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How can you plan a unit turn with Claude or ChatGPT?

DoorKeeping team

4 min read

Give your assistant the move-out findings and your target ready date and ask for an order of work, a day count per step and the questions a vendor must answer. Then work backward from the date. Ask it to price the delay too: each extra vacant day costs one day of rent. The assistant drafts the plan from what you tell it, and you decide what to approve and book.

What the assistant needs to plan a turn

A turn plan is only as good as the facts you give. Before you ask, collect five things:

  • The move-out date and the date you want the unit rent ready.
  • What the move-out inspection found, written as a plain list ("two cabinet doors loose, carpet stain in bedroom, outlet cover cracked, walls need paint").
  • Which jobs you do yourself and which go to vendors.
  • What each trade has taken in the past, from your own work order history.
  • Your monthly rent for the unit, so the plan can show what each vacant day costs.

If you skip the third and fourth items, the plan will use generic durations. A generic plan is a starting sketch, not a schedule.

The planning prompt

  • Plan a turn for a [number]-bedroom unit. Move-out is [date] and I want it rent ready by [date]. Inspection findings: [list].
  • Put the work in the order the trades should follow and explain why each step comes before the next one. Give a number of working days for each step and flag any step that has to wait on another.
  • List the questions I should ask each vendor before booking. List anything that could make a step run long, such as parts or a dry time.
  • Do not guess prices. Where you need a number from me, ask.

The usual order starts with the move-out inspection, then cleaning, repairs, paint, final make-ready touches and the listing. For the reasoning behind it, see order of trades for a unit turn.

Ask the assistant to price the delay

A turn is a race against vacancy. Ask: "If each step runs two days over, how many days vacant is that and what does it cost?" The arithmetic is simple, but a plan that shows the cost makes it easier to decide whether to pay a vendor extra to start sooner.

Example a made-up unit rents for $1,460 a month. That is $17,520 a year, or $48 a day. The plan has 14 working days from move-out to rent ready, plus 4 days to list and show, so 18 days vacant, about $864 of lost rent. If paint slips two days and nothing else moves, the turn takes 20 days and costs $960.

Check the multiplication yourself. Assistants are generally good at it, but a wrong number in a plan spreads into every later decision.

Turn the plan into booked work

  1. Send each repair to a vendor as its own job with the unit, the problem and the date you need it done. See sending a repair to a vendor.
  2. Book the longest, least flexible step first, usually flooring or paint, and fit the short jobs around it.
  3. Ask each vendor for a start date, not just an estimate, and write both into the plan.
  4. Re-run the prompt with the dates that actually got booked and ask what slipped.

How DoorKeeping handles it

DoorKeeping keeps a unit turn board: every vacant unit being turned with days vacant, what the vacancy has cost so far in lost rent, the target ready date and six steps (move-out inspection, cleaning, repairs, paint, make-ready, listed). A turn opens by itself when a lease ends with no new lease. With your assistant connected you can ask "which units are in a turn and which are over target?", open a turn for a vacant unit with a target date, tick a step done and link a work order to a step. You can also ask for everything that was fixed in that unit before, to size each trade from real history. Rent stays in your own bank account, and anything involving money waits for your approval.

Sources

  1. IRS Publication 527: Residential Rental Property, read Oct 30, 2026
  2. DoorKeeping: Connect Claude or ChatGPT (steps and tools list), read Oct 30, 2026

Questions

How long does a typical unit turn take?
It depends on condition, trades and local availability, so no single number fits. Use your own past turns: look at how many days each step took last time and plan from that.
Can AI estimate repair costs for a turn?
It can give rough ranges, but they are not quotes. Use it to decide what to ask vendors, then plan with the prices you are given in writing.
What goes in a turn checklist?
Move-out inspection, cleaning, repairs, paint, make-ready touches such as locks and filters, and the listing. Add a step for anything your property always needs.
Should the assistant book the vendors?
It can prepare each job, but you should decide who is booked and approve any payment. A person confirming the date avoids surprises.

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