Planning for Duplex Rental Vacancies.

Any experienced real estate investor will tell you that “things don’t always go as planned”. When buying a duplex as a rental, you must have realistic expectations and a cash flow reserve. Here are some specific questions related to vacancies if you buy a duplex rental:

• How will you advertise to attract tenant inquiries?
• Do you have at least a 6 month cash flow reserve if you have double vacancy?
• At what point will you drop your rental amount if no tenants show interest and what increments will you drop the price?
• Are you willing and able to occupy one side of the duplex for a period of time so that you don’t have double vacancy?

These are some quick questions to ask yourself before you get started, but ultimately it comes down to being a landlord and providing a rental that renters want to rent. That being said sometimes you just need to have some time to find a tenant; just make sure that time doesn’t stretch your bank account too thin.