Anyone have knowledge/experience in this area?

My mom passed away in December, she lived at an independent living complex in town. Her lease expired at end of Feb and everything was cleaned up before then. I have been attempting to contact manager by email and phone, no response. She's never in at the office either.

Trying to arrange a walk-through and key return for the $400 deposit. I took a shitload of pictures the last time I went through.

What's my next step?

Return the keys to their office. They have 21 days to return the security deposit and/or give you an itemized list of legally withheld damages once you have vacated. If they don't, you could go after double the sec deposit amount.

Some places don't do walk thrus with the tenant after vacating. I inspect after the tenant is out.

Your pictures don't mean crap unless they were taken within a week of moving in. Your mom should have filled out a move-in form noting the condition of the unit when she moved in.

Landlord duties are controlled by state statute.

Although dated, an online doc called "The Wisconsin Way" should provide you some guidance in this area.

Google is your friend.

I hope I still have her original lease-I remember it mentioned that several tiles were cracked at move-in.

Good luck.

I learned early on never to expect much of anything returned on a security deposit.  It's a sunk cost.  Even if you vacate the apartment in better condition than got it, they'll still jack you for a cleaning or paint touch up.  It's never clean enough.  Big, faceless management companies are the worst.

Caught the manager in the office today.

Getting a full refund on the deposit.

awesome to hear!! I am in real estate and i cringe every time people have bad experiences. Even though i sell homes, even bad renter's stories get me.