Yes, you can.
Whether or not you should really depends on the situation and the agreement you have with the tenant per the lease.
If you have a property rented before the current tenant moves out, you’re obviously going to save a number of costs.
For one, the property usually shows better when there’s someone living there— as long as they’re not making a mess. The reason for this is because their furniture— a couch or a throw rug— can cover up small defects or things that might be striking in an empty property. And it gives potential tenants a good idea of what the property would look like— how much space they would have, how their own furniture might be laid out, etc.— if they decide to move in.
Obviously, showing a property currently occupied by a tenant does require you to work with them and fit the showings in around their schedule. This can lead to some logistical issues, but it’s certainly doable— it just requires clear communication with the tenant.
So to answer the question of whether or not you should rent a property before it’s vacant, yes, you should definitely try to.
There are times when the tenant doesn’t keep the property as clean as possible. One thing you can do to make sure that the place is always ready-to-show— and we include this in our lease agreement— is require the tenant to keep the property presentable. And part of our agreement states that, if the property isn’t presentable, we can charge the tenant for our cleaning service or bill them for lost showings if they don’t comply with our standards as far as that goes.
Here at Realty Trust Services, we have an entire system in place for doing this. We make a point to try for lease renewals 90 days in advance of the expiration of the lease agreement, but if the tenant decides not to renew the lease we immediately put the property on the market.
This is the best possible way to guarantee that you have minimum vacancy— one of the single most expensive costs for most landlords.
If you have any questions about this or any other property management issue, please don’t hesitate to email, call, or leave a message for us below and we’ll be happy to discuss it with you.
Have a great day— be a great landlord.
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Our experienced investment property management team can relieve you of the burden of managing your rental property while saving you some serious money! Call us today at (440) 220-7300 to see how we can help you!
