How to “re-market” a rental after you’ve turned down other renter

Question

Good Morning! This is my first time posting in the forum. My husband and I are starting a real estate investment company in middle Georgia. We had a house, and we were hoping to get a section 8 renter into the home. We found (what we thought was a good tenant), and we did not get her deposit. We know that was a mistake, and now we can not get in touch with her. We have emailed and contacted her emergency contacts asked them to get back in touch with us and we’re given her another 24 hours. However,  if we do not hear from her we will need to re-list the house again hopefully for section 8, but we turned down a renter earlier based on a few criteria. However, we may have to relist this home and I want to know the best way to handle that situation please advise!!!

David Stone · Answer

Here is the way we handle the process after selecting a tenant:  once the tenant is selected, they have 24 hours to pay a holding deposit of $400 to hold the unit (applies toward security deposit, but if they back out at this point it is forfeit). They have up until the days before occupancy to pay the remaining security deposit and first month rent + put utilities in their name.  Spell out the criteria required to occupy on your application and what happens if they fail to meet those standards. Hope this helps for the future!

• Holding Fee:Upon the verbal or written approval of the Applicant's tenancy, a Deposit to Hold Agreement will be executed and signed by all parties and a non-refundable holding fee shall be required within 24 hours, hereinafter referred to as "Deposit to Hold" in the amount equal to $400 (Four hundred dollars) to hold the property until a mutually agreed upon move-in date. The Deposit to Hold removes the property from public offering and holds the home exclusively for the Applicant until all other requirements have been met. After all requirements have been met and a lease for the property completed, the Deposit to Hold will transfer to the security deposit to be held throughout the tenant's entire tenancy. If the Applicant fails to provide the Deposit to Hold within 24 hours of approval, the Applicant may be disqualified and the home will be offered to the next qualified applicant. After approval and before occupancy will be granted, Applicant must supply all the required move-in funds, including the security deposit, first month's rent, and any other additional deposits and fees, all tenant paid utilities must be transferred into Applicant's name, and a lease must be executed and signed by all parties. If for any reason, the Applicant fails to complete all move-in requirements the landlord will return the property to public offering and the entire Deposit to Hold will be forfeited to the Landlord for expenses including, but not limited to, lost rent, holding costs, advertising costs, and marketing costs.

Patricia Steiner · Answer

Jaime, did you sign a lease with this person?  Is she considered current under the lease?  Once you enter into a lease with a tenant - whether she actually moves in or not - you're stuck with operating under the terms of the lease.  "A lease becomes a contract when it is signed by both the landlord and tenant. If a tenant signs a lease but never moves in it has no bearing on the contract."  If rent is due/unpaid, I recommend sending a Notice to Quit for non-payment of rent to the last known address (certified mail) and then the eviction process would be next.

Other:  1. The contract can be cancelled if mutually agreed upon.

2.  If you just agreed to rent it to her - and there was no lease - you're good to go.

Always "entertaining..."  Hope the tenant reappears long enough to undo the mess she created.

John Underwood · Answer

Make sure in the future that when you get someone's deposit that they know they only have 24 hours or so to sign the lease.

For now email/text so that you have something in writing if you haven't already done so letting them know they have XX time until you start advertising again to find another applicant.

I have a couple section 8 properties and really like the program. I'm not crazy about how long it takes to go through all the red tape to get a Section 8 tenant with an active voucher in the door.

Jaime Franks · Answer

That is FANTASTIC advice! Thank you Guys!

We did give a time limit to the hold in a text and email so it sounds like we did that part right- I hope- thank you for the encouragement.

I didn’t realize we would need to need possibly start the evict process if the lease had been signed- thankfully it was just done on a handshake (lesson learned)! However, We do not want her in the home if she does not want to be there so I guess it worked out for the best…

We will definitely implement that hold plan immediately - thank you so much!!!

How to “re-market” a rental after you’ve turned down other renter

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