Rental Property Investor · Louisville, KY · Member since 2017 · 58 posts · 34 votes
I just bought a house and the long term tenant is moving out. How do I minimize vacancy? I need to:
1) get rid of the tenant,
2) get rid of all the old junk,
3) clean,
4) repair,
5) paint,
6) find a tenant,
7) screen prospective tenant
8) get them in
It seems like I have to do it in that order, right? I could potentially advertise early but I wouldn't have pictures until the house is in order. Is the answer just to work fast or are there tips of the trade and best practices? does anyone have a process manual you follow to make sure nothing is overlooked?
Don't advertise early in case you run into issues with tenants or your contractor. Also, pro pictures are cheap, have someone come out and do that once it's done.... made a huge difference when I listed one of mine.
Don't advertise early in case you run into issues with tenants or your contractor. Also, pro pictures are cheap, have someone come out and do that once it's done.... made a huge difference when I listed one of mine.
The order of items is correct in the list you have. I have occaisionally found tenants during renovation....Obviously you cant put pictures up, but you can put up a sign, or advertise the place is gonna be available so you can applications coming in.
The key part is to do things as quickly and efficiently as possible...minimize down time where nothing is being done.
Are you doing the work yourself or hiring out?
Have your supplies lined up way before you need them..... some things you need to order and that takes time
Have you contractors lined up and scheduled as far in advance as possible with some "wiggle room" when stuff gets delayed or takes longer than expected....it will happen
You basically need to multitask and get things done as quickly as possible, so that's means juggling multiple things at the same time
If they turnover is basic...clean, touch ups etc, then many advertise BEFORE the last tenant is gone. If its more involved then I don't advertise until the work is done/near done....I want up to date pix and info in the ad