Seasons greetings! For the last 6 years we have enjoyed very few vacancies and when a unit did go vacant it usually was filled within 2 to 3 weeks. Over the past month, we have been notified by 3 tenants that they will not be renewing their leases this spring due to them buying their own homes. We currently have only one vacancy and over the past 30 day not one person has qualified.... is anyone else experiencing this? Any thoughts as to what strategies we should implement? Land contract etc? Should we sell sfh as they become vacant, due to the market being so hot? If we sell, we would be taking a chance that market would crash again to buy low and might not happen soon enough?

A lot of (personal) variables, here.

The day woulda, shoulda and coulda,

came to Town.

RB- for sure! Lol

MJ- southeast mi.

4-bedroom even harder at Christmastime, I would think. No one wants to move a bunch of kids at Christmas! In fact I would kind of worry about a tenant who WANTS to do that - I would be asking, "Why?" Unless it was a job transfer or something.

4-bedroom even harder at Christmastime, I would think. No one wants to move a bunch of kids at Christmas! In fact I would kind of worry about a tenant who WANTS to do that - I would be asking, "Why?" Unless it was a job transfer or something.

Just my opinion here. I feel we are near a top at this time for real estate prices. News sources say we have recovered most of the drop in prices since the recession. It's also hard to call the exact peak.

So, given these things, I'd sell the largest class B 4 bedroom place via a 1031 exchange if you have large equity and rotate the money into a class C fixer be it a single or a plex. Then I'd assess what's left. If you have several places, like 10+, I'd take the class B places that are completely fixed up and sell them one at a time and rotate the money to fixers. Then I'd take the class D places and do the same, then the class C places. Please understand that I mostly have class C places as I favor them. Ymmv.

Not that this is for everyonne, but I feel that once a place is fixed up and producing as much as possible, it has reached a peak. When I get a fixer, there is equity to capture by doing the repairs instead of just getting the rent. I want to capture and use that equity.

Now if the place sits in a location that stands to gain a lot due to whatever reason, I'll keep that one to try to get the extra return. As an example, I have a trailer on a half acre lot right next to an assisted living home. There is another assisted living home across the street. The one across the street just bought 4 houses right across the street and expanded their operation. I've decided to hold this property and see if one of these assisted living homes wants to expand into my property.

One thing I think about getting older is this: If there comes a time when you must go to an assisted living home, it is good if you own that home.

Sell. Home ownership is at it highest point in 15 years. The millennials are finally starting to buy -- even the Progressive Insurance TV ads have noticed. (Have you seen the "Are We Turning Into Our Parents?" ad?. RE investing is hot -- you might even be able to sell to CA bay area investors as a "turn-key provider" and continue to manage the properties. The Yuppies all want to buy but are afraid to self manage.

Everyone says the market is hot. Depends a lot on where you are. Because here it ain’t. Last year we bought 4 houses in our preferred target range of $20K to $30K. Took 6+ months to get a contract on our last flip that is turn key with few comparable properties in fit & finish & priced under what comparable props had sold for the month before we listed. It’s like everything here ground to a halt mid-April. Nothing is moving. MLS hasn’t changed remarkably here since Spring & what we look at is overpriced.

Much depends on the US political future.

If the incumbent administration loses in 2020, then the economy will revert back to the welfare conditions of the past 8 years, wages will not increase, and life will be very good for landlords. Rentals will be active, while sales will not.

If the present administration, or its political successor, continues, the economy (stagnant for two terms) will accelerate, wages will increase along with inflation, and those who are positioned accurately will profit immensely.

It snows where I am and nobody wants to move during the holidays, especially when the weather is bad. Only evictees are moving.

I wasn't sure at first but now I know moshe is trolling for sure with the line "wages increase with inflation"! Well done!

Sometimes I sit for a week or 2, sometimes for a month or 2. Even longer at times. I don't care what Washington does.

I hear strategies and sometimes they work. When the strategies don't work, I hear my local mentor saying, "If it's clean and everything works and it's not getting rented, your price is too high."

So often his words ring true.

I guess thinking a little more about this, it's too big for me to worry about. I think it's too big for most average investors to worry about.

The "economy" to me is coffee shop talk. It's right up there with politics and inflation, whatever.

I would turn to the teni who are moving out and interview them and gather their thoughts.

I think they will tell you the answers you need to adjust

(That sentence didn't come out, I need to get to some hot brownies...sorry for the rush)

More than economic conditions, the important variable relating filling of vacancies is supply & demand.

Here in Los Angeles, the housing shortage is so acute that I cannot imagine that ANY disturbances due to changes in the tax code will stop the rise in rents.

In fact, we now have a new challenge in CA to defeat a measure to remove the statewide protections from rent control, because of such rapidly increasing rents. I could probably raise my prices by $500 per month (per unit), but have been limiting my increases to $100 in order to keep from losing my good tenants. My eviction attorney (his firm boasts of 175,000 evictions) advocates that landlords raise their rents NOW while they can, in case this measure passes next year. I am exploring the idea of raising rents drastically while promising my tenants that I will renegotiate if the measure fails. While they are too smart to fall for that, I will have no trouble in today's market to find new tenants at the increased prices, but I would like to keep my old tenants at a price that will be fair, including to me.

As you point out, Robert, as the supply goes down the price goes up. If thats not the law of supply and demand, then Adam Smith won't sell any more books (he's been dead for 250 years). That rules holds true also in rent controlled jurisdictions.

Some years ago, when rent control was a new idea, all sorts of cock-and-bull theories were promulgated. Now that we have experience with rent control, a more sophisticated and accurate analysis is possible.

Rent control has good intentions, namely to stop the acceleration of runaway rent prices. The planned beneficiaries are not merely renters, but the housing market as a whole, because uncontrolled rent inflation is not good for the market, only for individuals who happen to been in a position to capture a windfall. A robust market with increasing buyers AND sellers (renters and landlords, supply AND demand will provide steady growth, and encourage increased supply, increased demand and expansion of a healthy marketplace. Renters will find housing at a fair price and landlords will receive good profit for their investment.

Instead, rent control has shown itself to be a failure. It does NOT stop the acceleration of runaway prices, it inhibits the growth of housing supply, it dilapidates the existing housing stock, and results in a chaotic marketplace that benefits no one. The only beneficiaries are individual renters who are sophisticated enough to understand how to take advantage of these conditions, and that is not poor people.

Rent control in CA has gone through phases of liberals clamoring for landlord blood, followed by the legislature analyzing the results and reversing the sanguinity based on good sense and scientific analysis. The present threat is based on the referendum process, where the people gather signatures for a ballot measure, and popular voting can vote such a measure into law without the legislature's interference. I suppose that sooner or later, common sense will prevail and the legislature will correct such bad laws (again), but until then, I am considering how to position myself for the medium term.

YMMV but between Thanksgiving and New Years are just about the worst time to sell or rent anything, especially in a colder climate. People only move this time of year if they have to.

Having said that a lot of people have to!

YMMV but between Thanksgiving and New Years are just about the worst time to sell or rent anything, especially in a colder climate. People only move this time of year if they have to.

Having said that a lot of people have to!

YMMV but between Thanksgiving and New Years are just about the worst time to sell or rent anything, especially in a colder climate. People only move this time of year if they have to.

Having said that a lot of people have to!

YMMV but between Thanksgiving and New Years are just about the worst time to sell or rent anything, especially in a colder climate. People only move this time of year if they have to.

Having said that a lot of people have to!

YMMV but between Thanksgiving and New Years are just about the worst time to sell or rent anything, especially in a colder climate. People only move this time of year if they have to.

Having said that a lot of people have to!

YMMV but between Thanksgiving and New Years are just about the worst time to sell or rent anything, especially in a colder climate. People only move this time of year if they have to.

Having said that a lot of people have to!

YMMV but between Thanksgiving and New Years are just about the worst time to sell or rent anything, especially in a colder climate. People only move this time of year if they have to.

Having said that a lot of people have to!

Wrong, pmh.

Real wages have not fallen behind inflation for many years (at least two 4-year terms) because inflation (CPI) has been so extremely low. New administration has as a central purpose expansion of US economy which will bring both inflation and wage growth. Thats why runaway rental increases are foreseen, and rent control enthusiasts are back in the saddle again.

Someone is on their way to 3 star status.

This past week, I had someone buy a home from me, I closed on a different place, I had too boot someone out of a SFH, and I had a normal move out.