OK to have prospective tenant tour old tenant's dirty unit?

[Ally Kumar]

One of the inherited tenants is moving out end of Sept and I am planning to advertise the unit. However, the unit doesn't show well as current tenant keep it filthy and unit is smelly from pets. Should I even take pictures of current unit to advertise? Start advertising without pictures? Should I start looking for tenants after current tenant moves out and after deep clean of the unit? Thanks in advance for all the advice. I always come to BP for advice and so far everything has been on the money from all the experienced landlords. Thanks so much to BP and all the members who contribute. 

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Originally posted by @Ally Kumar:

One of the inherited tenants is moving out end of Sept and I am planning to advertise the unit. However, the unit doesn't show well as current tenant keep it filthy and unit is smelly from pets. Should I even take pictures of current unit to advertise? Start advertising without pictures? Should I start looking for tenants after current tenant moves out and after deep clean of the unit? Thanks in advance for all the advice. I always come to BP for advice and so far everything has been on the money from all the experienced landlords. Thanks so much to BP and all the members who contribute. 

 I learned not to show a unit until it was empty, cleaned, painted and ready to go.  Applicants can't see past other people's messes.  It's harder for them to envision their stuff in the unit.  They won't feel comfortable trying to see how big the closets are or cupboard space.  And they will worry that you won't really have it clean and painted, etc., before they move in.  Many tenants have been burned by promises unfulfilled.  

Think, too, of the kind of tenant you would ideally like to have.  Would that tenant want to rent to you after they walk through that unit?

Plus, you're telling the applicant that they can expect to have people traipsing through their home before they move out of it, too.  

So, you limit your tenant pool to people who are okay with all of the above.  And that's not usually a good thing.  I learned this the hard way, and stopped showing any units before they were ready to go.