Advertise rental before renovations are done?

Question

Greetings all!

Renovations almost complete on my first rental property.

2 quick questions..

1.) My bathroom has been remodeled, just waiting on my cabinets for my kitchen to come in within the next week or two and my unit will be ready to go. Does anyone recommend marketing your unit before the full renovation is complete?

2.) What are the best methods /procedures for screening tenants ?

I’m moving out of state in March , so want to make sure my unit is rented before we leave.

Thanks In advance!

Evan Polaski · Answer

@Zack Elaroussi, while I personally don't market until renovations are done, I agree that you should.  I don't like missing an extra month of rent, but I also know that delays can occur, particularly in today's supply shortage environment, and I don't want to be the landlord that causes someone to give a notice to vacate only to not have a kitchen ready.  Therefore I am willing to sit a month vacant, but most of my units are leased for 4+ years when I find a tenant, so 1-2 months every 4 years is still 96% occupancy, and less if they stay longer.

But as noted, there are reasons you should market before completion.

As for tenants, I list on Zillow.  In my area Zillow is the main source of better tenants.  Craigslist, in my market, is full of scammers and under qualified tenants.  But this is driven more by each market.

When I get interest, I mention the following:- No evictions on background- No major criminal record- 3x rent in TAKE HOME pay, and this must be verified through paystubs- Tenant must drive the area PRIOR to me showing the property (not needed if I do an open house)- $50 application fee, will be applied to first month's rent if lease signed

Finally, if they are alright with all of that, and we start to setup a showing, I let them know I will call and text them between 1-2 hours before showing.  They MUST answer call (call back) or respond to text no less than 30 minutes ahead of showing, or I will not come. Too many times, early on, that I showed up to have a tenant no show.

Dale Degagne · Answer

Hey Zack, Exciting! I've done many renovations for the purpose of renting. Here's what I tend to do;

1.)
 My bathroom has been remodeled, just waiting on my cabinets for my 
kitchen to come in within the next week or two and my unit will be ready
 to go. Does anyone recommend marketing your unit before the full 
renovation is complete? 100% Yes. You're looking for tenants who are looking to move somewhere between 30 and 90 days in the future. So unless you want your place sitting for that length of time, you need to market now.  Typically I would start marketing Dec 27th for a Feb 1st move in (as an example).  What you REALLY want to avoid is Marketing January  15th for a Feb 1st move in.   People who are in a state of crisis tend to frequently be in a state of crisis. You don't want them as tenants.   SO bring people through. Explain it is going to be a brand new place, and agree to have the place ready to go by the day before they move in.  And then make it happen.

2.) What are the best methods /procedures for screening tenants ?

Most areas have typical ways of advertising ie Facebook, craigslist etc. but I would also consider reaching out to your social network first. Connections once removed are great (ie friend of a friend).

In terms of screening you probably want to look for things that indicate stability (financial, social, mental). Further, you MAY want tenants who are not going to be really long term, especially if rental prices are increasing in your area. Personally, here are things I look for when renting a brand new place;

- Financial stability indicated by where they work and what that job situation is (full time salary gov't jobs are awesome, part time cashier at the dollar store not so much)
- social stability - friends and family in the area, lived in the town a while may be helpful
- Mental Health - this is hard to assess but look for indicators of high stress, or coping challenges. Watch for behaviours of desperation and trying to convince you that they are good people. Those would indicate to me that they may be in a state of crisis (which tends to go hand in hand with mental health)
- Lifestyle choices - I want a tenant who will take care of my place so young singles in a brand new place MAY work but likely only if they are in med school at harvard (for example). If a guy pulls up with a budwieser sticker in his beat up old truck, I'm going to assume he gets lit on fridays and isn't going to treat my place well.
- Forward progress in Life - Personally, I want people who will stay 2 to 4 years at a rent that makes sense and then move out so I can increase the rents and do any revitalization work that needs doing or repairs required that went unreported during their tenancy. So I would rather rent a 2 bedroom apartment to a first time pregnant couple who plans on having 3 kids vs. a single parent who has 1 kid. Why? Because the couple has plans to expand beyond what the unit will provide for living conditions vs. the parent with 1 kid who will likely want to stay there from then until the kid is out of university (or beyond).

Obviously there is more to it than that but the root of it all is getting to know your tenants and then verifying some basic data (checking to see if they are full of bs about their job, for example).

I’m moving out of state in March , so want to make sure my unit is rented before we leave.

Sounds like you need to be extra sure you have a good tenant in there and potentially someone to take responsibility for monitoring the place. Hope that helps!

Dale Degagne · Answer

Glad I could help. Do me a favour and upvote the post if you found it helpful.

Zack Elaroussi · Answer

@Dale Degagne this is excellent feedback Dale, thank you so much for your input. I am going to put the wheels in motion.

Advertise rental before renovations are done?

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