Wanted to get some opinions from the insiders here. Do you have people sign a lease for a future move-in date and collect a security deposit? If you do what do you do if they try to cancel? Do you hold security? Would love to hear your insights. Thanks.
Typically, there is a deposit and/or administration fee collected at the time of application. If a future resident cancels, policy is to forfeit the deposit and/or administration fee. However, I am flexible on this policy so long as we have not held the unit off the market for a significant period of time (say, over 1 week). If someone cancels their application within a few days of leasing, I will typically refund all but their application fee (since I have to pay my screening company) just to prevent having a very unhappy customer that damages my property reputation.
