The Vacant Free

An increasing number of people are starting to jump on board with the idea of finding some passive income streams in addition to their 9-5 jobs. Passive income refers to work you continue to get paid for after you’re done—whether you purchased a franchise you have managers run or you have a rental property, minimal day to day work is required to generate income. Having additional revenue streams can open so many doors and give you more freedom in life. Whether you use the extra funds for travel, retirement savings, paying off your student loans, or you continue to build your investment portfolio—passive income helps you escape the constant grind of getting financially ahead. Sounds like a pretty nice deal—do the up front work, and then make money while you sleep. However, this only works when you plan ahead to minimize your time commitment while maximizing your profit. 

As every property manager knows, the most straightforward way to stay vacancy-free is to renew the lease with your current tenant. Unfortunately, it's not always that simple. When your tenants move out, it's good to get feedback to understand why in case there is a problem you're able to mitigate as the property manager. 

When it comes to allowing pets in your rental property, we often imagine the worst case scenarios. Our minds flash to Baxter the labradoodle chewing up the baseboards and Felix the tabby cat hacking up hairballs on the carpet. We imagine stains and lingering odors, rogue hairs and scratches on the hardwood. We can get creative imagining the list of potential damages, however the reality is, pets simply aren’t all that destructive. Statistics are showing that opening your doors to Baxter may actually be a pathway to increasing your rental revenue.

Whether you own 1 or 15 rental properties, showing your vacancies can be a time consuming and stressful job. There are typically going to be several showings before you and your tenant make a final decision to sign a lease together. For each one of those showings, you’ll need to coordinate timing, drive over to the property, give a tour, answer questions, drive home, follow up, and wait to hear back on next steps. For 80% of property managers, scheduling showings often means taking time off of work or taking time away from family on evenings and weekends.

Whether your renters are downsizing, moving to a new city, or they’ve started a dog grooming business in the living room and you need them to go, having a vacancy is never ideal. There are inevitable bills to pay and payments to make, so the longer your investment property sits empty, it becomes a bigger drain on your resources. The single best way to manage a vacancy is to simply avoid having one.

The goal is to prepare for your upcoming vacancy by marketing it right away and getting a new tenant lined up to minimize transition costs. There are several popular marketing tools you can use to help you spread the word and get new tenants. Browse around some of these sites and see if they’d be a good fit for you to reach potential renters in your area:

• Craigslist
• Zillow
• Apartments.com
• Hotpads
• Rental Houses
• Oodle
• Realtor
• Trulia
• Zumper

Once you gain traction on your listing and you get some inquiries, suddenly there are a lot of logistics to manage. You'll need to review applications, run background checks, and coordinate showings of your space.