Comments on: Getting “The Rent I Need”

By: Dave Thyfault

Dave Thyfault — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:48:04 +0000

As an owner of several rental hundred units, I never get the rent “I need” but, instead I always get the rent “I can” The market determines the rent, not me. Sometimes I even find that one building needs a different strategy than one of my other buildings. In this case, there are other things the owner could have done. 1) offer free or cheap rent for a while. 2) loosen up qualification requirements 3) lower a damage deposit. 4) accept pets 5) offer a bonus to other tenants who refer a friend 6) offer a lease with an option to buy. 7) add some pizazz to the unit like a new carpet, a microwave, new fixtures etc. make an accent wall. etc.

By: Liz

Liz — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:03:29 +0000

Sometimes a bird in the hand is better than one in the bush. I would rather have someone in a 6 month lease than have the property sit vacant for 6 months all the while hoping the tide turns.

By: Dave Sharp

Dave Sharp — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:03:54 +0000

As the article says, you need to cater to the market, not the other way around. Great illustration of the time differential of money earned over the course of several years. If that doesn’t tell landlords to keep to market rents, even when falling, then nothing will.

By: Bob

Bob — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:46:06 +0000

I have seen this with a few of my clients. Interestingly enough, one of them is a property manager for apartment complexes. She kept falling back on “I need this much” while the home sat empty for month after month. As of this writing it has been over a year. Ouch!!