Your Tenant Is Moving Out
Sep 30th, 2021
YOUR TENANT IS VACATING
Your tenant has given you notice to vacate and move out at the end of the lease term.
With your tenant giving notice to vacate, Davies Property Management will begin to market your property in an effort to find a replacement tenant after the existing tenant has fully vacated the home.
We will not put the property on the market until AFTER the Tenant vacates.
Once the tenant fully vacates the home, we will take the following actions:
- We access the property to take 30 - 60 photos of the move out condition.
- We do a thorough move out condition report for our record.
- We fully document any and all issues with the property and plan for the make ready maintenance and improvements.
BENEFITS TO THE OWNER
Market a Move-In Ready Home
We feel that the market with tenants has shifted to demand a move in ready home during the time of marketing. There have been negative incidents when we market the home with old photos and an existing tenant in place that have led to this change. In these incidents, a new tenant would move into the home after a one time showing while tenant occupied, and be upset with the condition. By marketing the home in the "As-Is" and move in ready condition – there will be no confusion as to what the new incoming tenants will see in the condition of the home when they move in.
Lived-In Condition of the Home with Tenant
In most situations, existing tenants will not put forth the effort to ensure the home shows as well as possible during the last days of their lease and it reflects in the way the home shows to prospective applicants. Tenants have little incentive to show the home other than being obligated in the lease. Once the tenants begin packing to move, boxes begin to pile up and the home shows poorly. This leads to missed application opportunities from potentially good tenants and longer days on market.
Property Shows Better
The property will show better without the tenant physically there during the showing. In some cases, we have seen existing tenants follow applicants around the home pointing out everything possibly wrong with the property. Also – there will be no lost showings from an un-cooperative tenant blocking showing requests, or refusing to answer their phone to approve a showing. This will lead to a maximum amount of showing opportunities – renting the property faster.
What if the Property Goes Stale?
When a property does not rent in the first 30-60 days, most incoming applicants will wonder what is wrong with the property and then avoid seeing it. By marketing a move in ready property, we can highlight the property in the current condition – renting it quickly. If a property does not rent in quick fashion, adjustments can be made to the asking price with the bottom line of renting the property faster on behalf of the owner.
Privacy Concerns
We want to respect the privacy of our existing tenants as you would want if you were a tenant. No tenant wants to deal with showing a home they live in during the last 30 days and many tenants would appreciate not having to do so. In addition, the restrictions on Tenant Privacy regarding photos and video is getting tougher with new court decisions. We ask you consider this in respecting their privacy.
Violating the False or Misleading Representations and Deceptive Marketing Practices
We have heard indications that by using old photos to market a property for rent, and by not allowing applicants to see exactly what they will be signing a lease agreement for because the property is occupied for another 30 days, we could be held liable for false or misleading representations. It would only take one severe incident for a tenant to feel they were misled by not having the opportunity to fully inspect a vacant home before they sign a lease agreement. With a vacant and move in ready property, we can avoid this by offering them an "As-Is" home and by marketing the property with current photos.
Tenant Holdover to the Lease
Should the outgoing tenant need a few extra days or weeks to vacate the property – they could do so under their current lease agreement by paying the necessary rent and fees. In the past, should a new incoming tenant have a signed lease agreement, and an outgoing tenant does not vacate on time – it creates a major problem for all involved. This leads to a very negative situation that has resulted in broken leases, causing the owner more vacancy that would not have been necessary. Should that happen – the property has to go back on the market costing the owner a severe amount of money in lost rent and utility fees.
Current Lease Enforcement
If it becomes necessary to enforce the lease along the way, the Property Manager is often put in the middle of a bad situation to where they have to scold the tenant one day for not cutting the grass, to politely asking the tenant if we can begin to market the property while they are moving out. In one phrase – awkward. Without that concern, we can simply enforce the lease standards without having to worry about upsetting the tenant.
No Disgruntled Tenants
By not showing a tenant occupied properties, we avoid having to present a property to a potential applicant with a possibly disgruntled current tenant in place. We never know what a tenant may be upset about and it's often something completely out of our control. An existing tenant may not speak kindly of a home owner if the tenant was refused something during the lease, or held to the lease standards by the Property Manager.
What About Lost Time Off the Market?
We understand this is a concern, but we feel the Edmonton rental market is strong enough that by making this change it will contribute to a property renting faster, and for more money. If the home does not rent – it can be contributed to nearly one thing – the asking price.