How long should it take a property manager to rent out my home?

It depends on the market, the price and the time of year, but a well-priced home is often rented within a few weeks of listing, and sometimes before the old tenant moves out. If it's been listed for two weeks with few showings, ask your manager about the price and the listing.

What updates should I get from my property manager during a vacancy?

When the tenant gives notice, with the plan and suggested rent. When the listing goes live, with a link. A short weekly update on inquiries and showings. When an applicant is chosen, with why. When the lease is signed, and after move-in with the inspection report.

Do I get to approve the new tenant?

It depends on your management agreement. Some owners approve every tenant, and others let the manager decide within agreed criteria. Either way, the manager should tell you who was chosen and why, before the lease is signed.

What to expect when your property manager is filling a vacancy

This guide is for owners in Canada and the US whose property manager is renting out their home. While a home is empty, you’re losing rent every day, and most of the work happens where you can’t see it. A good manager keeps you posted at a handful of points, from the day the tenant gives notice to the day the new one moves in. Knowing what those updates are, and what each one should tell you, makes it easy to see whether your vacancy is in good hands, and what to ask if it isn’t.

Here are the updates in the order you should get them, with an example of what a good one sounds like.

When the tenant gives notice

Your tenant in unit 2 has given notice for June 30. We’d suggest listing at $2,350, based on three similar two bedrooms nearby that rented in the last month for $2,300 to $2,400. We’ll start showings once the tenant agrees to times, and aim to have someone signed before they leave. We’ll also check the unit for anything that should be fixed before the next tenant. Does that work for you?

This update sets the plan, so it’s the one to read most carefully. It should give you a recommended rent with the evidence behind it, when marketing starts and whether showings can happen while the current tenant is still there. If you’re not hearing about the price until the listing is already live, ask for the comparisons.

When the listing goes live

The listing is up, with new photos. Here’s the link. It’s on our website and the main rental sites.

You should be able to see the listing yourself. Read it the way a renter would: does the headline give the area, rent and date, are the photos bright and complete, does it say what’s included and what isn’t? How to write a rental listing that gets the right inquiries is a good check.

Renters look on several sites, so the listing should be wherever they are. Some managers use leasing software, like Nodus by Tuze, that publishes the same complete listing to their website and sites such as Kijiji, Rentals.ca and Zillow at once.

A short weekly update

23 inquiries this week, 9 showings booked, 6 completed, 2 applications in. One applicant looks strong, and we’re checking references.

While the home is listed, a short update each week is enough. The numbers tell you how it’s going. Lots of inquiries but few showings can mean replies are slow or the listing is missing something. Lots of showings but no applications can mean the price is high or the home doesn’t match the photos. Few inquiries at all usually means the price.

If two weeks pass with little interest, a good manager comes to you with a suggestion before you ask, such as adjusting the price by a set amount or improving the photos.

When an applicant is chosen

We’d recommend approving Sam and Priya. Their combined income is about three times the rent, their credit reports show on-time payments, and their current landlord confirmed they’ve paid on time for four years and kept the unit in good shape. They’d like to move in July 1 and have a cat, which your pet policy allows.

Whether you approve the tenant or the manager does depends on your management agreement. Either way, you should hear who was chosen and why, in terms of the criteria you agreed on, before the lease is signed. The reasons should be about the application, never about who the applicant is.

When the lease is signed

The lease is signed for July 1, at $2,350 a month for one year. The deposit has been received. Here’s a copy of the lease.

You should get a copy, and the rent, start date and deposit should match what you were told. If the rent is lower than the plan, you should already have heard why.

After move-in

Sam and Priya moved in yesterday. Here’s the move-in inspection report with photos. Rent for July has been received.

The move-in inspection is the record you’ll rely on when the tenancy ends, so it’s worth looking at. Photos of every room, the condition of floors, walls and appliances, and meter readings if utilities changed hands.

If the updates don’t come

Silence during a vacancy is a common complaint owners have about managers, and it’s worth raising early. A short message usually does it: “Can you send me where we are with the listing, inquiries and showings, and the plan if it doesn’t rent by the end of the month?” A manager who answers that clearly is usually doing the work. One who can’t is worth a longer conversation, and why rental owners leave their property manager covers what to expect from them in general.

Before your next vacancy, it’s worth agreeing with your manager which of these updates you want, and how. Some owners want all of them, others only the first and last. Either is fine, as long as you both know.