One more day! I want to know what the prize is?

Good answer.

6,

As soon as we are aware of a pending vacancy we advertise Coming Soon 4 bedroom 2 bath in the country. No address, no photos. Just stirring up interest.

I do NOT want prospects bumping into outgoing residents. I don’t know what will be said that might infect my prospect.

We use my Turnover Checklist - 4 pages, 2 columns, room by room, plus all those odd things that get forgotten like directional signs, air fresheners, welcome mat...

Crew does not get paid until the Checklist passes. This encourages everyone to hustle and to watch for details.

I will not allow showings until the home is PERFECT, not “almost” or “we just have a few more thing to do” or “I’ll lose this couple if I don’t show it right now”. I’ve never jad a good prospect accept a home that they saw “being cleaned”.

Like Sid said, don’t do your own cleaning. It will mess with your attitude. Cleaning ladies are the easiest to hire and they’re quick.

DIY is a trap most LLs fall into. Now they must mix their personal and family life with toilets and trash. The house will wait (lost income) because you have go to Little Cousin Susie’s 1st birthday party, and Billy’s ballgame, the church pitch in, and and and...or the LL paints for 2 hours a night taking a week to get it done instead of a painter who gets it done in one day.

It has been a while since a vacancy for me. I tend to get long term tenants - 3, 5, 7 years. I want a vacant unit for at least a couple of weeks. Mine are older 1850s houses, but I would probably do it for any older house. I do some upgrades of worn items, bathroom vanities, flooring, light fixtures, light fixtures, faucets. I want the walls freshly painted, not so much the ceilings. There are usually gaps to be caulked, piping to check.

It has not gone well when I have a prospect that wants to look at the place with an occupant. They can't see past the tenant's lifestyle to their own lifestyle. A lot of times the tenant's place is in disarray because they are working on packing etc. I will start to advertise when it is empty, and show even if not quite done with the upgrades, but enough is done to show I am serious about them.

I agree with NE to gain more experience before attempting to do a turnover with a currently occupied unit. That said...

Brad and I differ a bit here, because we're catering to a different market. We can talk about that some other time.

I rent Class C homes, defined as "Clean, Safe, Functional." I advertise with all photos and details immediately when I receive notice. I also have a good turn over crew who can get in and get it ready in 1-2 days, tops. Unless something is an absolute disaster, in which case I'll make the available date 7 days from the last day of the lease.

Giving tours while tenants are moving out does not seem to affect my prospects negatively. I have rented many homes before the old tenant was out. We use Jeffrey's (Mr. LL) method of offering the tenant a $100 "bonus/thank you" for keeping the home in decent condition and saying good things about us. I accompany all tours, so I hear what is said.

My average turn over is 3 days from move out to move in. My vacancy rate this year is 2% of gross potential rents. It may take some time to get your turn over "machine" tuned up to this level. Start lining up days with your handyman and cleaning lady 1-2 weeks before move-out. Make sure their phone is still working and they are available. If they're booked, I'll offer a little 'bonus' for them to bump me to the front of the line.

As Brad said, use checklists to ensure all is good and to motivate helpers. All that said, YMMV.

The key to remember: Vacancy is an EXPENSE! Many DIY or Mom 'n Pop land lords do not think of vacancy. I do! When I have a unit empty, there is no money coming in (lost rent) and there is money going out (taxes, insurance are accruing; utilities are on). I have a per diem vacancy rate for all my units. 123 Anywhere Ave is COSTING me $X per day it sits empty. If I take a week to clean it, that's $X * 7. Would it have been cheaper than $X * 7 to hire a cleaning lady who gets it done in one day (and therefore I could rent it faster)? Most times, the answer is yes...it's cheaper to hire it done fast and get the unit rented quicker. Regardless, I don't like cleaning other people's grime. Trust me: hire out the cleaning next time and you'll feel like a new land lord!

Keep going and win your prize...I did the same thing and really enjoyed the book I got.

As for your question...you will get various answers because it depends on your town, your properties, etc. I have class B properties and that affects my answer.

I do agree with someone that said THIS FIRST TIME since you are learning it probably is best to wait until they are out so you can assess what all needs done.

However, going forward, here is what I do.

1) About 5-10 days before they move out, I place the ad(s) and put up "For Rent" signs. Most of my properties are on busy streets so this generates a ton of interest. My phone voicemail is set up to give basic info about the house...I don't answer the phone...and most people "deselect" themselves after hearing the rent amount (too many people want a $1,000/mo rental for $450). If I advertise too long before the 5-10 days, I find that I get a lot of people that end up finding another place and end up wasting my time.

2) If someone is interested and contacts us after hearing the details, I call or email them with a date of the next "showing", they are welcome to attend at that time and get an application and view the house. I usually leave myself a few days between when the other people move out and the showing, although this varies on what needs done. (I am in each of my rentals every 6 weeks to do furnace and AC maintenance...so I already know the condition of the property...if I know it needs paint I'll allow more time).

3) Once the tenant moves out, I do a full home inspection (I'm a licensed home inspector). I go on the roof, in the attic, crawlspace, operate every faucet/switch, run appliances such as dishwasher..etc. I write a full formal inspection report. This serves as the basis for damages as well as a "to do" list for repairs. Most of the repairs are things that would not be disruptive during a showing...so it does not hold up my showings. I make repairs in those days before and after the showing...keeping my toolbox in the truck during the showing and making any areas I'm working on look tidy.

4) At the showing I'll usually get a few applicants, and then I have a few days after that where even if I make an offer with a day they can't move in right away...so I'll typically have about a week after the showing to get the place move-in ready...although it rarely takes that long.

I think you'll find some LLs that seek very little vacancy time...maybe 3-4 days between. For me it's probably more like 1-2 weeks...as I have a lot of professional tenants so they give proper notice to prior landlords, have to set up moving companies, and so on.

You might wonder also about "If someone moves out on the August 30th, do I need to start my new lease on November 1st or can/should I move someone in "mid month"?" Maybe you ask that as your next question...as it's quite a different topic. :)

Keep going and win your prize...I did the same thing and really enjoyed the book I got.

As for your question...you will get various answers because it depends on your town, your properties, etc. I have class B properties and that affects my answer.

I do agree with someone that said THIS FIRST TIME since you are learning it probably is best to wait until they are out so you can assess what all needs done.

However, going forward, here is what I do.

1) About 5-10 days before they move out, I place the ad(s) and put up "For Rent" signs. Most of my properties are on busy streets so this generates a ton of interest. My phone voicemail is set up to give basic info about the house...I don't answer the phone...and most people "deselect" themselves after hearing the rent amount (too many people want a $1,000/mo rental for $450). If I advertise too long before the 5-10 days, I find that I get a lot of people that end up finding another place and end up wasting my time.

2) If someone is interested and contacts us after hearing the details, I call or email them with a date of the next "showing", they are welcome to attend at that time and get an application and view the house. I usually leave myself a few days between when the other people move out and the showing, although this varies on what needs done. (I am in each of my rentals every 6 weeks to do furnace and AC maintenance...so I already know the condition of the property...if I know it needs paint I'll allow more time).

3) Once the tenant moves out, I do a full home inspection (I'm a licensed home inspector). I go on the roof, in the attic, crawlspace, operate every faucet/switch, run appliances such as dishwasher..etc. I write a full formal inspection report. This serves as the basis for damages as well as a "to do" list for repairs. Most of the repairs are things that would not be disruptive during a showing...so it does not hold up my showings. I make repairs in those days before and after the showing...keeping my toolbox in the truck during the showing and making any areas I'm working on look tidy.

4) At the showing I'll usually get a few applicants, and then I have a few days after that where even if I make an offer with a day they can't move in right away...so I'll typically have about a week after the showing to get the place move-in ready...although it rarely takes that long.

I think you'll find some LLs that seek very little vacancy time...maybe 3-4 days between. For me it's probably more like 1-2 weeks...as I have a lot of professional tenants so they give proper notice to prior landlords, have to set up moving companies, and so on.

You might wonder also about "If someone moves out on the August 30th, do I need to start my new lease on November 1st or can/should I move someone in "mid month"?" Maybe you ask that as your next question...as it's quite a different topic. :)

Notice or not, I'm never certain that tenants will be out. There is nothing that can be done about a tenant who takes a couple extra days to get all their stuff out. It's very common for tenants to wait unil the last day to start moving. Due to the mistaken belief that an entire move and cleaning can be done in a couple of hours.

Book? What!? I thought 6's prize was the new car!

BRAD

PS The true prize is two fold - a huge jump forward in the learning curve AND