We talk to many owners who wonder if it’s okay to show or advertise a property while a tenant is still occupying it. Landlords and management companies don’t like to do this. Perhaps the property is not in the proper condition to show. Or, landlords don’t want to disturb a tenant who is still living in the property.
On the flip side to this, some property managers strongly encourage landlords to show the property while tenant occupied
Time Equals Loss of Revenue
Rental management can sometimes have very thin margins.
Expenses such as homeowner association fees, maintenance, taxes, and insurance can add up. There’s also your management fees and debt service. While these are deductible expenses, they still hit your cash flow. When you don’t show a property just because it’s occupied, you have to wait for your current tenant to leave. Then, you’re looking at the property remaining vacant for a least a month.
With that vacancy, you’ll lose 1/12th of your gross revenue because you haven’t shown the property or found a new tenant as soon as the old tenant leaves. At Gulf Coast, we do market the property 60 days out from the end of the existing tenant’s lease. That gives the tenant plenty of notice that there are showings, and we encourage them to keep the place clean. There is constant communication, and the end result is that the property is often rented as soon as the previous tenant leaves. That makes a big difference on an annual basis to the landlord’s cash flow.
Having Resources Helps the Process
There are several reasons that explain why landlords don’t feel they can have back-to-back tenants. Organizations is a big part of that. Some owners lack the confidence that the tenant will be moved out on time. Sometimes, there are concerns that vendors won’t be able to get in and get the property ready in time for the next tenant.
When a tenant moves out, the property must be cleaned and fixed up to look like new, which can include new paint, carpet cleaning, maintenance repairs, etc. You need a streamlined and efficient process. At Gulf Coast, our leases require the existing tenants to move on the date the lease ends, and there are no extra days or overages given. We have our own maintenance staff that we know can immediately begin preparations to make sure the property is ready for the next tenants.
We can control the entire process from new paint to cleaning the property no matter what the deadline may be. The average days on the market is as low as 19 days, which is the best in the industry in the Sarasota and Manatee area.
As you can see, we feel strongly that showing the property while a tenant is still occupying it is the only way to go.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at Gulf Coast Property Management.
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