How to Transition a Rental Between Tenants
When you own a rental property, you will want to ensure that you have a stable source of income. The best way to do this is to have a reliable tenant. However, your tenants might decide that they won’t renew their lease at some point. Then you will be forced to find new tenants to make your investment property profitable again. Unfortunately, if your property remains vacant, you will have to deal with the upkeep costs out of your own pocket. To make sure that your rental property is making you money, we will explain how to transition a rental between tenants.
Hire a Property Management Company
It is the property owner’s responsibility to deal with tenants who are moving in and out of your property. However, that can be difficult and time-consuming. It is much easier to outsource all administrative and maintenance duties to a professional property management company from Toronto. A property manager can organize repairs after your tenants have moved out. Additionally, they can also help you find and screen new tenants. Hiring a property management company is the easiest and least stressful way to transition a rental between tenants. If you own real estate in an area where a property manager isn’t available, or if you want to handle everything about your property yourself, you can follow the rest of the steps in this guide.
Plan The Move-Out Inspection On Time
Some property owners make mistakes and organize the move-out inspection only after tenants vacate the property. However, it is much better to do the inspection while the tenants are still present. The inspection might reveal damage to the rental that needs to be repaired, and if you find out about it too late – you will lose precious time organizing the repairs. It would be best to remind tenants to fix what they are responsible for before moving out. If you realize that you will need to do more extensive work on your property, you can schedule the listing to be up after all of the repairs are completed.
Regardless of who is doing the repairs, it’s good to know what kind of timeline you can expect in advance. Remember that you have 30 days to return the deposit to your old tenants. There is no need to return it early, only to discover that some part of your home was damaged and that you need to do more repairs.
List The Property and Begin New Tenant Screening
You don’t necessarily need to wait for the repairs to be done to list the property as available. Get an estimate for when the work will be over and add a few extra days to be safe. Make a listing for your property online and upload some nice pictures. Ideally, take photos during the day, with the windows open so the sunlight can make the rental look bright and welcoming.
And remember, while finding the perfect tenants who won’t damage your property or cause problems is far from easy, there are companies that specialize in finding and screening tenants in Toronto, so you don’t need to worry that your rental will stay vacant for too long.
Depersonalize The Home
It’s not uncommon for tenants to forget a few items while moving out. Go through all of the rooms and take pictures of everything that isn’t yours. You can contact your previous tenants to see if they are interested in keeping any of the items. However, since they are probably in the process of moving and getting settled into their new home, it may take them some time to come by and pick up their stuff. Since you don’t want other people’s stuff in a rental that should look depersonalized, experts from Professional Movers Canada advise renting a storage unit and keeping all the extra items there. A storage unit will also be a great additional perk for your new tenants and can help you attract good ones. They will most certainly appreciate it if you can offer them additional space for their belongings.
Regardless of what you decide to do with the excess items, you should have the rental looking depersonalized if you want to transition a rental between tenants. Future tenants who come to view the rental should have an easy time imagining themselves living there. That can be hard with other people’s pictures and personal items lying around.
Do a Deep Clean of the Property
You’ll want to have your property looking its best when new tenants come looking. If you are dealing with odors and persistent stains, you can hire a professional cleaning company to handle those for you. Pay special attention to the kitchen and ensure that all the surfaces are free of leftover food buildups. Nothing will deter potential tenants faster than a gross food preparation area.
Change the Locks
Even if your old tenants return all of the keys you gave them, it’s still advisable to change all of the locks. Putting in a new lock is fast and cheap, and it can save you a lot of headaches in the long run. The only people who should have a new set of keys are you, the property manager, and the new tenants. Your future tenants will surely be happy to hear that you have replaced the old lock and that previous tenants don’t have keys to the property anymore.
Make Room For The New Tenant’s Furniture
Some tenants may have a few pieces of furniture they would like to bring to your rental. This means you will need to move out some of your old or bulky possessions. If you have a storage unit, dealing with heavy pieces won’t be a huge deal. Just make sure you pack them for storage well and try not to carry them yourself.
Have a Move-in Inspection With Your New Tenants
After you have done all the preparation and your rental is ready, you can have the move-in inspection. Make a checklist and examine every part of the property with your new tenants. Mark the current condition, and make a list of all the items which are yours. Have two copies of the checklist and get your tenant to sign them.
The bottom line
As long as you make a plan for how to transition a rental between tenants, you shouldn’t run into any problems you can’t solve. There will still be many things you need to take care of, and it’s definitely going to be stressful and difficult. If you find the whole process overwhelming, you can contact a property management company to assist you.