Leases through 3rd party housing locators?

[Pete Woelfel]

Hi Everyone,

I have a SFR that will be turning over next month so I posted in a few places online. I was contacted by a company that works with insurance companies to find temporary housing for people with homeowner/renters policies who have been displaced by fires/natural disasters/etc. They are only willing to sign a 6 mo lease, then go month/month with a 30 day termination notice for landlord or tenant. They said they're willing to pay a "premium" (sounds like 20%-ish increase) in rent, we can use our own lease (so long as its for 6 months), put the new tenants through our existing background check process, etc. The tenant's name will be on the lease and they'll be responsible for a security deposit, but there will be an agreement with the temporary housing company that makes them financially responsible for the rent.

Has anyone out there ever had experience with companies like this? As long as the tenants pass the background check and we can use our existing lease, am I missing any potential pitfalls?

I'm in Wisconsin where its cold and in my experience there are more tenants willing to move in summer than winter, and a 6 mo lease would move my turnover cycle from January to June which might be preferable also.

Really appreciate any thoughts the community might have on this!

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