Inherited Tenants vs Empty Units in winter

[Anthony Wick]

Closed on another duplex in the Des Moines, Iowa area (Ankeny, 8 miles north). This duplex had some recent upgrades to flooring, painting, hot water heater, appliances, etc. Due to the upgrades, the seller sold this duplex empty. No tenants. So, I now need to fill both units in December, in Iowa. On the one hand it’s great to set all the parameters and pick the tenants. On the other hand, it’s winter and how many tenants will I have to choose from? It’s a B area (my opinion), 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath. Pretty nice duplex that should get $1,400 a unit. Or $0.00 in December.

[Ray Johnson]

@Anthony Wick I just did a similar lease like what @Chris Hewitt has mentioned. I did an 18 month lease that started in December. I told the tenant that I wanted the lease end cycle to end in the summer, He mentioned that he wasn't sure about an 18 month lease in case he wants to move, he'd be on the hook. I did offer a discount as a middle ground.

With this strategy in mind I may have gone too far with the discount because I got 13 qualified candidates. I was on the fence on whether to offer $25 below rental comps or $50, I wanted to lease quickly before people blew their money on Christmas so I went with $50 a month below comps. When I got that many candidates in one week I knew I should have went with $25 a month below comps. At the end of the day I'm willing to accept the $450 difference between the two discounts and not have the property sit vacant.