Apartment Prep Service

Startup Costs: Under $2,000
Home Based: Can be operated from home.
Part Time: Can be operated part-time.
Franchises Available? Yes
Online Operation? Yes

When tenants vacate apartments, they usually fail to clean up after themselves. Even the tidiest tenant can leave a trail of normal wear and tear--carpets that need cleaning, nail holes to be filled and walls to be painted. And apartment managers and other assorted landlords rarely have the time or the inclination to handle the tasks. But if you like transforming shabby to shiny and you're not afraid of a little elbow grease, then you can answer an apartment manager's prayers with an apartment prep service. You'll scrub bathrooms, kitchens and baseboards, wax floors and shampoo carpets. You'll toss out junk, patch holes, paint, and replace cracked windows, broken towel bars and off-track closet doors. The advantages to this business are that you can start on a shoestring, you often find interesting treasures among the former tenant's trash, it's recession- and trend-proof, and if you like the glow of accomplishment that comes from putting in a good day's physical labor, then you'll have a long and satisfying career. It's also gratifying--landlords and managers faced with a tenant mess are always appreciative when you come in to save the day. You'll need experience in patching and painting, plus a few other fix-it skills like replacing mirrors or doors, and the ability to do a sparkling cleaning job in a relatively short time. You'll also need a sense of logistics to take you from one job to another efficiently.

The Market

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Needed Equipment

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