Fall is already here. Kids are back in school. Halloween is right around the corner. Christmas is less than 90 days away.
Part of me actually likes this time of year. I look forward to the holidays and I’m finally going to get a break from the hot Memphis summer. But part of me, along with every other landlord, dreads this time of year.
Why?
Because it is harder to fill vacancies during the winter. The number of folks moving and looking for a place to live drops significantly in the winter. Everyone is settled in to school or new jobs and who wants to move at Christmas?
These factors can make a vacancy in the winter difficult, but not impossible. So here are some tips to help you through those lean, dark days of winter.
How to Fill Vacancies in the Slow Winter Months
Be Patient – Stick to your guns and especially your screening criteria. It can be awfully tempting to relax a bit just to get that unit filled. Don’t do it! You will end up paying a lot more on the back end after a bad tenant than anything you collect in rent. People still need to move during this time of year. People switch jobs, make new years resolutions, get divorced, whatever. The right tenant will come along.
Drop the Price, Not Your Criteria – If worse comes to worse and your place does not rent in a few weeks you may want to consider dropping the price a bit to generate some traffic. But, I will say it again, stick to your guns and maintain your <a target=_blank title="Patience and Real Estate Investing: My Story of Getting Started with …read more