Need a Good Short-Term Tenant?

By E-Renter Tenant Screening
Posted on October 12, 2012 under Landlord Tips, Lease and Rental Agreements | Be the First to Comment

If you own a property and aren’t interested in renting it out for the long term, there are plenty of potential shorter-term tenants that could be a good fit for your needs.

Consider the following:

• Older people who are retiring and want to rent in an area for a few months before deciding where to live.
• Professionals who fell victim to the housing bubble and lost their houses. Many of these people took a hit to their credit, and need to rent until they can get their finances back in order.
• Career-changers who have moved to an area for a new job and wish to buy, but need short-term housing while they look for a house.
• People who are downsizing or upsizing and have recently sold a house, but haven’t found a new one that works.
• People in transition—whether it’s because of a divorce, illness, death of a spouse or something else. They may not be in a position to make a long-term commitment, but a three- or six-month lease works.
• Adult children of elderly parents who need to live nearby to care for them on a temporary basis.

Certainly, most landlords prefer to have long-term tenants to keep wear and tear down and decrease the hassles of finding new tenants. But if you have a rental property that’s empty, that you may be selling, or that you might move into yourself, there are good tenants out there who need a short-term lease.

With the right kind of homework and some advertising, you can find short-term tenants. Take a look at Craigslist’s “housing wanted” section. And post your listing in the “sublets and temporary” section, with a prominent “short-term welcome” in the heading. Try posting flyers in nearby coffee shops, co-ops and grocery stores.

Be sure to conduct tenant screening on all applicants. Even though the lease is only for the short term, you still need to be sure that your tenant is who they say they are, have adequate credit and income to cover rent and no criminal activity in their backgrounds that could pose a threat.