Best lease breaking strategies

[Daniel Netzer]

Hey everyone, I have a tenant looking to break a lease agreement going into a tough rental season. The rent is $4200/month, and the lease has them on the hook for a 50% lease break fee & paying until I find a replacement. In the past, I've offered early lease terminations, which require 60-day notice + 1.5 months of rent. So, in my case, it would be 6500 in rent and plenty of notice. The only issue is more time goes closer to X-mas, which makes it progressively harder to find tenants for a 3/2 premium rental.  Are there any best practices or ideas you would recommend based on your experience? Looking forward to your feedback. 

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Daniel Netzer:

This is why we charge early termination fees. The Tenant breaks their lease in the fall months, making it difficult for you to find a replacement tenant in the winter.

My process is to charge the early termination fee and require the departing tenant to allow marketing and showing during their final 30 days. This gives me extra time to find a replacement.

I also recommend you consider renting for a shorter period and a reduced rate. One month vacant will cost you $4,200 plus utilities. Drop the price $500 and rent it for six months and you'll only lose $3,000. Make it clear in the marketing that price will go back up in the spring. It's better to lose a little and keep it occupied than it is to sit on an empty house that can freeze up in winter or lose months of rent.