Ready to sign lease, can;t move for 45 days -- too long? (apartment, tenant)

[browns47]

Love this forum, it's been a great resource in helping us move.

I am looking to rent a property that has been on the market for over 60 days. We are ready to turn in the application and deposit, but the only concern i have is that we cannot move until March 1, 45 days from now.

Is the fact that we must wait 45 days to move in something that would cause our application to be denied?

We did not want to be forced to move to whatever was available only a few weeks before our current lease ended, and like the rental a lot.

Just curious to you landlords out there - do you typically want the new tenants to move in right away, or is this an acceptable period between applying and moving in?

[STT Resident]

45 days is a stretch. If you were a good tenant candidate, I would probably give you a two week grace period but would require you to pay rent for the month prior to your move-in date. Much will depend on how the rental market is in your area and how "rentable" the apartment you're looking at is. Talk to the LL before you turn in the application, particularly if a non refundable application fee is at stake,

[browns47]

Thanks for the reply

We are dealing with a management company - so there is no direct discussion with the LL. We are willing to move up our move in date to 2/15, though we would prefer not to (to avoid paying double rent in Feb)

It isn't really clear why it has been available for over 60 days, it is a good deal. We really like the place, so we felt we had to make a move.

We also are turning in an earnest money deposit for a full month's rent this week, and indicated to the management company that we would be willing to sign an extra month on the lease, if they would be willing to give us until March 1.

Hopefully this was persuasive enough for them!

[STT Resident]

Originally Posted by browns47

Thanks for the reply

We are dealing with a management company - so there is no direct discussion with the LL. We are willing to move up our move in date to 2/15, though we would prefer not to (to avoid paying double rent in Feb)

It isn't really clear why it has been available for over 60 days, it is a good deal. We really like the place, so we felt we had to make a move.

We also are turning in an earnest money deposit for a full month's rent this week, and indicated to the management company that we would be willing to sign an extra month on the lease, if they would be willing to give us until March 1.

Hopefully this was persuasive enough for them!

It's hard to fathom sometimes why an apartment which seems a good deal has remained vacant for a while. The one which I was very fortunate to find a few months ago (I was moving out of a place in which I'd lived for 15 years and with five cats to boot!) had, I believe, been vacant for 2-3 months. I too wasn't ready to move in right away, in fact was about five weeks away from that. I didn't want to lose the place and neither did I want to push my luck where the LL was concerned so I offered to pay the required first, last and security plus an additional two weeks. The LL agreed and I used those two weeks before I was able to physically move my body and cats in to gradually move over furniture and boxes of "stuff" at my leisure.

I've been a LL myself many times over many years, have always been a responsible tenant and a decent LL. These sorts of relationships work both ways and hopefully your offer will work for you! All the best.

[browns47]

Thanks! I'll let ya know how it works out!

It also isn't an apartment, it's a privately owned townhouse, so hopefully that also works to our favor.

[raleighkc]

If it is a private landlord waiting for responsible, qualified tenants, then it might work to your favor. Some units remain empty because the landlord is trying to find a responsible tenant. My rental was vacant for 2 months while I searched for a tenant that met my qualifications: above 600 credit score (exclude unpaid medical expenses), no criminal history, and 3x the rent in income. I had about 50 inquiries from non-qualified applicants. Once I found my current tenants, they stated they needed 30 days to give notice to their old place and move in. I accepted that because they were the first fully qualified applicants and I would let the unit sit another 30 days for a qualified tenant that has demonstrated responsibility and on-time rental payments. That tenant did sign a lease and give me a deposit to hold the home for them. I found that the applicants who needed to move in immediately had bad credit, no money for deposit, and made at most 1 to 1.5x the rent.

[Lacerta]

I agree that it can't hurt to ask. I signed a lease with a tenant yesterday who doesn't want to move in until February 15th, which works out perfectly because the owners were doing some remodeling and that gives us a couple of weeks to get the last few things wrapped up. They also had good jobs, over 800 credit scores, and had been not only homeowners but also landlords themselves (both a plus in my book).

It all depends on the circumstances. Maybe it was available for 2 months, but not in rent-ready condition until recently. We had one of those recently too, where the prior tenant had done so much damage, it took us a month to get it back in rentable condition. Then it was the holidays, and no one wants to move between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so it sat vacant for 2 months. As soon as we got past Christmas, we got it rented.

However, on most of our properties (anytime other than between Thanksgiving and Christmas) we are getting multiple applicants the first time we run an ad, so there is no point in holding a property off the market with no rent being paid. So be prepared for them to say yes to you, but no to the terms. Maybe you can reach a compromise.

[browns47]

apparently it was too long! they chose someone else. booooooo.