diff --git a/spec/helpers.rb b/spec/helpers.rb
index 140d9b0..890cfd1 100644
--- a/spec/helpers.rb
+++ b/spec/helpers.rb
@@ -27,10 +27,14 @@ def token_exists?(token)
   result && !result.empty?
 end
 
-def create_vm(template, name)
+def create_ready_vm(template, name)
   redis.sadd('vmpooler__ready__' + template, name)
 end
 
+def create_vm(name)
+  redis.hset("vmpooler__vm__#{name}", 'checkout', Time.now)
+end
+
 def fetch_vm(vm)
   redis.hgetall("vmpooler__vm__#{vm}")
 end
diff --git a/spec/vmpooler/api/v1/vm_spec.rb b/spec/vmpooler/api/v1/vm_spec.rb
index 1038b94..ffd3c08 100644
--- a/spec/vmpooler/api/v1/vm_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/vmpooler/api/v1/vm_spec.rb
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ describe Vmpooler::API::V1 do
     describe 'POST /vm' do
       it 'returns a single VM' do
         clear_pool 'pool1'
-        create_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
+        create_ready_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
 
         post "#{prefix}/vm", '{"pool1":"1"}'
         expect_json(ok = true, http = 200)
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ describe Vmpooler::API::V1 do
 
       it 'returns a single VM for an alias' do
         clear_pool 'pool1'
-        create_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
+        create_ready_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
 
         post "#{prefix}/vm", '{"poolone":"1"}'
         expect_json(ok = true, http = 200)
@@ -94,8 +94,8 @@ describe Vmpooler::API::V1 do
 
       it 'returns multiple VMs' do
         clear_pool 'pool1'
-        create_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
-        create_vm 'pool2', 'qrstuvwxyz012345'
+        create_ready_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
+        create_ready_vm 'pool2', 'qrstuvwxyz012345'
 
         post "#{prefix}/vm", '{"pool1":"1","pool2":"1"}'
         expect_json(ok = true, http = 200)
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ describe Vmpooler::API::V1 do
           app.settings.set :config, auth: false
 
           clear_pool 'pool1'
-          create_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
+          create_ready_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
 
           post "#{prefix}/vm", '{"pool1":"1"}', {
             'HTTP_X_AUTH_TOKEN' => 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz012345'
@@ -143,7 +143,7 @@ describe Vmpooler::API::V1 do
           app.settings.set :config, auth: true
 
           clear_pool 'pool1'
-          create_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
+          create_ready_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
 
           post "#{prefix}/vm", '{"pool1":"1"}', {
             'HTTP_X_AUTH_TOKEN' => 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz012345'
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ describe Vmpooler::API::V1 do
         it 'does not extend VM lifetime if auth token is not provided' do
           app.settings.set :config, auth: true
           clear_pool 'pool1'
-          create_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
+          create_ready_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
 
           post "#{prefix}/vm", '{"pool1":"1"}'
           expect_json(ok = true, http = 200)
diff --git a/spec/vmpooler/api/v1/vm_template_spec.rb b/spec/vmpooler/api/v1/vm_template_spec.rb
index 3a09a87..cdb2e37 100644
--- a/spec/vmpooler/api/v1/vm_template_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/vmpooler/api/v1/vm_template_spec.rb
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ describe Vmpooler::API::V1 do
     describe 'POST /vm/:template' do
       it 'returns a single VM' do
         clear_pool 'pool1'
-        create_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
+        create_ready_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
 
         post "#{prefix}/vm/pool1", ''
         expect_json(ok = true, http = 200)
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ describe Vmpooler::API::V1 do
 
       it 'returns a single VM for an alias' do
         clear_pool 'pool1'
-        create_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
+        create_ready_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
 
         post "#{prefix}/vm/poolone", ''
 
@@ -94,8 +94,8 @@ describe Vmpooler::API::V1 do
 
       it 'returns multiple VMs' do
         clear_pool 'pool1'
-        create_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
-        create_vm 'pool2', 'qrstuvwxyz012345'
+        create_ready_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
+        create_ready_vm 'pool2', 'qrstuvwxyz012345'
 
         post "#{prefix}/vm/pool1+pool2", ''
         expect_json(ok = true, http = 200)
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ describe Vmpooler::API::V1 do
           app.settings.set :config, auth: true
 
           clear_pool 'pool1'
-          create_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
+          create_ready_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
 
           post "#{prefix}/vm/pool1", '', {
             'HTTP_X_AUTH_TOKEN' => 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz012345'
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ describe Vmpooler::API::V1 do
           app.settings.set :config, auth: true
 
           clear_pool 'pool1'
-          create_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
+          create_ready_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
 
           post "#{prefix}/vm/pool1", '', {
             'HTTP_X_AUTH_TOKEN' => 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz012345'
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@ describe Vmpooler::API::V1 do
         it 'does not extend VM lifetime if auth token is not provided' do
           app.settings.set :config, auth: true
           clear_pool 'pool1'
-          create_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
+          create_ready_vm 'pool1', 'abcdefghijklmnop'
 
           post "#{prefix}/vm/pool1", ''