What Is the Cost of Vacancy, or Vacancy Loss — and How Do I Measure It Properly?
Vacancy is one of the most misunderstood expenses in rental investing, especially among independent or first-time landlords.
While it’s easy to focus on visible costs like repairs or management fees, vacancy quietly erodes profits faster than almost anything else.
When a home sits empty, you’re still responsible for:
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Mortgage, taxes, and insurance
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HOA dues and utilities
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Ongoing maintenance and yard care
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Lost rent that can never be recovered
Even a few extra weeks of vacancy each year can wipe out thousands of dollars in net income.
Understanding and Prioritizing Costs
We discuss this topic in detail in the following articles:
These resources explain why vacancy deserves top priority in every owner’s financial strategy — and how even small improvements in turnaround time can dramatically increase ROI.
Measure Your Own Vacancy Loss
To make it easier to calculate your personal numbers, we partnered with OpenAI’s ChatGPT to build a simple, powerful tool that does the math for you:
👉 Try the MoveZen Vacancy Loss Calculator →
This calculator helps you visualize how much vacancy really costs — not just in lost rent, but in long-term return and opportunity.
The Bottom Line
Vacancy is the silent killer of rental profits.
Managing your pricing, communication, and make-ready process efficiently will save you far more than any repair or management discount ever could.
Understanding and controlling vacancy isn’t just smart — it’s the core of profitable property management.