New tenants don't want to move in quite yet. What would you do?

[Brandon Turner]

I'm sure this happens to you often:

A tenant moves out on the first, and their home needs repair. So you spend 5 days fixing it up and getting it "rent ready" again. But now you've missed the biggest rush of potential tenants who want to move in the first of the month.

This happened to me, and I'm wondering what others do in this situation. We found some quality tenants who would like to move in, but not for 3 weeks at the start of next month. Should I take the 3 week loss in rent (getting the deposit to hold, of course), or keep looking for someone else who can move in sooner?

Suggestions? Thoughts?

[Jon Holdman]

If they're willing to give you the deposit right now on a non-refundable basis, and they meet your criteria, I'd take them. If they're unwilling to hand over the deposit on a non-refundable basis, keep looking. If you don't get anyone else, sign them up closer to the end of the month.