Best Time Of Year To Find Tenants?
I have been a landlord for under a year. I'm wondering if anyone can shead some light on if they feel there is a best time of year to find tenants? The current lease will be ending on Dec 31 and I'm wondering if it would be easier to find tenants, say, in October?? Any thoughts on the topic would be welcome!! <IMG SRC="images/forum/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif"> [ Edited by TaraG on Date 07/23/2003 ]
It seems alot of people move during the summer, because of schools starting in Aug/Sept. I started advertising in late June for a rental starting Aug 1st, and it seems the only people who are coming by are looking to move in Sept. 1st, so there goes that theory!
Unless you expect to get your property back in 'Creampuff' condition, I would spruce up, clean & paint before offering for rent.
TaraG,
my rental was unoccupied for several months because I did not pay attention to what was going on around me. I hope my points spare you the months of lost income that I experienced.
*rentals are somewhat like a regular business cycle - there are months when things are jumping, months when activity is moderate to very slow
*summer months in your area may be slow for various reasons. for example are you in an area where there are a lot of students - well they graduate and leave or make other arrangements for the summer (like sublet), roommates leave (both planned and unplanned). I am sure you get my drift. Or summer could be slow because people just want to kick back and "worry about it in the fall". if you are not sure ask real estate agents about "housing trends in the summer" for your area- they know so why not ask them
*if you live in an area where the climate tends to be rough in the winter - well you might have less foot traffic - people want to be warm and toasty when it is cold - not on the hunt for an apartment - unless they are between a rock and a hard place
*the amount of rent you are asking for may be out of line with the area. if this is the case, people will look and move on. thereby wasting your time. have you checked to see if what you are offering and the price you are asking for is in line with the neighborhood? here again is where an agent can assist you. invite them to look and advise you. what the heck let them rent it for you. or if you are like me, you might want to go out and look at some of the rental offerings in the neighborhood for yourself - a sort of self assessment.
*is the rental market in a general slump in your area? if there is a bunch of stuff out there for people to look at - then people have far too many choices and do not want to make a decision until they have seen 99% of it (LOL LOL LOL). In that case, you may have to "revisit" your rental amount to make it more attractive
please do not get "stuck on stupid" when it comes to the rental amount. if you have to make a reasonable adjustment -then just do it! it is better to have something coming in than nothing at all....for several months - do the math.
*make sure that the rental unit is clean, freshly painted and inviting - in other words make it presentable - especially the bathroom and kitchen. Fix whatever needs to be fixed before they ask about it. Prospective tenants do not have vision - to them, "it is what it is". Not what you say "it will be".
Good luck
Hey,
Ligem makes some very, very good points. And I will be the first to admit, I learned the hardway on several of them!!!
If the house will be vacant on 1 Jan, showing it in Oct might not work out. The prospective tenant will show up at the house (the current tenant has to agree to this) and likes it. But it will not be ready for another two months. I would start showing it in late Nov.
BUT what about the current tenant?? Are you on good terms? Will they say nothing but good things about you? Is the house clean and nice smelling? Is the yard neat? Etc, etc. Any of these things could also kill the deal with the future tenant.
Also if they move out on 31 Dec you will need several days to clean the house up. No matter how much they promise you it will be clean.
From my experience out here in San Diego anywhere from August to October seems to be the best time to get your place rented. I have two small condos that I rent out. San Diego State, and UC San Diego are in the vicinity. Transitioning around the school year works out well. Also, I have found that when people are looking for a spot, they dont want to wait for something 2 months out. In my opinion, if you unit is not ready to go in 30 days at the LATEST, then I would not even advertise it yet. I dont even advertise my units until they are cleaned up, and are 100% ready to go. In that condition, it usually takes only a week or two and I have plenty of qualified applicants. I would also agree on being flexible. Depending on what your monthly expenses are, it may be much more profitable to incentivize potential tenants to get in sooner instead of waiting for someone who will pay your price. The numbers dont lie.
THANKS so much for all your replies and helpful insights. It's great to have found a community of investors! I'm located in Rhode Island - let me know if I can be of any assistance to you in the future.