New Construction: When to start advertising prior to completion?

Question

Building a duplex and the current time line has occupancy date on July 6.

Backing up in the schedule:Cabinets installed on June 6Granite installed on June 19Appliances on June 21Carpet on June 29.

I would like to start putting ads on Zillow and Trulia in early June, as it would be great to have someone selected and ready to move in as early in July as possible. However, I do know that there are some people who can not see beyond the construction mess and I could lose out on someone. Also, from a cash-flow perspective, it would be fantastic to have the deposits come in during June. But I also know that getting the best tenant is much better than getting the wrong family just to get the money flowing.

I've thought about putting out a post and having the June weekly check-points included. So, that anyone reading the post will know the schedule and decide when they would like to come over. The longer they wait, they may lose the place.

In my area, this should be a high-demand property.

Any advice?

Jack V. Ospina · Answer

@Jay Hinrichs Your absolutely right. For some reason I thought this was property was in Cape Coral, FL.

Garen T. · Answer

Thanks everyone,

I think what I'm trying to prevent is getting a walk through in July, for an early August move-in. I miss out on a month of income at the very time when my payments are due, but I have no rental income to cover. I can pick it from other sources, but want my projects to fund themselves.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

@Jack V. Ospina  last hurricane in Vancouver was the Columbus day storm of 1962.. NW does not have weather like Florida.. it rains a ton and its wet and cold half the year..

being a new unit in Vancouver I don't think you need much of a jump personally.

also I think the risk factor is have folks walk through and decide they are coming back at night to relieve you of items of value..

Its not nearly as prevalent ( construction theft ) as in other areas of the country but we are starting to see if on my projects.. had one home hit and they took the stove and micro and ruined the HW floors in the process.. now i had an insurance claim but still took the house off the market for 2 weeks.

I suspect becasue duplex's are pretty rare in our area for new builds you will have zero problems renting.

Jack V. Ospina · Answer

@Garen T. Personally I would wait until the project is 95% completed before I start advertising and especially during summer time and hurricane season. There are always delays with installation for unforeseen reasons and the last thing you need is to have a potential tenant that gave you a deposit upset if the timeline is not according to schedule. Good luck!

New Construction: When to start advertising prior to completion?

Most Popular Reply