Keep a separate line for heavy-turn contingency.
- Do a move-out walkthrough the day the tenant leaves — not a week later. Every day between move-out and the start of the make-ready is a day of lost rent with no work happening.
- Photograph the unit at move-in and move-out. The photos support security deposit claims for tenant-caused damage and document the unit's condition for the next lease.
- Turn in sequence: trash-out first, then repairs and paint prep, then cleaning, then locks and final inspection. A crew that cleans before the drywall dust settles has to clean twice.
- Consolidate the make-ready scope with one vendor. A landlord who hires a hauler, a cleaner, a handyman, and a locksmith separately is paying four mobilization costs and coordinating four schedules. One vendor relationship, one work order, one set of photos.
Single-Family Rentals vs. Apartments
The cost benchmarks above come from multifamily data, but single-family rental turns follow the same structure with a few differences. Single-family units are typically larger (more square footage to clean and paint), have exterior maintenance that apartments do not (yard, entry, trash enclosure), and are more likely to be managed by out-of-state landlords who cannot walk the unit themselves.
For a single-family rental, budget $2,000 to $4,000 for a standard turn that includes exterior tidy, and expect the turn to take slightly longer because the vendor is working alone at one address rather than turning multiple units in one building. The landlord who has a standing relationship with a local vendor — someone who has turned that property before and knows its quirks — will consistently get faster, cheaper turns than the landlord who hires cold every time.
Ethreon runs make-ready turns for landlords, property managers, and apartment operators across Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. One crew for the whole turn — trash-out, cleaning, paint prep, punch list, lock change, and rent-ready photos — quoted per unit, turned on schedule. Request a make-ready through the contact form.
Contact EthreonRelated Services
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Frequently Asked Questions
1How much does a make-ready cost per unit?
The physical make-ready — cleaning, paint prep, punch-list repairs, lock change, and inspection — runs $1,000 to $5,000 per unit depending on condition, unit size, and local labor rates. A light turn on a unit left in good condition is at the low end; a full turn with trash-out, drywall repair, and appliance work is at the high end. Heavy turns that include flooring replacement can reach $8,000 to $12,000.
2What is included in a make-ready?
A standard make-ready includes trash-out of anything the previous tenant left behind, move-out cleaning, paint-ready prep (patching nail holes, caulking, minor drywall repair), punch-list repairs to doors, hardware, fixtures, and screens, a lock change or rekey, appliance check, and a rent-ready inspection with photos. Painting, flooring replacement, and trade work (plumbing, electrical, HVAC) are scoped separately.
3What is the average cost of apartment turnover?
The total turnover cost — including lost rent during vacancy, leasing fees, and concessions — averaged $3,872 per unit in 2024 according to Zego data. Lost rent alone accounts for 35 to 50 percent of that number. The physical make-ready (the part a maintenance vendor handles) is typically $1,000 to $5,000, with most standard turns landing between $1,500 and $3,000.
4How long does a make-ready take?
A light turn on a unit in good condition can be completed in one to two days. A standard turn — trash-out, cleaning, paint prep, repairs, lock change, and inspection — takes three to five days. A heavy turn involving flooring, drywall, or appliance replacement takes one to two weeks or more, depending on material lead times and whether trade work is needed.
5How can I reduce make-ready costs?
The biggest cost reduction comes from doing thorough move-in and move-out inspections with photos, which document what the tenant is responsible for and support security deposit claims. Beyond that: turn units in a consistent sequence (trash-out, then repairs, then cleaning, then locks and inspection) so each trade works on a clean surface, consolidate make-ready work with one vendor to reduce mobilization costs, and do not defer maintenance during the tenancy — a $50 dripping faucet repair during the lease becomes a $400 water-damage repair at turnover.