Deposit to hold agreement

[Kevin Turk]

Do you do a deposit to hold? If so, how do you go about it? How much and how long do you give them to submit the deposit to hold, how long does the deposit to hold last?

I have multiple interested potential tenants, I have offered to one as others continue to come in. It is currently rented so I'm not losing rent, and the lease wouldn't start for about another 5 weeks. I wanted to offer them right of first refusal so that they can have the unit if they are ready to move on this, but I don't want to take it off the market without knowing that they are going to sign a lease and submit the rent and security deposit. Any other thoughts or strategies that I haven't mentioned? Thank you!

[Mike McCarthy]

@Kevin Turk as soon as the tenant completes the application, passes screening, I send them a deposit to hold agreement. It states that they are providing $xx (one month rent) to hold the property until they successfully sign the lease and move in on XX date.

Once they sign and give the deposit, the apt is taken off the market and it’s theirs. Until then, I’m still looking for other renters.

If they move in as expected, the deposit to hold is transferred to become their security deposit. If they don’t move in for any reason, the deposit to hold is forfeited.