L&G - My old lady and relocated to Denver, CO last year from Calgary, AB. We managed to somehow rent our small condo out before we left last May for $1600/mo., which was slightly above market in a depressed economy and a complete renters market. The market has slightly improved since then, but it is still a renters market.
The tenants have been in there for almost a year now and have paid entirely on time with no issues, and are due up at the end of May. My question is given the circumstances of a down market there, when do we approach them for a renewal, how do we do it, and how much do we ask? Should we wait for the traditional 45-60 days, or start now? Should we offer to reduce the rent (market would be about $1475-1500) and if so how much? Should we offer one month free for a year renewal at the same rate, or just send an email to get a feeler on where they are at? The condo doesn't really need anything to it so I'm not sure we could offer improvements to the unit as an incentive. We can't sell the unit for at least another year based on a crappy loan that was taken out at the time.
Any input would be appreciated.