Hey y’all. I’m currently house hacking a 3 family home. I’ll be purchasing a second triplex to house hacking again by the summer. How soon should I start looking for someone to rent my place? What should I be doing so that it’s a smooth transition?

@Simon Obas congrats on moving on to property number 2! This is a balancing act because you will have to wait and see what kind of work may need to be done on your new purchase. To make the process go as smooth as possible I'd make sure the unit you're currently in is in great shape and that when you're 2-3 weeks away from moving into your new place you can start showing it to potential tenants. You can show it to people and say "Available on X date"

Personally I waited till after I've moved out of the property just because I didn't want to have an open house when my personal stuff was still in the house. But normally, 2-4 weeks before your moving date sounds reasonable.

@Simon Obas

Where is your property?

Hi Simon! It looks like this post was from a few months ago - curious to know how everything turned out. These have been rough times and I'm hoping for the best for you. 

There are usually a number of factors that can play into when you should list your property; ie. location matters, as some states or cities have in recent years put in place laws which dictate that you must accept the first qualified tenant that you find, whereas in other states/cities you might have more flexibility. Still, and even more importantly, location of the property, competitive pricing, applicant pool, etc, these will all play into your ability to get the place rented.

Since it sounds like your situation was one where you're acquiring a new property, Grace has the right idea with 2-4 weeks ahead of time (but I'd even still say give yourself as much time as possible because applicants may fall through; ex. someone backs out after going through the screening process and showing intent on signing, but never does, generally you want to know that information well enough in advance that you can still not find yourself in a pinch. In other instances, say, if you already had a tenant on a lease who decided that they didn't intend to renew their lease, 30-60 days prior to the end of lease term is appropriate so you can begin to arrange things and get the place listed). 

I hope this information helps! @Simon Obas

@Simon Obas As soon as it is ready to rent. Take good pictures. People have no imagination so if you start showing it while it is being fixed up in the construction phase you have a low percentage of getting a quality renter. It's worth waiting an extra week or 2 until it's ready before people see it.