mid month move in: prorate rent or change due date?

[Mike S.]

When you have a tenant moving in the middle of the month are you prorating the first month and then collecting the next rents on the 1st, or are you collecting a full month and changing the lease contract to make the monthly due date on the anniversary day of the beginning of the lease?

I can see the following pro for both options:

prorate month:

- lower the total amount of money that the tenant has to give to move in, in addition to the last month and security deposit.

- make all collection date the same for all properties.

change date due:

- give a cash flow spread over the month

I have done both so far, and with only a few properties, it did not create too much havoc in my management.

However I would like to hear your advice and experience on the matter.

[Jill F.]

We always collect a full month's rent before move-in if the tenant moves in after the beginning of a rent cycle, he will have paid for the partial month and he will have a credit balance that will be applied to the next month's rent charge.