Why Atlis Property Management Is Your Palm Beach County Make-Ready Coordinator: Itemized Bids, Invoices at Cost, and the 30-Day Deposit Clock

Owner Guide · Make-Ready Coordination · Palm Beach County, FL

By Jean Taveras, Broker-Owner, Atlis Property Management · Updated October 2026

The weeks between one lease and the next decide more of a rental's annual return than almost anything else an owner controls. Rent stops on move-out day. The deposit clock starts. The vendors need to be scheduled in the right order, the association may need to approve the next tenant, and the home has to look right in photos before it can compete. When those steps are handled one phone call at a time, they stretch.

This guide explains what a make-ready includes, how the Florida deposit deadlines shape it, what Atlis coordinates and charges, quoted from the Atlis website, and the mistakes that cost owners the most. For the strategic question of how much to spend on a turn, see our make-ready vs. rent-ready renovation guide.

What a Make-Ready Is, and Why It Decides the Next Lease

The Atlis project coordination page defines a make-ready turn as "Clean-out, paint, flooring refresh, repairs, re-key, and smoke/CO compliance." Each item has a reason. Paint and flooring decide how the home photographs. Repairs clear the list a showing tenant will notice. Re-keying protects the next tenant. And some items are legal requirements rather than cosmetic choices.

Florida Statute §83.51 requires every landlord to comply with applicable building, housing, and health codes, and to ensure that screens are installed in a reasonable condition at the start of a tenancy. For a single-family home or duplex, §83.51(2)(b) adds that, unless otherwise agreed in writing, at the commencement of the tenancy the landlord shall install working smoke detection devices. A make-ready is the natural moment to test detectors, replace batteries or units, and confirm screens, before the next lease begins.

What an empty week costs

Every day of a turn is a day without rent. Using the median asking rents reported by PBP Real Estate as of October 7, 2026, the daily cost of vacancy looks like this:

The last column is how long the median rental listing in each city had been on the market as of that date. It is a snapshot of listings competing for the same tenants, and a home that comes back from its turn looking dated joins that line. Our guide to handling long-term vacancies in Jupiter covers what to do when a home sits.

The Move-Out Clock: §83.49 and the Make-Ready

The make-ready and the security deposit are two halves of the same job, and Florida law puts a firm deadline on the deposit half. Under §83.49(3)(a), if the landlord does not intend to impose a claim on the security deposit, the landlord must return it "within 15 days after the termination of the rental agreement." If the landlord intends to impose a claim, the landlord must, "within 30 days after the termination of the rental agreement," provide written notice by certified mail to the tenant's last known mailing address or by e-mail in accordance with §83.505.

Section 83.49(3)(a) is blunt about the consequence: a landlord who fails to give the required written notice within the 30-day period "forfeits the right to impose a claim upon the security deposit." Under §83.49(3)(b), the tenant then has 15 days after receiving the notice to object in writing, and unless the tenant objects, the landlord deducts the claim and remits the balance within 30 days after the date of the notice.

That timing changes how a turn should run. The move-out walk has to happen promptly, with dated photos compared against the move-in record, and any damage claimed has to be separated from the routine work every turn needs. If the make-ready scope is written first and the deposit claim is pieced together later, the claim is weaker and the deadline gets tight. Our guide to security deposit laws in Palm Beach Gardens covers the notice form and common disputes. This is general information, so consult an attorney if a tenant disputes a claim.

What Atlis Coordinates on a Turn

The Atlis make-ready and renovation coordination page lists what is included. In its own words, owners get:

• A single point of contact, "one team managing every vendor, so you make one call, not ten."
• Competitive, itemized bids, sourced from a vetted local vendor network before work starts.
• Vendor costs billed at cost: "you pay the contractor's exact invoice, never marked up."
• A transparent project coordination fee, described on the project coordination page as "A published 10% of total project cost on projects over $1,000, and nothing hidden."
• On-site coordination and progress check-ins, with vendors coordinated to the scope you approved.
• A final make-ready inspection before the home goes back to market.

The process on the page runs in four steps: walkthrough and scope, transparent bids, coordinated execution, and inspect and re-list. The owner approves the scope and budget before anyone starts, and every change order is approved in writing. Our post on project coordination vs. management explains where coordination ends and day-to-day management begins.

What It Costs, Quoted From the Pricing Page

Owners should see every charge before a turn starts. Here is the residential schedule as it appears on the Atlis pricing page for single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and 1–4 unit properties:

The leasing fee and the renewal fee are separate line items, billed when a tenant is placed or a lease is renewed; they are not part of the monthly percentage. To put the leasing fee in local terms, 75% of a month's rent on the Jupiter median asking rent of $4,800 as of October 7, 2026 is 0.75 × $4,800 = $3,600, and on the West Palm Beach median of $2,200 it is 0.75 × $2,200 = $1,650. The monthly fee on that same Jupiter rent, at 7% to 9% of collected rent, runs from 0.07 × $4,800 = $336 to 0.09 × $4,800 = $432.

Two guarantees matter most during a turn. Atlis does not charge management fees on vacant units, and the no-markup maintenance guarantee means owners pay what the vendor charges, with the original invoice. Both are on the guarantees page.

Who Does the Work: Coordinator vs. Licensed Trades

A coordinator and a contractor are different roles, and owners should know which one they are hiring. The Atlis make-ready page says vendors are coordinated to the scope the owner approved "while each licensed trade controls its own work," and the project coordination page says Atlis helps "coordinate scheduling with licensed trades who pull their own permits." In practice, the painter, the flooring installer, the plumber, and the electrician each own their workmanship, and the coordinator owns the schedule, the bids, the approvals, and the final check.

That makes vendor selection the heart of the job. A cheap, unlicensed contractor on a turn can create permit, insurance, and liability problems that cost far more than the savings. Our guide to the real risk of an unlicensed contractor in Florida covers what to check, and our comparison of project managers and general contractors covers larger renovations.

Common Mistakes Owners Make on a Make-Ready

• Waiting for the keys to start scoping. Bids, approvals, and materials can be lined up during the notice period, so the work starts when the home is empty.
• Letting the deposit deadline slide. Under §83.49(3)(a), the written claim notice must go out within 30 days after the termination of the rental agreement, or the right to claim is forfeited.
• Mixing damage with routine turnover work. Normal turnover tasks and tenant-caused damage need separate documentation, or the claim is hard to support.
• Approving a single lump-sum number. Itemized bids show what each trade charges and make change orders visible.
• Over-improving. Spending on finishes the local market will not pay for delays the listing and does not raise the rent. Our post on when to upgrade appliances in Jupiter rentals covers one of the most common judgment calls.
• Skipping the final walkthrough. A punch list missed before photos becomes a complaint after move-in.
• Forgetting the association. Many condo and HOA communities have rules about contractor access, hours, and tenant approval that affect the schedule.

Why Owners Use Atlis as Their Make-Ready Coordinator

Atlis is broker-owner led from our office on PGA Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens and manages single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and small multifamily across Palm Beach County. The make-ready is where management and coordination meet: the same team documents the move-out, scopes the turn, collects the bids, runs the deposit timeline, and lists the home. Our published results are a 21-day average lease-up, 98%+ of rent collected monthly, and a 74% renewal rate, and every account carries eight written guarantees. For how a full turn fits into leasing, see dated to leased in 21 days.

Frequently Asked Questions

Have a move-out coming up, or a home that needs a turn before it can lease? We will walk the property, write the scope, and show you every number before any work starts.