It was nearing the end of my tenant’s lease, and she was planning on buying a house after renting for three years. I was sad to see her go because she was one of the best tenants a landlord could have, but thrilled that she had saved up enough for a down payment. She is a hard worker, and as a landlord this is one of the subtle gifts of the job: watching your tenant progress to a point where they can afford their own place. It reiterates the valuable role we landlords can play in helping renters transition to homeowners.
Her lease expired on July 1st, which for that particular property was set on that date intentionally. The reason I have always set lease expiries for July or August 1st there is because that investment property is within close proximity to the university. By making sure the property is always available to show by August 4th in years past, demand has always been strong as it draws in a ton of interest from university students, particularly those in master’s programs who are tired of living on campus (this is one of the benefits of my secret to finding great rental properties: H.U.T.S.S. If you don’t know what that is, download a copy of my free Ebook below).
After weeks of house hunting my tenant found a place to buy, but the move in date wasn’t until August 11th, more than a month after her lease expired and right during the time when university students are looking to lock up a lease. It made things a bit tricky for me, but with her accommodation I got a painter in the suite a couple days before she moved out to try and make up for the lost time.
At the end of it all, I found a great new tenant (a student). But to avoid getting in this time conundrum again, I informed the student (my new tenant) that her lease would be from September 1, to July 1. An odd 10-month lease, but I explained my reasoning for it. Dating it as such prevents me from missing out on the university crowd in the future.
Best Time of Year to Rent Your Investment Property
As a landlord, your lease expiry dates are very important. Timing them to occur when more renters are looking for a place is critical to your success. Avoid lease expiries in the winter, particularly December, January, and February. Those are months when people just aren’t out in droves looking for a place to rent. You want to show your rental when demand is high, and seasonality factors are important. There is strong pent up demand for rentals typically in late-spring, and your property will likely show the best that time of year. July/August is strong if you are looking for the university crowd as well.
Timing matters. Adjust your lease agreements accordingly.
Stay hungry,
Aaron
