showing apartment before tenants move
We have a lease renewal coming up with our tenants, who are good and we hope will stay for another year. But for the eventuality when they move out, either this spring or in the future, I’m wondering if we could add a clause to their new lease that says we could show the apartment…
We have a lease renewal coming up with our tenants, who are good and we hope will stay for another year.
But for the eventuality when they move out, either this spring or in the future, I’m wondering if we could add a clause to their new lease that says we could show the apartment to potential new tenants in the last month of their tenancy if they decided not to renew.
Obviously that would be to avoid a costly vacancy, but is that even allowed under NY law and if so, what do experienced landlords recommend? Is it too invasive?
I put in my lease’s rider that I require a 45 day written notice if the lease is not to be renewed, and I can show for re-rental 30 days before the lease ends, with prior notice.
There have never been any problems, and my tenant(s) have been quite helpful so far.
Generally, I need a week for repairs/repainting/cleaning etc. That is about as seamless
as I can get it.
In any case, for me it’s never been an issue.
When I was breaking a lease in Queens, I had a strong incentive to find a new tenant for the landlord and got a broker to find a tenant. I would leave the apartment spic and span when going to work and I had instructed the broker that the apartment would be available during working hours. Worked fine. My prior apartment the landlord would phone half an hour before a showing, I was cooperative and it wasn’t a huge hassle, but I could see how it would be.
As the aptly named snowman said, it is usually standard verbiage in most leases. The best way to handle the situation is to ask your tenants 2-3 months before their lease is up if they are planning to renew, if not – you should start showing. You don’t have to show everyday, start with an hour OH once a week, if the apt shows and (is) priced well; you should get decent prospects.
The bigger issue is the apt prep, if you’re lucky, your tenants will move out a few days early but they may not. You should make a list of what needs to be done: painting, cleaning, grouting etc, then find DEPENDABLE people that can do the work in a day. If the apt needs more extensive work, then as the others have said; you may have to eat a few days up a month of a vacancy. The cost of doing business.
In our last place, we had a good relationship with the landlord but he used a broker who would call us 20 minutes beforehand to announce that she was coming over to show the apartment. 90% of the time we would say “come on over” but after 7 or 8 showings it felt like an imposition. We were home about half the time the broker showed it and I think that was weird for some of the prospective tenants. In the future, I would ask the landlord to show during very specific times so we could be gone. I will say that the family that rented the apartment actually talked directly to us when they looked at it and liked what we said about the place and the neighborhood.
Personally, I prefer apartments when they are empty. I have never rented an apartment that I looked at when it was lived in. But, that’s me.
Sounds like you are showing it yourself and are respectful of your tenants so I imagine it will be fine. Good luck!
Instead of offering a “cash” incentive. I would offer a cleaning lady to come in a clean for a few hours. Otherwise, I usually find it best to have a week or two weeks in between tenancies to do necessary touch ups.
I’m with Arkady & starfish…in 10 years, I think I’ve lost only 2 weeks rent, and that’s because I really liked the new potential tenants and they needed a 15th move-in.
I’ve always had good relationships with my tenants and I give them notice about showing the apartment. Because they’re nice layouts, they (luckily) usually rent quickly which becomes a quick and minor inconvenience to the current residents. Somehow or another, I’m usually able to schedule a 1st move-in, even with painting and cleaning in between tenants. We just work around each other that last week.
I agree with Arkady.
I have ALWAYS shown apartments while occupied. That way I have hardly ever, in nine years, lost a month’s rent. I have good relationships with tenants, and show an apartment at their convenience and minimize the number of showings by grouping the prospective new tenants.
Yes it is legal and the standard Blumberg lease that I use calls it out. I’ve done it both ways. I let the tenants know that I’ll be making appointments – usually between 6-8pm weekdays and during the day weekends – and I let them know when an appt is made. If they are slobs, I don’t like showing it. The longer I am here, the less critical uninterrupted rent is and the more likely I am to wait until they are out. I plan some time to detail the apartment – well cleaned and at least freshly touched up if not completely painted.
if you’ve got a good relationship with your tenants, why not offer some incentive for their cooperation? I’ve lived in several rentals where the landlord began to show before I vacated and I was accommodative because we had a good relationship. maybe you offer a small amount of cash to your current tenants IF you find a new tenant who looks at it while they still live there… they’ll be a lot more willing/likely to accommodate showings and keep the place clean while you minimize the vacancy. everybody wins.
I’m buying a 3 fam right now with two mid-year leases, so I’m curious to know if you figure out a strategy that works!