Landlord Question and Answer Forum

My current tenant originally notified me within the 60 day window required that he was going to renew his lease. He has decided a month later to end the lease. Technically, he is breaking an agreement. I don't want to pursue this legally and have decided it's best to move on. It's very difficult to judge the market right now, especially since I rent a unit to locals in a resort town. There aren't more than 1 or 2 similar rentals to match my place up to. Short term rentals are being offered for long term also, which makes things even more complicated. Locals cannot rely on these units to be for more than 6 months or to renew at the end. It looks like I may have to lower my monthly rent expectations, although, I'm not sure how much. I'm wondering if it's worth lowering the rent for an entire year or taking the loss during the time this virus has caused havoc until the market picks back up. I have reserve funds to manage my mortgage. It's a difficult time for me as we are a military family awaiting a long distance military move in about a month, and I am the sole manager of this property which is a few hundred miles away. I've been doing this for 18 years, but never has our move overlapped with finding a new tenant, nor have I had to deal with anything like these current conditions. Any ideas or assistance is appreciated.

I'd go with lowering the rent before sitting empty. Of course first I'd list it at the market rate and seeing what kind of interest it receives before discounting it.

Posted by Scott H, VA on Saturday, May 16, 2020

I just went through a similar situation. I listed at the market rate of 1300.00 for 2 weeks. I did not get a good response. I reduced the rent to 1150.00 and the applications came flooding in. I rather have a reduced rent than have nothing coming in.

Posted by Macie Z, LA on Tuesday, May 19, 2020