Nobody knows what will happen in the future – so as the owner of residential real estate, even if you have a long-term lease in place with your tenants, there is a chance that they might not be able to fulfill it.
One option that you may take if your current tenants need to move out before the lease is up could be to charge them an early termination fee (if you have one stated in the lease), and then go out and find new renters.
An alternative could be to allow your current tenants to sublease to someone else. That way, you can save yourself time that you’d otherwise spend marketing, and you can also continue to receive the regular – and uninterrupted – rental income from the property or unit.
Before you give the thumbs up on subleasing, though, there are some pros and cons that you should consider. For instance, while you don’t have to deal with a vacancy or a gap in your rental income, you could run the risk of having an unreliable sub-tenant and/or damage to the property that is inflicted by the new renter(s).
In any case, it is important that you are very clear with your tenants regarding your policies on subletting – and, if you are ok with it, be sure that you require any subtenants to be screened so that you’ll have a better idea of the caliber of person (or people) that they are.
If operating and maintaining rental residential investment property is taking up too much of your time – but you still want to take advantage of the income and equity opportunities – you may want to consider bringing on a property manager.
Do you own rental homes or units in Orlando and/or the Central Florida locale?
If so, give us a call to learn more about how using the services of a local, experienced property management team could benefit you.