Tenant waiting until the last minute to move out

[Michael Periu]

Good morning and thank you for this great forum! 

What suggestions do you have for providing incentives to tenants to not wait until the last minute to move out? 

A recent tenant did that and the moving truck arrived a day late and it caused tremendous hassle. 

Any suggestions?

[Joe Splitrock]

@Michael Periu This can be a challenge for me, because I usually have new tenants moving in the day after old tenants leave. That means no vacancy expense, but you have to make sure everything is coordinated perfectly. I require old tenants to be out by 12PM on the last day of the month and new tenants move in at 12PM on the first day of the month. That gives me 24 hours for turn over, which means it is a sprint. Usually it is fine, but a couple times I have been at a property until 2AM painting or fixing things. One time I spent an entire evening helping my tenant load a Uhaul truck. I usually check in with tenants during that last week to evaluate moving and cleaning progress. You can generally see who is going to be a problem. 

Many landlords and property managers avoid these risks by not showing or leasing a property until it is vacant. That is the easiest solution.