Can we show the property if it is still TENANT-OCCUPIED?

There’s a belief by some in the landlord community that once a tenant gives the notice to vacate, you should immediately list the property for rent and start showing it. The idea, of course, is you want to limit any vacancy time. After being in this business for many years, we have found this is not the best approach. The best approach is to wait until the current tenant moves out and the property is made rent ready before you show it and I will explain why.

OCCUPIED HOMES SHOW POORLY

It is hard to picture yourself living in an occupied home. It is generally messy and you almost never remember the viewing well

SUCCESS RATES AND OCCUPIED PROPERTIES

We inconvenienced the current tenant during the process and wasted time and resources that could have been spent managing other issues.

WHAT CAN GO WRONG

Let’s say you lease the property while occupied. There are many things that frequently happen that can cause major issues. A late move-out could occur. Your existing tenant might not get their new place on time, so they can’t move out of your place on the date they were supposed to. You really have no leverage to make them leave, so you are at the mercy of their new move-out schedule. This means you can’t deliver the property to the new tenant on the date you agreed to in the contract.

LIABILITY

Showing an occupied property also opens you up to liability. People will be stopping by the property and bothering your current tenant. 

If showing it occupied was going to get you a better tenant, at a higher rent, and ultimately net you more money overall, it may be worth the risk. Since overall you get less rent and less desirable tenants on average, it is not worth the risk.