Any landlords know about their openings well in advance??

Hi Cory:

I don't know how most landlords (LL) feel, but as a LL with some years of experience in the islands and in the states, I find that even if I knew in advance of an upcoming opening (and usually I do), I would want to get a tenant (T) to pay first, last and security and even sign a lease before I would be willing to absolutely commit the unit to him/her. Even then, potential T's may want their $ back to do something else or in an emergency (I had the latter happen recently) so unless I were prepared to be really tough and have a "totally no refund" policy, I could easily be stuck re-advertising the place anyway right before availability. Some LL's are really tough in this regard, but if somebody develops a case of the regrets or a problem before moving in, I generally don't want them to move in (unhappy tenants are often bad tenants). For regrets or problems that develop after moving in on a lease, my policy is usually tough luck, unless they want to buy out of the lease.

The more time that passes between agreeing to move in and moving in, the more chance that plans and minds can change, especially given the relatively high transience of folks in this climate.

Best,

Islandlola

Cory,
You are so right. It can be a bit of a pickle. A couple of ways to handle it. Look for a new place via word of mouth. Quite often a landlord knows someone is leaving, but it's too soon to put the ad in the paper. I usually place an ad about 2 weeks before the old tenant moves out. If you are certain you want to leave your old place, go ahead and find an interim place or a temporary roommate situation, like you see on this board all the time, give your 30 days notice, and start looking.
This one is a bit of a gamble, but if apartments are going that fast, offer to help your landlord find a suitable replacement tenant, and proceed with your plans, with your fingers crossed! Maybe your old landlord would be able to accept 2 weeks notice and your new landlord would be able to hold the apartment for 2 weeks, or some other compromise point. Even if you have to overlap rent for a week, that's probably doable. You can probably ask for a little flexibility on the last month's rent, too. Nobody gets into my apartments without a deposit, but I have been known to let them pay on the last month over a short period.
Hope this helps. One more tip. Communicate with your landlord, offer to leave the place spotless and in excellent shape, meaning no down time between tenants.
Good luck.

I sometimes know 2-4 months in advance if someone's employment contract is ending and they will be leaving island and not renewing their lease. Other times I know 30 days in advance and occasionlly even less. I've had a few contractors who were transferred elsewhere suddenly and they lost their security deposit but departed with just a few days' notice.

Most leases only require a 30 day notice if a tenant is not renewing, so for most properties that's the earliest it will be know and can be advertised for new tenants. Now and then if a property is being purchased and the new owner plans to rent out an apartment in the house, I know a couple months ahead that it will be available upon closing... although closing dates aren't set in stone and sometimes get postponed a week or two or longer.

I'm on STX, but I would expect STT landlords and property managers to have similar experiences.

Great advice, Juanita, especially re offering to help find another person and offering to leave the place in great shape. I have negotiated the early termination of more than one rental agreement when I was a tenant by finding a ready, willing and able replacement tenant and bringing them to the LL to go right in as I left.

Ilo

Great comments Alexandra. In reference to properties for sale, I am aware of folks who leave a "to the new owner" note when a house with an apartment is under a sales contract, letting the new owners know that they are looking for a place to rent and asking to be contacted (same goes for landscapers, maintenance people etc. seeking work from new owners.) You can often figure out when an MLS house is under contract by contacting the realtor or looking for the "C" at an online MLS listing (though not all realtors put in the C's and of course some houses are sold by private deals so the general public would not know of a pending transfer.)

Ilo

Pending sales in the MLS remain visible to the public if there is a contingency, which is what the "C" stands for. If there are no contingencies or they get cleared quickly, the listing simply disappears from the publicly accessible version of the MLS.

For many pending sales, a property manager associated with the realty office who brought the buyer for the transaction is aware of any apartments that will be available for rent once the sale closes and they will be included in what that PM advertises as upcoming vacancies.

I am currently working with some buyers who plan to rent out the house they purchase for a couple years until they are ready to complete their relocation to STX. Sometimes existing tenants opt to stay in a house when ownership changes and other times new tenants are sought.

For tenants who are living in properties that are for sale... if you hope to be allowed to remain on as tenants when the property sells, you would be wise to do everything you can to cooperate with showings and keep the unit in good condition for buyers to see. New owners tend to have uncooperative tenants evicted in advance of closing, but they are happy to keep on tenants they believe will take good care of their new purchase, sometimes without raising their rent.