The vacancy period of an investment property can be an expensive and confusing time for an owner. While we try our best to renew leases as they expire, some vacancies are unavoidable especially in today’s climate. In this article, we’re going to talk a little bit about what to expect after your resident vacates.
- Well before the lease expires, we’ll place a lockbox on the home so the residents can take advantage of our virtual move out. Think of it like checking out on the TV in a hotel room!
- About 10 days before the residents move out, we’ll assess the market, determine the highest rate we can get for your property, and put the home up on the market so we can start generating interest. During summer months when the market changes more frequently, we'll wait and put the property on the market about 5 days before its ready date to ensure we're getting the most rent possible.
- The day after the lease ends, one of your Property Managers will walk the home and do a thorough move-out inspection, documenting the condition in which the residents left the home. That same day, we’ll have our maintenance vendor out to assess the home and work up an estimate for both necessary and recommended repairs. It’s important to use this time for preventative maintenance, as it’ll prolong the life of the property.
- During the next few days, your Property Manager will evaluate the estimate from the vendor and compare and contrast the move-in and move-out photos and videos to determine what items on the estimate would be considered damages, rather than just normal wear and tear. Once this is done, your Maintenance Coordinator will send you the estimate along with a projected amount we’ll claim from the deposit to offset these costs. Keep in mind, residents are always responsible for the full cost of cleaning and carpet cleaning, as well as any damages above normal wear and tear. We won’t do any work in the home until you approve it.
- Once approved, we’ll schedule the maintenance, carpet cleaning, and professional deep cleaning. After all items are done, we’ll open up the home for showings and notify every person on our wait list that it’s now available to view! We use a self-guided showing system that allows prospects to securely view the home at their convenience, 7 days per week from 8:00am – 8:00pm.
- We’ll follow up with every prospect that submits a lead or schedules an appointment. Once we receive an application, each adult over the age of 18 that’ll be living in the home goes through our rigorous screening process. If the results are anything less than exceptional, we’ll notify you and ask for your approval before moving forward.
- Once approved, applicants have 24 hours to bring in their holding deposit – your home stays active on the market until deposit funds are received. Once we have the deposit, we’ll take the property off the market and send the lease to the residents that same day! We will also have the locks changed to minimize liability and ensure only our team and the new residents will have access to the property.
- No less than three days before your new resident moves in, your Property Manager will do another thorough inspection of the home to document the condition when the residents took over. She’ll coordinate the move-in meeting and go through all of the main points of the lease agreement, and answer any questions they have about the process. Once we receive the remainder of the funds due at move-in, we’ll provide them with keys to the property and from there you once again have an occupied rental property!