Realistic time frames between finding a tenant and the lease starting

[Jeff Goldstein]

So, this is my first time doing a formal process for finding a tenant for our rental property. We had always found friends in the past, but won't go that route again. Anyways, we have had several applications on the property and most of the applicants have been woefully unqualified by our not so crazy metrics. However, we recently had an applicant who looks to be great based on their history. Unfortunately, they are on a month-to-month lease at their current residence and therefore want the lease to start June 1st.

Since this is the first time we have dealt with a ready to go vacant unit, what is the normal lead time between approving a tenant and having the lease start? I've heard that if they are ready to move in tomorrow, that can be a red flag and having them move-in in a month isn't that atypical. I hate the idea of having it sitting there vacant for a month, however, the applicant says that they won't give notice until they have a lease (which makes sense to me).

Sorry, I'm probably rambling on, but I just want to make sure we make the correct decision. Thanks.

[Chris Sweeney]

I'll take the bird in the hand/the qualified tenant that has to wait till month-end vs. continuing to market it. My standards are high so if they meet it just have them give their reservation/hold fee to hold it. Then, once the lease starts the reservation fee converts to their deposit. This is how you may be able to address the non-refundable deposit issue.

So, if they want it that bad they need to pay the non-refundable reservation fee. If they won't pay it now I would continue to market it as there is a decent chance they won't end up moving in even if they sign a lease. Sure, you could purse them for breach of contract but that doesn't solve your problem of a vacant property.