I had a potential boarder come out and look at the place on Saturday (6/25), she seemed to really like everything, mentioned that she wanted to look at a few other places since she had never really had to look for another place to keep her horse. She took a copy of the contract and said she would call me sometime next week. It’s Friday (7/1) and I haven’t heard anything. Should I text her (this is how we set up the meeting) and ask if she’s made a decision or what’s going on? If I should ask, should I ask now or wait a little longer? Or should I just advertise for the spot since I haven’t heard anything? Any other boarder I’ve had came and looked at the place and pretty much told me they were moving their horses or they called me back and said they were boarding somewhere else. I don’t want to wait forever, but I also don’t want to make it seem like she’s not welcome if she is intending to board with me. Any help appreciated!!! Thanks!
Call her on the phone. Ask her if she’s made a decision and if she hasn’t say you need her decision by <insert date> since you have other interested parties.
How long do you think is reasonable? 7-10 days?
If she has not contacted you and it has been a week, speak to her and ask for her decision. If she is still not wanting to commit, tell her that in that case you must readvertise the space. IMO, if she has not called you back in 7 days she probably doesn’t want the stall.
Hmm, I’ve never held a stall, or as a boarder, expected one to be held without without a security deposit.
As a manager, I would not take a stall off the market without one being paid and a signed contract returned. As a boarder, I always offer one, or post date a check when I returned the signed lease.
I would approach this like selling a horse - if no money has changed hands, i.e. no deposit, the stall is still on the market.
I would keep advertising. I wouldn’t hold a stall for someone without a deposit & signed contract except for a client that already had horses boarded with me. It’s NBD, it’s just that someone saying they like the place, taking a copy of the contract, and saying they will get back to you doesn’t equal any kind of commitment for either party.
If you haven’t heard from her by the time she said she would call, time to make the stall available. These days, people enthuse in the moment, and forget that moment as soon as they are into the next moment. No matter how genuine they seem at the time, don’t take it too seriously unless they follow up almost right away.
The best way to avoid getting hung up on other people’s lack of communication is to always always give a date certain for their response and always stick to it. Both parties know where they stand. 
Better yet, let people know you don’t hold stalls. First person who meets your criteria and commits with cash, gets the stall. If someone is serious about boarding with you, they will be motivated not to delay.
If she has not confirmed her spot via a deposit and signed contract, keep aggressively marketing the open spot. Every day that stall sits empty is costing you money. Her indecision is not your problem. I’d suspect that if she really intended to move in, she would have contacted you by now.
I am always very upfront with these things, as in, I really like your facility, but I have one more I want to check out on Wednesday. I’ll have a decision by Thursday and will let you know one way or another. I understand that you can’t hold the stall without a check, and that’s fine.
This is why I personally always tell people that if you haven’t heard from me by Date I’ve found another option/aren’t interested/whatever reason. Saves me having to communicate with them, saves them the wondering. But alas, the world doesn’t work that way.
If you want to send a text I think something along the lines of “hi, I hope your barn searching is going well. I haven’t heard back from you whether or not you want to board at my place so I’m preparing to advertise the open space. If you would like it I will need a deposit by Date. If you’ve found somewhere else, just let me know :)”
Then, in the future, let people know the stall is only available until someone hands you a deposit for it, and if they want it their deposit needs to be first 
None, really. Deposit or move on!
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How long do you think is reasonable? 7-10 days?[/QUOTE]
One additional weekend. If you’re looking at barns locally, two weekends of barn shopping is sufficient time to see enough options to decide if you want to move in or not. I would contact her today and say you will be aggressively advertising the stall again on Monday unless you receive a commitment from her before then.
This is all assuming you really like the potential boarder and she’s worth holding a stall for. As others said, you’re under no obligation to hold the stall at all until a contract is signed/deposit is given. But I certainly wouldn’t hold it longer than this weekend.
As a boarder, it has always been my understanding that unless I put down money and signed something, the stall was available to anyone else who came by and made a decision faster than I did.
I would continue to advertise the stall. She may not have made up her mind, she may have decided that your barn isn’t a match with her needs, or she may have found something else – or she may come running back to you saying, “no, no, I want the stall!” But unless you told her you would hold the stall open for her for x days while she looked around, you don’t owe her anything. A text or a phone call would be very nice of you, and certainly more than is required.
When I provided boarding, any advertised stall was available until signed contract and first and last month’s board were received. First acceptable boarder to provide those got the open stall.
I made the mistake once of holding a stall for someone without payment. She dithered and dallied and there was this issue and that … it was a giant cluster, and in the meantime, another potential boarder took a slot at a barn I recommended when I believed the open stall had been filled.
As a previous boarder and now one who boards horses at my place, I whole heartedly believe its first come first serve. Stall goes to the first person who gives me the money
Also for what it is worth, the last time I was board-shopping, I found a barn that was on my ‘best options’ list with an open stall, but I still needed to look at a few others. I accelerated my looking because I knew that if I wanted the stall at the barn I liked, I had better move fast or risk losing it. So the hurry-up looking meant there was a lot of driving all over the county and that was all I did for a couple of days.
The third day after I looked at it I phoned the BO to confirm I wanted it. In a cheerful and friendly way she said she would be happy for me to take it, but that she did not hold stalls until she had a signed contract and the $$. I told her I would be there the next morning as early as she could meet with me, to sign & pay! That turned out to be just after her 6:30 am lesson, as she would not be on the premises before that.
If people are serious, they won’t make you wait. As said, even if they sound enthused and serious in the moment, that doesn’t mean that will last after they see the next one.
I wouldn’t stop advertising until check is in hand or cleared. I wouldn’t call, if they were interested they’d have contacted you, generally.
Agree with the other posters - some barns advertise boarding all the time whether they have stalls or not. Should other potential boarders be interested, you can let them know another person was interested - call the 1st person out of courtesy and let the other person know something within 24 hours. If another potential boarder is interested and ready to sign a contract, I don’t know that I’d hold the stall for the first person if you hadn’t heard a peep from them since they saw your facility. You snooze you lose as they say.
Money holds stalls, not vague promises. If you dont have cashola in hand keep advertising and get a boarder in there. Money talks, BS walks.
If she wanted that stall, she would let you know.
Do you think she would be a good fit for your barn? I would be more willing to be flexible if I actually wanted her as a client. I would call her and ask if she’s made a decision, and if she hasn’t decided, tell her you need to know by x date.
There’s no reason you can’t continue to advertise in the interim, however. (Unless you’re paying for advertising, then I could understand not wanting to pay for an advertisement).
But yeah, if she seems like a person you would want to have in your barn, that is more important than “first person to give a deposit”, in my opinion. But I’m pretty picky about who I let board with me. So far, nobody has made the cut 
