OperationsThe Apartment Make Ready Process: Turning Units Faster for Less
Every day a unit sits vacant costs you rent. Here's a day-by-day make ready process, with vendor coordination and inspections, to turn apartments faster.
· 7 min
Free template
Unit turn and make-ready tracker
Track every vacant unit from move-out to move-in: each stage, the vendors, cost against budget, days vacant and the rent lost while it sits, with a 35-day schedule to run each morning.
- Excel, Sheets, Numbers
- Sample property included
- 8 tabs
Get the template
Inside the workbook
What you get, tab by tab
Tab 1
Dashboard
KPIs, status board, flags, charts and plain-English insights on speed, cost and vacancy loss.
unit-turn-make-ready-tracker.xlsx
Tab 2
Turn Board
One row per turn: dates by stage, target and projected ready, vendors, budget vs actual, chargebacks, days vacant, status and flags.
unit-turn-make-ready-tracker.xlsx
Tab 3
Schedule
A 35-day board of every active turn by stage, with weekends shaded and the as-of date marked.
unit-turn-make-ready-tracker.xlsx
Owner Summary
A clean one-page turn report with your logo and company name, ready to send to owners.
Vendors
Your vendor list with trade, contact and rate notes, plus turns, speed vs standard and cost per turn from the board.
Cost Analysis
Averages and totals by scope, unit type, move-out month and vendor; budget vs actual by category; stage timing.
Scope Standards
Market rent by unit type, target days by scope, stage day offsets, flag rules and the turn budget matrix.
Built for
Who it is for
- Maintenance supervisors running turns
- Managers cutting vacant days
- Owners holding vendors accountable
How to use it
Up and running in six steps
- 1Enter the property name and the as-of date on the Start Here tab. Everything is measured to the as-of date.
- 2On Scope Standards, set market rent by unit type, target days for each scope, the standard day offsets for each stage and the turn budget by scope and unit type.
- 3On Vendors, list your painters, flooring, cleaning and repair vendors (or in-house crews). They feed the vendor dropdowns on the Turn Board.
- 4On the Turn Board, add one row per move-out: unit, type, scope, move-out date, then the date each stage is finished, the lease and move-in dates, vendors and actual cost by category. The sample rows are inputs; overwrite or delete them.
- 5If a stage does not apply to a turn (no flooring on a Light turn), enter the same date as the stage before it. That keeps stage timing and vendor speed accurate.
- 6Review the Schedule each morning, the Dashboard weekly, and send the Owner Summary monthly. Enter your company name on the Start Here tab and drop your logo onto the Owner Summary (right-click the placeholder, Change Picture).
Rather have us run the numbers?
Send us your rent roll and T12 and we will build this for your property and show you what it says.
Questions
Unit Turn and Make-Ready Tracker questions
What is a make-ready?
The work to get a vacant unit ready for the next resident: inspection, repairs, paint, flooring, cleaning and a final walk.
How does it set ready dates?
From your scope standards. Each scope (light, standard, heavy or full renovation) has target days, and the workbook projects the ready date for units still in progress.
Does it track vacancy cost?
Yes. Days vacant and vacancy loss at market rent are calculated for every turn.
Insights
The guide behind it
OperationsMore free templates
The rest of the toolkit
Multifamily Operating BudgetSee inside Rent Comp Analysis WorksheetSee inside Rent Roll TemplateSee inside Capex and Value-Add PlanSee inside Due Diligence ChecklistSee inside Lease-Up TrackerSee inside Multifamily Chart of AccountsSee inside Acquisition Underwriting ModelSee inside T-12 NormalizerSee inside Hold / Sell / Refinance AnalyzerSee inside Monthly Owner ReportSee inside Self-Manage vs. Hire a PM CalculatorSee inside RUBS Utility Billing CalculatorSee inside Leasing Funnel and Marketing ROI TrackerSee inside Delinquency and Collections TrackerSee inside Lease Expiration ManagerSee inside Preventive Maintenance CalendarSee inside Vendor Bid Leveling SheetSee inside Nevada Landlord Compliance GuideSee inside Nevada Lease Addenda PackSee inside