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When’s The Best Time to List My Rental?

When it comes time to list your home for sale, you won’t lack for articles on when is best. What’s less spoken (or written) about is when you should list your home for rent. Everyone has a different answer, and all are right for different reasons. If you want to have the cream of the crop, the pick of the litter, we give you the breakdown on the best times to list below.

Spring Has Sprung… with Potential Tenants

Some might say that the summer months are the best time to rent and we’ll get to that, but hear us out first. Spring is actually a great time to start searching for new tenants for a number of reasons.

For one: weather. No one wants to trek through the snow, rain, or sub-zero temperatures to check out properties. They especially don’t want to move in those kinds of conditions. Would you?

Spring also means tax returns. Putting down first month’s rent plus a security deposit can be hard on the wallet. When returns come in, they have the extra cash to put towards your place.

For many returning students, especially the ones who live elsewhere, they’re not planning on sticking around to house hunt in the summer. Spring is the time when they start viewing potential spots before they head back home (or if they’re lucky, on vacation). Let’s face it, moving takes work and planning. For many, it’s easier to sign the lease for the start of the school year or move before the summer so they can hit the ground running in the fall.

So What About Those Summer Months?

Don’t knock the summertime for finding new tenants. In fact, for many, this is their preferred hunting season if for the simple fact that it’s guaranteed to be warm. For landlords and property managers, spring is the time to get the home up to snuff before putting it back on the rental market. The harsh winter months we spoke about before? It does a number on many homes. Take March, April and May to fix the place up — clean the gutters, give it a paint job, tend to the yard, etc. Your future tenants will love you for it.

Just like many returning university students start looking for a place in the spring, new students are more likely to check out homes in August. This way they can move in and get settled into their new place before school starts.

If it sounds perfect, hold on a minute. You should be careful when you list in the summer. Many take their vacation during this period and don’t want to waste precious holiday time on viewings.

What About Fall & Winter?

While not impossible to rent your place — everyone needs a home, after all — plan to have your rental on the market longer than in the warmer months. That means that if your tenant gives two months notice, don’t be afraid to get your listing back on the market ASAP. You’ll have a better chance of limiting the time between your current tenant and someone new.

It sounds like a lot, we know. If you’re ready to shift the responsibility of managing your property to the professionals, trust us to care for it like it’s our own. Get in touch with us today, we’ll get the best tenant for your rental home.