Timeline to buy SFR to have a tenant placed

[Mark Stevens]

I'm curious to find what does the timeline look like assuming I'm getting a reasonably ready to rent property to the time to have a tenant? Assuming I bring the cash and will partner with a realtor and PM to stay hands off in the long run as that's not my specialty. May be in future once I have experience what it takes, I can do PM (may be) for better cashflow. 

thank you

[Leo R.]

@Mark Stevens it depends on a lot of factors--such as the grade of the property & neighborhood, the rent price, whether the unit is at, above, or below market rents, the availability of tenants, the supply of competitor rentals, the priority that the property has with the PM (which depends on the ratio of how much revenue the property is going to generate for the PM versus how much hassle the property is for the PM to manage), the PM's level of experience with advertising & placing tenants, whether the characteristics of the property match the needs and desires of the tenant pool, etc., etc. 

Personally, I like to have a tenant lined up before I even close on a property, but I manage all my own properties, and I have an existing pool of tenants who have rented from me in the past--which makes the process a lot easier for me...

If I didn't have that advantage, I would typically advertise the property for a week, and if it didn't rent, I would re-assess and consider things like: what response did I receive? What were peoples' reactions when they viewed the unit? How does my property and rent compare to competitors? etc.  ...if I had received a large and positive response from prospective tenants in the first week, I might let it ride for another week to see if anyone signed, but if I got a small or negative response from prospective tenants in the first week, I would re-analyze the market and probably lower the rent and/or do something to make the property more appealing.

If this is your first property, and if you want to become a successful real estate investor, I'd strongly suggest you manage the property yourself for at least a year--this will teach you invaluable lessons that you'll need to succeed in REI. In my opinion, it's very difficult to succeed in REI without any personal experience managing properties. Think of it this way: owning a portfolio of PM-managed properties without any personal experience in property management is a bit like trying to manage a mechanic's shop with zero experience fixing cars, trying to coach a team to an NBA championship with no basketball experience, or trying to manage a law office with no legal experience. 

Good luck out there!