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We (landlords) and our current/new tenant's are military and for the past two tenants/leases (who were also all military) we have offered to leave the Move-In Walk Through checklist on the counter for the new tenants to execute themselves and have simply requested that they return it in 10 days (signed and mailed). Then we look it over, agree upon prior damages/issues, then sign and return them a copy. This has worked out well for us in the past and we have never had an issue with it before. We live on the east coast and our rental is in the central valley, CA. We do not have a property management company but my father lives an hour away and helps with the home and makes appointments for repairs as needed. He (my father) is also listed in the lease as someone that needs to be contacted in and emergency or our "agent" that can enter the home on our behalf. The home was built in 2005 so there really haven't been much if any cleaning/repair disputes, so the management point has been easy.  The current tenants moved in on July 17, 2012 and we have still not gotten the Move in Walk Through Checklist returned to us and this is our second time requesting it. The new tenants have been pestering us about "patchiness" of the paint touch ups in a few of the neutral colored rooms since the day they got there. I have already had my father go out,  buy new white paint, repaint all white rooms and take the large cans of colored paint that came with the home in 2005, make sure they were shaken and stirred well and repaint all the nail holes again. The tenant is still complaining and saying the paint doesn't match and that our wall have faded. I personally don't believe him and he can't provide me with pictures of what the problem actually is. I would like to believe this is the reason they have not returned the Walk Through Checklist to us yet. I already notified them in an email that regardless, they need to send it back and just notate it on the document that we are still not in agreement about the paint touch ups.I have also told them that since they have had the checklist entirely too long, we will not honor any new issues except the ones that have already been mentioned to us previously and within the first week of tenancy. I can not find anything stating a time frame that the Move in Walk Through needs to be returned to the landlords in. On the formal checklist on the Ca.gov website, it says three days if you don't do the walk through WITH the tenants. My tenant was also late on his first months rent...

Ha ha... I saw that Bob was the unofficial forum "master" I hope he can comment too =) Thank you for the advise, I appreciate it. I am VERY meticulous with my records as I have personally been screwed BIG time by landlords when I rented. So I learned my lesson the hard way and was unable to take them to court because the military moved us. They wont get away with anything if I have anything to do with it =) I do play by the rules and show good faith though. We only have the one home as a rental, we do NOT have multiple properties.

Chris response is great for the current problem. Contact his Commanding Officer immediately over phone, email or send him a letter about the problem.  Future Reference - So no problems like this happen again, I would have the walk-through with the tenants before they move-in or have possession of keys. Have a check-list going through the entire house room by room, make notations on conditions, take pictures with date stamp, and get tenant's initials on form. You give them a copy of form within 1-2 days.

Yes, thank you Bob! Your replies have been amazingly helpful! This can be such a tricky process and to not have anyone specific to go to with questions (as leases are not all back or white), your responses have been wonderful. We all learn from our mistakes but sometimes it is easier to try and learn from others :) Thank you again!

@ Curtis...I hope I don't have to give you a $ for each posting  LOL FYI...I belioeve each time you refresh the screen, your last post gets posted again. It's a glitch in the program.

@Jodi.... Hopefully your agreement states that the inspection is made a part of the contract and that tenants must return it completed within 5 (?) days of possession. If it doesn’t, I bet it will be in your next one  LOL. This will allow you to send them a Violation Notice that must be corrected in 3 days or they must move. I agree with Curtis that it’s best to do the initial inspection the day you hand them the keys and before they start moving in furniture which may cause damage that they will claim was there before move-in. I think you have done all that you could except for one thing since the tenant is military…..contact his Commanding Officer. Keep up the good work. You seem to know what you’re doing. ---- Disclaimer: Since I’ve been answering a lot of questions, I thought I would make the following statement. I’m not affiliated with EZlandlord Forms. I’m just here (not sure how long) to help those that have questions. Having 40+ yrs with Rental Property and done well, it’s my way of “Pay it Forward (check out the movie).” However, it is up to you to become familiar with your State/Local laws. I always like to know if the suggestions I offer are helpful. Feel free to comment anytime. Thanks in Advance.

I have found your responses to be very helpful and you to be very knowledgeable. In fact when you didn't post for a couple weeks I was missing your input.  Thanks

@Jodi & Curtis – I’m not sure that I could be classified as a “Master” about RE. However, I’ve been around many years and have made my share of mistakes when I started. Back in the day if you wanted help/info, you had to buy books from those TV Gurus (15-25 yrs ago). Some of the info was good, but they were there to sell real estate, books, etc and not pass on help…..I joined this Forum to see what Landlords were using to track their properties/income/expenses. I came across a program called Rental Property Organizer by Simp-list Software and was hoping someone would offer their input any program that they used (no response). I started reading the help questions here and some of the answers (my humble opinion) were somewhat misleading and could create additional losses by Landlords not taking correct action. I probably upset a few people with my direct approach. I call it as I see it. Don’t suggest Warning Forms when Action Forms are required. Time is Money! Hopefully, some have benefited from my responses and remember that Rental Property is a BUSINESS. Everyone should ask themselves….How many months can I go without receiving rent and when tenant vacates, pay for damages.

This Is great info! Thank you do much, I really appreciate it!

yeah just realized that. I wondered why that happened to other people. lol

In your current case I would try the letter clarifying your conversations that can be used in lieu of the Move-In List. Dear ______  welcome to your new home at  _____street name.  You have not provided your written Move-In List so this letter will serve in lieu of the List for our files.   The next day I would mail the per your lease you are late in your payment and can avoid incurring late charges of ____________  ( or in the future ) by submitting timely payment of ____ to _____ before the ____ date of the month.    If it is past the time and late payments apply I would  send the late payment notice the next day and the pay or quit notice the next day.  That way you have built your file for court if you need to evict.  Per our conversation on date _______  you indicated you were satisfied with the condition of the premises except for inadequate painting of ___#  nail hole patches in the _____ room wall, __# nail hole patches in the ____ room wall ....  As a courtesy and since we had some matching paint available, the patches were repainted on _______________.        Per our subsequent conversation on ___________ you indicated you did not feel the repainting was an exact match.   This matter is closed as having had sufficient response.  If the mismatch is so severe in your estimation perhaps you can alleviate your stress by hanging  something you would prefer to look at over the patch(es).    We hope you will enjoy your leased stay at _____ street name __ as you complete the process of converting it from a rental house into your home.   If you have any other problems or concerns please feel free to contact us at___       Given your current  situation I might try a Move-In presumption letter that if no response is made to state that anything else is wrong can serve as a satisfied Move In checklist followed by late payment reminder and demands.  The day after sending the Move-In letter I would mail the per your lease your rent is overdue.  You can avoid incurring (or future )  late charges of ____________  by submitting timely payment of ____ to _____ before the ____ day of each month.    [If it is past the time and late payments apply I would  send the late payment notice the next day and the pay or quit notice the next day.]  That way you have built your file for court if you need to evict and are letting the tenant know you mean business.  Dear ______  welcome to your new home at  _____street name.  You have not provided your written Move-In List so this letter will serve in lieu of the List for our files  Per our conversation on date _______  you indicated you were satisfied with the condition of the premises except for inadequate painting of ___#  nail hole patches in the _____ room wall, __# nail hole patches in the ____ room wall ....  As a courtesy and since we had some matching paint available, the patches were repainted on _______________.       Per our subsequent conversation on ___________ you indicated you did not feel the repainting was an exact match.   This matter is closed as having had sufficient response.  Perhaps you can alleviate your stress by hanging something you would prefer to look at over the patch(es).    We hope you will enjoy your leased stay at _____ street name __ as you complete the process of converting it from a rental house into your home.   If you have any other problems or concerns please feel free to contact us at___     

sounds like you have your first problem tenants on your hands. I have always done the through with tenants so can't offer much advise besides to follow the law and not to cut them any slack on rent. You will probably be better off getting them out and new ones in as fast you can.   I would bet that Bob from CA might be able to weigh in on this with some sound advice.