Renting to a relocating tenant sight unseen
I'm looking for a little advice here. I recently purchased my 2nd rental property, this one is in Durham, NC. I've shown the property to about 8 people over the past 2 weeks, but the only couple interested in putting in an application is a couple moving from upstate NY. They have not seen the property in person other than about 20 photos, and I did a video tour for them of the property and they want to move forward with renting it, and cannot make it down to see it in person before they're relocation.
Other than the sight unseen concern, his income is only 2.1x monthly rent, and she will be looking for a job. They both claim to have good credit (need to check that, and I will), and have plenty of funds in savings to cover the entire lease if needed.
Would you still consider them, or would you require a hefty security deposit or rent pre-payment? The issue I'm running into is that Durham is a rather affordable area, so most people with good income and good credit are looking to purchase, not rent.
Any advice would be so appreciated!
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There are probably people that have more experience than I do, but my number 1 concern is getting quality tenants - even if that means leaving a place vacant for an extra month or two. I would ask for more security at the very least.
That said - the good news is that with the tech industry growing in Durham (just today, software/manufacturing company Prescient announced it is moving from Denver to Durham) and the city getting younger all the time, I think the rental market is primed to get a whole lot better in the coming years. Of course, just looking at the construction around town, there is going to be a whole lot more inventory as well. But not everyone will want to live in a "luxury apartment building" - I think there are good days ahead for you!