Good time to buy, bad time to rent

[Derek Luttrell]

How do you manage to fight seasonality? I am interested in a SFR within a mile of a major university. However, the best returns in the area come when you list a rental in early Spring for a June 1st move-in, because the school year ends in mid-May and that is when students assess their housing for the following year.

With it only being October now, what's a creative way to lock this in knowing it won't be occupied until June? Even if the seller agrees to a 60-day close, I would still have several months of holding costs that would be great to avoid if possible.