[motion]

Rick, I'm with you... I am terrified about doing inspections while tenants are still in the home. I know I won't like what I see, so I prefer to stick my head in the sand. Your house doesn't sound too bad. But..... you will be surprised what a judge will deem to be normal wear and tear. You can always try to withhold funds from the deposit, but if the tenants decided to sue you in small claims court, I can tell you that the judge will usually be on the poor tenant's side. You're the wealthy landlord, after all. Its just how these things work. My advice: suck it up, put some cheap-a$$ new carpet in and clean the place up. For sure, subtract the cleaning fee, but that's really all you can expect to keep.