Why do some turns take 5 days — and others take 21?
The difference isn't the work. A 21-day turn isn't 21 days of work — it's a few days of work separated by dead days of waiting: on a scope, on a vendor date, on the crew after the crew that just left. The Day-Zero Method removes the dead days by making every decision and placing every order at the pre-walk, before the first trade starts.
Seven days, decided on Day 0
One pre-walk decides the whole schedule. Scroll through the method, day by day.
One schedule — not every trade
We coordinate every trade onto one schedule, but we don't perform every trade. Flooring installation, for example, is a specialty vendor's job, and mechanical work belongs to your maintenance team. The method works because everyone — our crews, your staff, and outside vendors — runs against the same Day 0 plan.
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Day 0
Maintenance Supervisor
Pre-Walk Inspection
The Turn Manager walks the unit and decides everything that same day: trash-out or not, one paint day or two, refinishing or not, and any appliances or materials to order. The projected lease-ready date goes to leasing before anyone lifts a brush.
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Day 1
Property Staff / Vendor
Trash-Out If needed
The unit is cleared. Long-lead orders from the pre-walk are placed the same morning, so parts arrive while trades are still working — not after they've left.
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Day 2
We handle this
Paint — one day, the 85–90% case
Prep, prime where needed, full coat. Heavy turns get a second paint day — identified at the pre-walk, not discovered mid-turn.
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Day 3
We handle this
Maintenance
Checklist work with parts already on site — plumbing, electrical, appliances, fixtures, and safety items. No mid-turn supply runs, because ordering happened on Day 0.
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Day 4
Specialty Vendor
Tub & Surface Refinishing If needed
Scheduled here only when surfaces were flagged at the pre-walk, with cure time built into the day instead of surprising the schedule.
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Day 5
Specialty Vendor
Flooring
Carpet cleaned or flooring replaced once the messy trades are clear — nothing gets tracked across a finished floor.
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Day 6
We handle this
Final Cleaning + QC
Full detail clean, then the Turn Manager walks the unit against the Day 0 scope, photo-documents it, and releases it to leasing.
Most turns complete in about 5 working days because the conditional days drop off — and when a turn genuinely needs more, the property knows on Day 0, not on Day 19.
This is the method our free eBook teaches in full — the checklists, the pre-walk decisions, and the scheduling logic behind each day.
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