Just closed on 3/10, now state in lock-down and cant find renter!

[Taylor Lydon]

Hi All,

After years of following BP, I finally pulled the trigger and bought a duplex that I was planning to house hack.  The sellers agreed to rent the unit they were living in through May of this year, at which point they will move out and my family will move in.  The 2nd unit is vacant and available to rent immediately...the only problem is that we closed on 3/10 right before everything hit the fan.  Michigan is now in lock-down and the number of actively searching renters has dropped significantly.  I would move into the vacant unit, but I am stuck in Mass on state lock-down waiting to sell my house.

Does anyone have any advice on how to entice renters or out-of-the-box ideas on where to find renters?  I am having a virtual tour recorded tomorrow.  I am also considering either lowering the rental price (below market), offering incentive (pay for some of move), and/or considering allowing pets.  Any other ideas would be hugely appreciated.

Thanks, stay well,

Taylor

[Gennaro Coscia]

First thing is DON'T OVERREACT! I don't know your whole financial situation but let's think about it for a minute. If you have a mortgage (by the sounds of it, you do), your 1st payment shouldn't be until May 1st. The sellers are your tenants until then(April & May), but you don't have a mortgage payment for April. So assuming their rent is equal to(or close) what your mortgage payment is, you should have May and June's payment mostly covered. That gives you over 3mo to find a tenant. Hopefully this situation will be well under control and we will be getting back to normal by then. Good Luck, stay positive and maybe look into a good property manager to help find a tenant.