Landlords with rental property in Charleston, SC frequently make a mistake by allowing the lease to revert to month to month after 1 full year. It is a huge advantage for the tenants in that they don’t have to commit for a long period after the first 12 months.
The problem occurs when your tenants decide to move out in a month where finding new tenants is difficult.
For pretty much any market, that’s going to always include December and January simply because of the holidays. People do NOT want to move over the holidays which also means your current tenants leaving in those months is less likely. So that’s good.
Now lets look at other months and see what kind of risks you might be taking with your rental property by being month to month. Starting with the next worst months, Feb and November are not good. They’re smack in the middle of the school year so college students don’t want the disruption nor do families with school aged kids. March and October might be marginally better but not much. Same issues. Middle of the school year and people want to void the disruption.
The other factor for the above mentioned months is, since people don’t want to move then, there’s low turnover meaning less places to choose from. This is another reason quality tenants wait until the good months before making a move.
The good months as far as finding great tenants for rental property in Charleston, SC are essentially April through September. The BEST months are May, June, July and August. Why? Because school ends in April so a lot of leases end then making May a time when a ton of people are looking. The same is true of June and July however if you want a great tenant in July or August, make sure you are advertising at least 60 days prior.
Advertising July 1 for an August 1 move in may yield less than average results because the good people and the good places that went on the market on June 1 have been paired up.
Here’s a recap of the months with an explanation as to how good each is for finding quality tenants.
May, June: Excellent. If possible, structure your leases to end April 30 or May 31. You’ll have the most good quality tenants looking.
April, July, August: Really good though might take a little longer to rent out depending on how far in advance you are able to advertise. 60 days in advance is optimal.
Sept. and March: Ok. These months are probably neutral and sometimes you’ll get lucky and other times your search will drag on.
October, November, February: These months are poor for finding tenants. It might happen, it might drag on but in general people don’t want to move at these times of the year.
December, January: Abysmally. Avoid at all costs if possible.
Conclusion: Try and structure your leases so they end April 30 or May 1.
Best Lease Structure for Rental Property in Charleston, SC
After 15 years doing it, I guarantee you that your better off having tenants sign a 1 year lease at the expiration of the current lease. You can frame it as a security for the tenants that they won’t have to be nervous of being asked to move out against their will at an inopportune time.
In reality, you don’t want them giving notice so you are left trying to rent it out at an inopportune time (see above!)
We recommend raising the rent every two years when you have quality tenants. In this way, you establish a routine and build trust. You let them know you do 1 year leases and you raise the rent typically every two years. Its an equation that will earn the best returns. You’ll find low turnover and when there is turnover, you’ve structured your lease so you have a lot of people on the market looking.