6 Month Lease in Denver

[Alec Stephan]

Hello,

I have a rental property in Centennial, Colorado (just southeast of Denver) that we just put on the market July 20th. We have received a lot of interest in the past 24 hours but nothing serious except one inquiry. The one inquiry on paper is a perfect tenant as they have 800+ credit scores, make about 9X the monthly rent, claim to be OCD clean, and the wife is a former property manager. The problem is they only want a 6-month rent as they have a new home being constructed. My question is: Should I accept a "perfect" tenant even if it is only for 6-months or should I pass and continue to look for a normal 12-month lease? My pros are they could be a perfect tenant and allow me 6-months to find a long-term tenant while I collect monthly income as the house is currently vacant. The cons are if it is only a 6-month lease my property would be vacant in February which I have read is a very bad month to try and fill a property. My unsure is that some of the people I've talked to think the economy is going to be worse in 6-months and I may not be able to rent the property for as much. What are you thoughts and/or recommendations? Thanks in advance! 

[Mike Giallanza]

IHMO, don't rent off season here in Centennial. 6 months puts this lease at the end of January, so even worse than February. If they can't move in until 1 September, there's no reason to consider any prospective tenants. You're getting a lot of interest...it may only take a few more days to a week to find a better candidate. Good luck!