BiggerPockets

My first rule was to avoid them at (almost) all costs. When I did get one I made sure that my "new" lease ran for 18 months, or whatever it took to get it to expire in the summer.

Beyond that I always made sure the yard looked as good as possible (tougher in some locales than others) that it was well-lighted inside and out and that I had the temp back up to normal and a fire going in the fireplace for every showing.

Frank

Haven't figured this one out yet. I do know I get a lot of work done in winter on those vacant properties.... Hate to think of it as 4 months of sharpening your saw but that's what it pretty much comes out to be. My vacant holding costs run anywhere from 50-100 bucks per property (bought cash) so I try to tenant what I can....but....life is life.

In the Phoenix area, the winter vacancy problem is more of a "not wanting to move during the holidays" problem. November and December are the most difficult months to rent.

If I get a winter vacancy, I lower the rent below the competition and make sure the house is clean and move-in ready. That way, the few renters out there will pick my property over the competition. I would rather lose $50 or even $100 a month on an $1100 house, rather than have a two month vacancy.

I will also consider six month leases in the winter, as long as I get a little higher rent to compensate for the turnover. I just did a seven month lease at $1,050 on a house where the asking rent was $995. These folks could not find anyone else to do a lease for less than a year. They were honest enough to say they only wanted to rent through the end of May, rather than taking a one year lease and then breaking it.

I keep a close eye on my compitition and make sure that my houses look far better than all the rest. Very clean, fresh paint, carpets professionally cleaned and no leaves in the yard. People who have been looking for a rental in my area want to sign a lease as soon as they open my door. We have always been able to pick and choose who we want to rent our houses in any season.

I see why yo do this, Frank. We have an issue that outweighs this (in our minds). The politicians around here suck! These raise taxes, water, sewer, trash, and inspection fees annually. It is usually to the tune of $15 per unit per year. Thus, WE NEED the flexibility of increasing rents to keep up with costs. We always send a list of the city council's phone number or county commissioner's contact info with every increase notice and, as a rule, do not raise rents unless our expenses are raised (which is pretty much annually)

You guys/gals have it all wrong!

All you need to do is take the two holiday winter months off like our politicians are doing when times get tough. It is as simple as that!

Winter in the cold regions and holidays everywhere, you will find it more difficult to find tenants. Why? Because people do not want to move around the holidays or in the middle of snow storms. It is that simple. There will be some of course who either have no choice, or poor timing, but it will be much more limited.
Your comment of buying in the winter or holidays, is correct. Sellers can be more desperate at those times and you can pick up a bargain. Then account for a few months vacancy in your projections to cover your bases and use this time as Tim mentioned, to do your fix-ups/rehabs.

I believe you all that this phenomenon of "winter vacancies" is real, but I'm a bit confused as to how it exists. Surely there are the same number of people and the same number of dwellings year-round... so occupancy levels must be similar year-round, no? Or do people leave the country, or live with friends/relatives/in shelters, over winter? Where do all the tenants GO?