New tenant signed contract to move in on December 1st 2017. Contract signed and money exchanged. She now calls me to ask if she can move in later in the day on Thursday (day before), because she already rented a moving truck and doesn't want to wait until Friday. I said no because she signed her move in day as Friday, I was in a meeting and informed her I will call her back after the meeting. She said she would wait outside the rental home until I called her back. I informed her not to come and waste her time and to continue to pack her things for move- in day Friday. If she does show up, should I call the police and have her removed from the property, charge her the extra day or just tell her I will return her money and cancel contract. I have two other families who are interested in moving Friday or Saturday. This is a 3 bedroom,quarter acre property and has been remodeled and ready for move in. Appreciate recommendations from Landlords (new to Landlording) Thanks

I have no problem with people moving in a little early if the property is vacant and ready. It gets the utility bills off of me and gets rid of an empty house. As long as it’s only a day or two or a weekend I usually don’t charge them rent for those days. I wasn’t going to get paid for them anyway.

What difference does it make to you? If none, then why not accommodate her request and let her move in a day early? The question of an extra days rent is easily resolved, charge her or be generous.

If it does make a difference to you, then tell her so and decline the transfer of possession until the contracted time.

Since you (both of you) have a contract, you cannot unilaterally cancel the contract, return money or not.

Why are you being such a hard a*%?

Extreme example of Landlord is in Charge.

Yes, call the Police and have Her removed

from the Property. (as you suggested)

I too want to know the reason why you don't want her to move in. I'm not saying you should or shouldn't...that's up to you. Just curious why not?

I am more concerned by her attitude that her lack of planning and not wanting to pay an extra day on the moving truck makes this an emergency where she expects you to drop everything and make her happy without any notice. THAT to me is more important than whether or not she moves in a day early.

Do what razorback suggests and recheck her background/eviction report. I've had tenants who were approved initially get their approval revoked when I discovered their land lord filed for eviction a few days after I did the back ground check. Lazy land lord sometimes wait 2-4 weeks to file. I never sign a lease or accept rent money until move-in day, but I do use "Holding Fee" agreements where I take a fee in exchange to hold a unit vacant. Part of that deal is the must not leave owing their current land lord any money and is fully contingent upon re-verification of any previously checked reference at any time prior to move-in. I always verify the morning of move-in day so the tenant isn't shafting them last minute.

Cheese & rice......if I have a property that is available for early occupancy I even send out an email letting the new tenants know. Attached with an invoice with the pro-rated rent that would be due in addition to the first month's rent. A little extra rent money in my pocket & utilities out of my name is a double win.

Maybe she works tomorrow & the week-end & is off today. Maybe she was ahead of schedule with her packing & loading out at her old place. There could be ample reasons she'd like in a day early; not all of them nefarious.

Contract signed, money exchanged, I would have no problem letting a tenant in a few days early unless I was scrambling to get things done, then I need to be there. If it is vacant, I would rather they move in sooner, and if it is convenient a day early, fine. I certainly would not call the police, that would really start the relationship off bad. And since she has a contract and paid the money, you can't cancel for something little like asking to move in early. Or even being on the public street a day early.

Ken's answer.

I'm slightly concerned about how you'd mentioned her wording, but, then I considered the inclination to call police because she's parked out front.

My thinking, as I try to put myself in her shoes is: she rented the truck early thinking it would take a whole day to load, and a whole other day to unload. But, because she has been PREPARING for the move, it went so much more smoothly than she anticipated (I'm former military, I KNOW how to prep for a move., lol!)

She's realized that since it took much less time to load, she can SAVE money by returning the truck early. Then she'll have more time to move the rest of the small stuff and clean the last place to get full security back.

A tenant who PREPARES and SAVES makes me do my happy dance.

If the property is ready for occupancy and they aren't scheduled to move whether it's 2 days or two weeks I'll let them move in. As long as I have their funds, their proof of ins and the utilities are transferred prior to moving anything in I really don't care. What is the benefit to me having the property sit vacant?

I've always found tenants to be very appreciative especially when the move-in would have required them to take time off from work.

And as so many others have already said - why pay for utilities for a vacant property if you can have the tenant pay.

I would charge the prorated rent amount for any extra early days. Please let me know what hotel let's you stay any nights for free?

Very few tenants will remember any good will you may provide. Remember this when you do the move out inspection for this property.

Betty,

Thank you for posting. Yours is a legitimate question and this is a place you can ask.

We're not in the HOUSE business, we're in the PEOPLE business and people's lives are messy. Things seldom go smoothly. IT's our job to protect our business, plan for situations, and help the people fit into the system.

Consider allowing the new resident to unload their belongings in the garage or house and your crew cleans around them.

I STRONGLY suggest you get training IMMEDIATELY! Start with 2 books from this site: Jeffrey Taylor's Landlord Kit and Mike Butler's Landlording On Autopilot. Mikes is an easy read and will help you at this stage. Jeffrey's is a book of forms and checklists as a resource.

Now, I must tell you I have concerns about your new folks. When their stories are mixed up, Moms, sons, running here and there, her stuff already in a truck before the last day of the month, LL died, new owner...these are all caution flags. They all sound good on the surface and push the LL's sympathy buttons to cover up a problem.

Did you pull a credit report? TALK to her current LL? (they often lie to get rid of baddies. They MIGHT tell you the truth since she's already out)

Do NOT give her the keys without certified funds - cash or bank teller check only. NO PERSONAL CHECKS.

If she forces a personal check that's your sign it's gonna bounce! In your state it's hard to get someone out of your rental. Be slow and cautious to let them in.

Best of luck! Keep us posted.

BRAD

thought provoking comments by many experienced LL's. made me search my heart for a right answer for a newbie. After years of being hardened by this business (not just me either) giving some new LL starter advise isn't that easy.

First I would say as long as you haven't planned anything for yourself-- party or trip than make yourself available to early signing. It's one day rent and does it make or break you-- let's hope not. Starting off as new and a new tenant make your upcoming holidays better but not counting on every penny you can get from the rental. They'll be time enough for that when you try to collect past due amounts. For now ease into LL'ing.