What's the best time to find a tenant?

Question

I'm wondering if I should wait until May-June which I heard is better in terms of demand or find tenant in Jan-Feb when the property (SFR) becomes available. Thoughts?

I'm in Overland Park, KS

JD Martin · Answer

For our leases that expire (for whatever reason) October-December, the new lease is always scheduled to end 7/1. If that tenant decides to renew, it goes from 7/1-6/30. If a tenant wants to break a lease early, we are more lenient April-June than we are after September - i.e., if someone was a good tenant and wanted to break one month early in May, we'd likely just let them walk, whereas someone in a few months that wants to break at Christmas is likely to be charged the early termination, unless they want to go the "pay until we re-rent" route - which no one ever does.

Brad Russo · Answer

Actually, there is no right answer for this question. It's well know fact that the demand for property in winter is low. So if you're playing to increase the rent, you should wait until Spring. It'll be easier to find a good tenant then.

Mike H. · Answer

We always draft our to end late spring or early summer.  If lease is renewed in winter/fall, we will renew w/ a shorter lease so it ends in summer.  So far we have not had good Nov~Jan rental experience yet w/ SFR. But condos don't seem to have high/low season as the targeted tenant group is much different. (single/young professional)

Steve M. · Answer

I do the same as JD & Vic.  Month/Month or Set Term Lease until March/April of each year.  It's worked well for us, and we've had zero complaints or issues.

Vic French · Answer

Spring. I end contracts March 1 so I have 30 days to do maintenance. So April or May are great months.

Boris Badmaev · Answer

Thanks Jd Martin! That's what I was thinking too.

Boris Badmaev · Answer

Thanks, Alex!

Any explanation why do you think tenant are more serious in Jan-Feb?

I was also thinking that if I want the lease to end in high-demand season I can craft the leasing agreement for half-year or year and a half.

JD Martin · Answer

Property should virtually always be marketed as soon as it is ready. An empty property generates no dollars. If you are asking when the most people are looking for housing, that depends on your area. For me, May-August. Anything that we have that comes open later than September has a quarter of the traffic that homes available in late spring through summer. But I am in an area with a major university and a lot of the cycles revolve around the school calendar - we see a little uptick in December, for example.

Alex Stewart · Answer

I wouldn't necessarily agree. First of all, I am not sure of your situation, but you certainly wouldn't want leave a unit vacant in order to shoot for a better rental window. Additionally, I have found that folks in January and February are much more serious and therefore while you may have slightly lower quantity, you will have better quality in terms of tenants looking to move forward in the process, so it's a wash.

What's the best time to find a tenant?

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