After the move-out inspection, the owner/manager must determine who is responsible to pay the bills to bring the property back to the condition it was in prior the resident moving in. In California you are allowed by law to charge the resident's deposit for rent, damages above normal wear and tear, and cleaning. You should charge the resident for everything that they should be charged for. Compare the move in condition (we do a written move in condition report and include digital photos) to the current condition (we take digital photos to verify our written report upon move out). The job of a property manager is to protect the owner's interests in this process. You can use the resident's security deposit to pay for all or part of the bills. If the resident's deposit does not cover the costs, then the owner will have to pay the balance. In that event, you should bill the resident and turn them over to collection if the amount due is not paid promptly.
BEFORE MOVE IN
Should I hire a gardener?
AFTER MOVE OUT
I think you should have hired a gardener after all!
I rarely have to go after departed tenants for damages over their deposit and when I do, I file in Small Claims court and sue them. I have a 18% interest on judgement in my lease which goes to me for my trouble and I record any judgement against the tenant's credit report.
It is way too hard to get collection agencies to do their job and if the tenant disputes the charge, I have to go through their records anyway so I might as well do it 1X for the judge.
When I send the tenant their deposit itemization, I provide copies of the damage. My owners are always made "whole" first from any funds and any monies owed to me are taken last in the process.
When taking on a property for management, if the rent is less than $2,000, I get a check from the owner for $500 as the owner's holding fund, if the rent is OVER $2,000, I get a check for $1,000...I use these funds if necessary AND I do not pay the last/pro-rated month rent to the owner when tenants vacate....since I have been in the property and made a punch list of items to handle between tenants, I always have funds to make the repairs - whether the owner or departing tenants pay....getting new tenant in is PRIMARY and accounting for departed tenants' security deposit within the 45 day time limit under VA law is SECONDARY....
One of the BIGGEST problems newbie PMs make is to NOT get $$$ up front from the property owner OR have an established "holding fee" in each owners' account....vendors don't like to wait for payment and PMs should not have to come out of pocket to make repairs.
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Pictures is a great idea. I typically only use a a residential check list form promulgated by trec.