First rental (was primary home) ... still no real bites since August
New to Real Estate · Boston, MA · Member since 2016 · 30 posts · 7 votes
First rental (was primary home) ... still no real bites since August
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Bruce WoodruffPro Member
Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votesQuote from @Adam Conrad:
Here's my listing: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/26-Cedar-Hill-Rd-Dover-MA... (it's listed on all the major sites).
Background: this was my SFH primary, bought a new primary, rented this one out (mortgage rate is too good). Put up rental when we moved in Aug with a local agent.
Had less than a dozen showings - only 2 applications. Both were immediate rejections (1 would not verify income, the other had a 500ish credit score).
Everyone else has either ghosted or not very interested. Scratching my head. A few things I'm assuming are the root problems:
- Suburbs like this are very based on school years. If you don't rent before school year starts, a lot less interest (and have to wait a long time until the next real estate season in spring).
- Families balked at the pet fee. I charged a $50/pet fee (common I saw on here) but they all disappeared because of that fee. Given how much I've lost in rental income, seems like a silly thing to have pushed for even if at the time it seemed smart (most had multiple pets, and at least 1 high-risk pet).
So is it just a matter of taking the losses on the chin and waiting until deals pick up January (or even as late as March?). What to do in the meantime?
i would not compromise my rules or fees just to rent it sooner. Nothing is worse than a bad tenant, even losing few months of rental income....IMHO.
33 Replies
- 9moBruce WoodruffPro MemberContractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votesUltimately, if your property is not renting (or selling), it comes down to price. You can allow pets or not, still comes down to price.
Quote from @Adam Conrad:
Here's my listing: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/26-Cedar-Hill-Rd-Dover-MA... (it's listed on all the major sites).
Background: this was my SFH primary, bought a new primary, rented this one out (mortgage rate is too good). Put up rental when we moved in Aug with a local agent.
Had less than a dozen showings - only 2 applications. Both were immediate rejections (1 would not verify income, the other had a 500ish credit score).
Everyone else has either ghosted or not very interested. Scratching my head. A few things I'm assuming are the root problems:
- Suburbs like this are very based on school years. If you don't rent before school year starts, a lot less interest (and have to wait a long time until the next real estate season in spring).
- Families balked at the pet fee. I charged a $50/pet fee (common I saw on here) but they all disappeared because of that fee. Given how much I've lost in rental income, seems like a silly thing to have pushed for even if at the time it seemed smart (most had multiple pets, and at least 1 high-risk pet).
So is it just a matter of taking the losses on the chin and waiting until deals pick up January (or even as late as March?). What to do in the meantime?
i would not compromise my rules or fees just to rent it sooner. Nothing is worse than a bad tenant, even losing few months of rental income....IMHO.- MD/DC · Member since 2024 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes9mo
Agree it almost always comes down to price and not the price of the pet fee. People shopping for $7,000 month rental didn't ghost you due to the pet fee or at least not without attempting to negotiate it. Keeping a property based on mortgage rate is often a mistake if it isn't solid rental material. 5 months of zero income have probably negated that saving. If it hasn't rented I would consider listing after the first of the year and take advantage of owner occupied capital gains exclusion?
- New to Real Estate · Boston, MA · Member since 2016 · 30 posts · 7 votes9mo
Quote from @Jules Aton:
Agree it almost always comes down to price and not the price of the pet fee. People shopping for $7,000 month rental didn't ghost you due to the pet fee or at least not without attempting to negotiate it. Keeping a property based on mortgage rate is often a mistake if it isn't solid rental material. 5 months of zero income have probably negated that saving. If it hasn't rented I would consider listing after the first of the year and take advantage of owner occupied capital gains exclusion?
That was the thought - if we can't get renters we'll move to sell for the spring
- Huntsville, AL · Member since 2018 · 577 posts · 864 votes9mo
@Adam Conrad - first off, very nice looking property.
I know nothing about your area - so let's stick to basics.
1. location - is your area common for rentals? Or simply put, is your area too pricey for a rental (aka everyone who wants to live there easily has the means to buy?). I would suspect someone who can afford $7,000 a month for rent probably is going to just buy a property instead. Your listing agent should be knowledgable in this realm - what have they said? How many rentals does your listing agent manage?
2. price - as @Bruce Woodruff said, you need to drop the price if you are getting minimal interest. However, at that price point, I would expect less showings and more of simply "waiting for the right renter"
3. Have you thought about getting your property placed with a disaster placement agency? At that price point, a family being placed there for insurance reasons while their property is being fixed may be a viable option
4. Simply put, some areas the rent to price ratio simply don't work, and you're better off selling it and moving on.
Good luck.
- New to Real Estate · Boston, MA · Member since 2016 · 30 posts · 7 votes9moIt's not frequent but it is common. Most examples include:
Quote from @Michael S.:
@Adam Conrad - first off, very nice looking property.
I know nothing about your area - so let's stick to basics.
1. location - is your area common for rentals? Or simply put, is your area too pricey for a rental (aka everyone who wants to live there easily has the means to buy?). I would suspect someone who can afford $7,000 a month for rent probably is going to just buy a property instead. Your listing agent should be knowledgable in this realm - what have they said? How many rentals does your listing agent manage?
2. price - as @Bruce Woodruff said, you need to drop the price if you are getting minimal interest. However, at that price point, I would expect less showings and more of simply "waiting for the right renter"
3. Have you thought about getting your property placed with a disaster placement agency? At that price point, a family being placed there for insurance reasons while their property is being fixed may be a viable option
4. Simply put, some areas the rent to price ratio simply don't work, and you're better off selling it and moving on.
Good luck.
- families moving from somewhere else and want to get into school system before they buy
- family is building a house down the street, want to rent in the interim
- family is displaced (burst pipes) for several months, need a place in the school system
- divorced situation, trying to downsize to stay in town
never heard of a disaster placement agency - tried googling it in MA and it just directed me to state FEMA pages, but i think it covers the situation you're talking about above (family loses home temporarily)
- Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes9mo
It’s price (as mentioned) or advertising (quality or location), that being said.
Why aren’t you using a PM? Obviously doing it yourself has put you in a hole so deep you may never get out of it. Most PMs charge about 8-10%. Let’s call it one months rent. They would have had someone placed in August September, but let’s pretend it wasn’t until October first.
So you would have saved all utilities you’ve paid in October, November, December, but we’ll ignore those too. The rent collected Oct-Dec would have paid for 3 years of PM fees. If you find someone that moves in within the next 2 weeks. You’ll manage the property for free for 3 years just to break even. What if you don’t find someone until March 1st? If you don’t know why you can’t find a tenant you can’t fix it. God forbid you get desperate and take a bad tenant. You’ll be working for free until 2030, if everything goes perfectly.
Ps. If it was advertising or screening or anything except price, you’ll probably lower your price 8-10% anyway. Then you’ll be paying to play PM.
- New to Real Estate · Boston, MA · Member since 2016 · 30 posts · 7 votes9moI didn't realize a PM would handle finding tenants as well too - I assumed they only handled upkeep for the property. Should I just look for one now?
Quote from @Bill B.:
It’s price (as mentioned) or advertising (quality or location), that being said.
Why aren’t you using a PM? Obviously doing it yourself has put you in a hole so deep you may never get out of it. Most PMs charge about 8-10%. Let’s call it one months rent. They would have had someone placed in August September, but let’s pretend it wasn’t until October first.
So you would have saved all utilities you’ve paid in October, November, December, but we’ll ignore those too. The rent collected Oct-Dec would have paid for 3 years of PM fees. If you find someone that moves in within the next 2 weeks. You’ll manage the property for free for 3 years just to break even. What if you don’t find someone until March 1st? If you don’t know why you can’t find a tenant you can’t fix it. God forbid you get desperate and take a bad tenant. You’ll be working for free until 2030, if everything goes perfectly.
Ps. If it was advertising or screening or anything except price, you’ll probably lower your price 8-10% anyway. Then you’ll be paying to play PM.
- Rental Property Investor · New Braunfels, TX · Member since 2021 · 289 posts · 256 votes9mo
Quote from @Adam Conrad:
Here's my listing: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/26-Cedar-Hill-Rd-Dover-MA... (it's listed on all the major sites).
Background: this was my SFH primary, bought a new primary, rented this one out (mortgage rate is too good). Put up rental when we moved in Aug with a local agent.
Had less than a dozen showings - only 2 applications. Both were immediate rejections (1 would not verify income, the other had a 500ish credit score).
Everyone else has either ghosted or not very interested. Scratching my head. A few things I'm assuming are the root problems:
- Suburbs like this are very based on school years. If you don't rent before school year starts, a lot less interest (and have to wait a long time until the next real estate season in spring).
- Families balked at the pet fee. I charged a $50/pet fee (common I saw on here) but they all disappeared because of that fee. Given how much I've lost in rental income, seems like a silly thing to have pushed for even if at the time it seemed smart (most had multiple pets, and at least 1 high-risk pet).
So is it just a matter of taking the losses on the chin and waiting until deals pick up January (or even as late as March?). What to do in the meantime?
I did a quick look on realtor.com and your listing is the highest price rental in Dover...
- New to Real Estate · Boston, MA · Member since 2016 · 30 posts · 7 votes9mo
Quote from @Mike Kirby:
Quote from @Adam Conrad:
Here's my listing: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/26-Cedar-Hill-Rd-Dover-MA... (it's listed on all the major sites).
Background: this was my SFH primary, bought a new primary, rented this one out (mortgage rate is too good). Put up rental when we moved in Aug with a local agent.
Had less than a dozen showings - only 2 applications. Both were immediate rejections (1 would not verify income, the other had a 500ish credit score).
Everyone else has either ghosted or not very interested. Scratching my head. A few things I'm assuming are the root problems:
- Suburbs like this are very based on school years. If you don't rent before school year starts, a lot less interest (and have to wait a long time until the next real estate season in spring).
- Families balked at the pet fee. I charged a $50/pet fee (common I saw on here) but they all disappeared because of that fee. Given how much I've lost in rental income, seems like a silly thing to have pushed for even if at the time it seemed smart (most had multiple pets, and at least 1 high-risk pet).
So is it just a matter of taking the losses on the chin and waiting until deals pick up January (or even as late as March?). What to do in the meantime?
I did a quick look on realtor.com and your listing is the highest price rental in Dover...
that's because most listings were taken off at this point. one place down the street was doing $8500/mo and another just rented at $6900/mo
- 9moTheresa HarrisPro MemberMember since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
Remove the listing and repost it. Also find out where others in your area are posting their rentals-the platform differs by area.
- Rental Property Investor · New Braunfels, TX · Member since 2021 · 289 posts · 256 votes9moHis is in the top 4 newest listings. It's priced too high for the market.
Quote from @Theresa Harris:
Remove the listing and repost it. Also find out where others in your area are posting their rentals-the platform differs by area.
- Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes9mo
Is it furnished? Looks like it from the photos and I would assume that it is at that price, but do not see where it says furnished in the listing so I can’t tell if it is just staged or what. If it is furnished I would lead with that in the first sentence. If it is not furnished I would furnish it, or take new photos without furniture. I would market to people who are looking to buy who aren’t sure exactly where they want to be in Boston metro area. Medium term lease option. Ask some top producing RE agents to send it out to their buyer clients. Advertise on furnished finder, sabbaticalhomes.com and FB marketplace if you aren’t already on those platforms. Seasonality has been working against you but will get better after the holidays. And as others have said, it’s probably priced a bit high given the lack of interest.
- Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes9mo
The house looks great , very few if any renters will keep it maintained the way you would like . Sorry , at $6900 a month your tenant pool is too small , yes it will take a long time to find someone with income high to qualify . And then odds are they were transfered to that area and need a place quickly . They may rent for a year if you are lucky , because they will buy a home . And you start the process all over again .
PS . Do you have vacant house insurance ?
- New to Real Estate · Boston, MA · Member since 2016 · 30 posts · 7 votes9mo
- 9moDan H.Pro MemberInvestor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes
it is my belief that high rent units take longer to rent Many people who can afford $6900/month can purchase a property. Combine this that Oct to Feb are the slower months. I write my leases so they do not expire in those slow months.
The pictures look pretty good, better than mine for my LTRs.
Rentometer places median rent at $5500 and an average at $6k. The rent appears to be a bit high. I am basing this both on Rentometer data and that it has not rented since August. You can keep the rent at the current price or lower the rent to get the house rented.
I am assuming it is an unfurnished LTR, but if it is a furnished rental, then list on furnished finder.
Good luck
- New to Real Estate · Boston, MA · Member since 2016 · 30 posts · 7 votes9mounfurnished LTR. when i did rentometer back in Aug the price was $7250 - I'm assuming price came down a bunch because most listings came off (that were higher priced) and because its off-season
Quote from @Dan H.:
it is my belief that high rent units take longer to rent Many people who can afford $6900/month can purchase a property. Combine this that Oct to Feb are the slower months. I write my leases so they do not expire in those slow months.
The pictures look pretty good, better than mine for my LTRs.
Rentometer places median rent at $5500 and an average at $6k. The rent appears to be a bit high. I am basing this both on Rentometer data and that it has not rented since August. You can keep the rent at the current price or lower the rent to get the house rented.I am assuming it is an unfurnished LTR, but if it is a furnished rental, then list on furnished finder.
Good luck
- 9moDan H.Pro MemberInvestor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes
Quote from @Adam Conrad:
unfurnished LTR. when i did rentometer back in Aug the price was $7250 - I'm assuming price came down a bunch because most listings came off (that were higher priced) and because its off-seasonQuote from @Dan H.:
it is my belief that high rent units take longer to rent Many people who can afford $6900/month can purchase a property. Combine this that Oct to Feb are the slower months. I write my leases so they do not expire in those slow months.
The pictures look pretty good, better than mine for my LTRs.
Rentometer places median rent at $5500 and an average at $6k. The rent appears to be a bit high. I am basing this both on Rentometer data and that it has not rented since August. You can keep the rent at the current price or lower the rent to get the house rented.I am assuming it is an unfurnished LTR, but if it is a furnished rental, then list on furnished finder.
Good luck
I am assuming it was the average that was $7200 in August. $1200/month fall seems more than a seasonal decrease. We have mild seasons, but our seasonal decrease is a couple/few hundred at most. Mostly the off season does not bring big price declines but does bring longer vacancy period. I have a unit up for rent right now. I had ~60 inquiries but only 3 people showed up at the open house and none filled out the application on the spot (in summer 60 inquiries likely would have resulted in 6 to 10 groups coming to the open house and virtually certain to have gotten an application). If they take the application I have ~1 in 5 actually submit the application. This means this unit is likely to take more than one open house to fill (a rarity for our units but not rare for December vacancies).
I fear the market rent in your area, even accounting for seasonality, has likely fallen and next spring the rents will not be as high as $7200/month.
Finding a tenant in December is challenging. Unfortunately January is only marginally better. March is typically the first month with significant increase in demand.
Good luck.
- Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes9mo
When a rental is priced right you should have multiple high credit applications within the first 2 weeks and if still up by then it is time to drop your price. For pet fee I always do $500 or $40 a month let them choose and have never had pushback on that. This is assuming your property is truly in a nice middle class or better area.
- Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes9mo
Yes. The MAIN reason I use a PM is tenant placement, I like it the least and think it’s the hardest. It also helps you avoid fair housing violations. IMHO tenant placement is 50-90% of PM’s work. Repairs 5-10%. Accounting 5-10%. Rent collection (on time and late) 5-10%. But they also put a professional face on your rental. This alone can help deter scammers and convince people it’s important to pay either on time or with late fees.
- Member since 2019 · 4 posts · 2 votes9mo
I've done thousands of rentals in Greater Boston and suburbs. In my opinion, here are the main points for you to consider
- - The local rental market is cyclical. Majority of the rental market stays on the summer cycle. The 6/1-9/1 move-in cycle would be best. You need to have 120 renewal/non renewal notice in your leases.
- - In rental markets like Dover it takes longer to rent out units. People like to buy there and not to rent. So the overall rental pool for nice, expensive houses is limited. Houses still rent but you need at least 120 days with dynamic price adjustments based on the market response. In general prices to buy there are high but rents are not, per dollar spent, because the demand to buy is high but the demand to rent is not that much.
- - The pet rent typically will not scare people away as long as everything else is in alignment with the market but if someone is adamant about it and the renters are well qualified it’d be worth it to consider waiving the pet rent. Basically you just negotiate the overall rent down a bit, which is normal if the demand is not high
- - You probably don’t need a property manager if you just want to rent out your unit. You need a real estate agent. With new regulations landlords are paying the broker’s fee in MA now. So you’ll pay 6-8% to the PM and likely additional one month’s rent when the pm rents out the unit but it would depend on finer details. Many times local pm’s work with re agents to rent out their inventory anyway. Also, often re agents can get you a bit higher rent than a pm because it's their main focus. For a pm sometimes it's easier to underprice the unit a bit and rent it quickly so they can focus on the other aspects of pm. You can also try to rent it out yourself
- - Sep 1 rental market starts drying out in mid July nowadays. If you put the house on the market in August you’ve already missed the boat. The house needs to be priced below market at this point otherwise you could be facing a multi month vacancy. You can jack up the rent to the market rate next year when you have 120 days to market the unit.
- - The market will start picking up in March so it’s unlikely you’d have much change in Jan-Feb. Houses still rent off season but it takes awhile even if it’s a great deal for a renter but lower rent definitely would help. Right now the house is priced high for off season
- - There is almost no single fam rentals inventory in Dover right now but generally you’d be sharing the renters pool with a few other nice surrounding towns. Renters who are looking in Dover are often also open to Needham, Wellesley, Sherborn etc. not just Dover
- So I’m in consensus with others, at this point you might consider lowering the rent aggressively, rent the unit until 8/31/26 and jack up the rent to market from 9/1 with 120 day notice to renew/not renew.
- Real Estate Agent · Parsippany, NJ · Member since 2013 · 186 posts · 71 votes9mo
If you aren't getting any activity, then it has to be your price. I cant see someone getting upset over a $50/mo pet fee if their base rent is $6900.
Have you thought about using a realtor to help you market the property? Here in Jersey, we rent all year round regardless of where the time falls in the school year.
I always say, stick with what you know and hire others to do what you don't. It's not worth the stress.
IMO, you should reduce your price and hire a specialist to help you.
- New to Real Estate · Boston, MA · Member since 2016 · 30 posts · 7 votes9mo
Quote from @Cheryl Schuck:
Have you thought about using a realtor to help you market the property? Here in Jersey, we rent all year round regardless of where the time falls in the school year.
I am using an agent - and they dropped the ball. That's a big part of this - they just did not do a good job. SO here I am :)
- Investor · Milwaukee - Mequon, WI · Member since 2010 · 5k+ posts · 7k+ votes9mo
It's not that simple as the posts above suggest, it's not just price. Even if you lower the rent by a grand, I don't think you will see a very different result.
I just looked at comps on Zillow and it seems like your price is in line with other listings (that are also not renting). But at 3x rent you need someone who makes over 20k a month. And financially that is pretty wasteful, most consumers will just rent a 3 bedroom apartment for half your price and then buy a house as quickly as possible.
The rental market looks like a bell shape with standard deviation and you are on the far right end; so the issue is that you have a tiny market of very, very few people who are looking to spend that much on rent. Your house does simply not meet what the mainstreammarket is looking for. It will rent eventually, but you will have very long vacancies in between. Also I suspect that these types of listings get only rented through a broker.
My verdict: sell it and buy a property that is better suited to rent.
- New to Real Estate · Boston, MA · Member since 2016 · 30 posts · 7 votes9moThis is what I'm beginning to think is the case. Which is really frustrating, my neighbor was able to rent his house easily (similar sized home, similar layout, same price as my current price, had 0% vacancy rate). In the "sell or keep" spreadsheet from BiggerPockets, its basically a wash, unless you just take the proceeds and put it in VTI, in which case it's a big win. Which I'll probably just do.
Quote from @Marcus Auerbach:
The rental market looks like a bell shape with standard deviation and you are on the far right end; so the issue is that you have a tiny market of very, very few people who are looking to spend that much on rent. Your house does simply not meet what the mainstreammarket is looking for. It will rent eventually, but you will have very long vacancies in between. Also I suspect that these types of listings get only rented through a broker.
My verdict: sell it and buy a property that is better suited to rent.
- 9moAdam BartomeoBusiness MemberReal Estate Broker · Cape Coral, FL · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
I don't know your area at all but it is likely a pricing issue. Most new owners struggle with finding the right to price to rent a property and become emotionally attached (ESPECIALLY WHEN IT WAS THEIR PRIMARY RESIDENCE).
Bartomeo Property Management4.7150 Reviews - Member since 2024 · 158 posts · 88 votes9mo
Maybe try marketing on luxury/premier platforms. I did this AI Prompt and it came up with the following along with a longer list of Luxury Real Estate Marketing Agencies and Property/Tenant Placement services. "I am trying to rent a high class house in Dover, MD at 6900 per month. What resources or services can I use to fill the vacancy given the pool of candidates is limited at that price point"
- Zillow Premier Agent, Realtor.com Luxury Portfolio, JamesEdition, Christie’s International Real Estate, Sotheby’s Realty
- Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes9mo
Quote from @Allison Park:
Maybe try marketing on luxury/premier platforms. I did this AI Prompt and it came up with the following along with a longer list of Luxury Real Estate Marketing Agencies and Property/Tenant Placement services. "I am trying to rent a high class house in Dover, MD at 6900 per month. What resources or services can I use to fill the vacancy given the pool of candidates is limited at that price point"
- Zillow Premier Agent, Realtor.com Luxury Portfolio, JamesEdition, Christie’s International Real Estate, Sotheby’s Realty
People seem to just blindly trust AI these days. You gotta do some fact-checking, especially if you're going to be sharing with others. A lot of what it spits out is trash. AI sent you to Zillow and Realtor.com which are just bottom of the barrel lead services that post MLS properties online to attract viewers and capture leads, then sell these leads to whatever agents are foolish enough to pay for them. Any agent can buy these leads, and any agent desperate enough to buy leads from Zillow right now is a terrible agent as they are not well-loved in the industry. Realtor.com leads are so bad, I don't know a single person who buys them. Generally speaking, agents who buy leads do so because they don't get enough leads organically based on being good agents. AI gave you complete garbage advice.
- Member since 2024 · 158 posts · 88 votes9mo
Quote from @Steve K.:
Quote from @Allison Park:
Maybe try marketing on luxury/premier platforms. I did this AI Prompt and it came up with the following along with a longer list of Luxury Real Estate Marketing Agencies and Property/Tenant Placement services. "I am trying to rent a high class house in Dover, MD at 6900 per month. What resources or services can I use to fill the vacancy given the pool of candidates is limited at that price point"
- Zillow Premier Agent, Realtor.com Luxury Portfolio, JamesEdition, Christie’s International Real Estate, Sotheby’s Realty
People seem to just blindly trust AI these days. You gotta do some fact-checking, especially if you're going to be sharing with others. A lot of what it spits out is trash. AI sent you to Zillow and Realtor.com which are just bottom of the barrel lead services that post MLS properties online to attract viewers and capture leads, then sell these leads to whatever agents are foolish enough to pay for them. Any agent can buy these leads, and any agent desperate enough to buy leads from Zillow right now is a terrible agent as they are not well-loved in the industry. Realtor.com leads are so bad, I don't know a single person who buys them. Generally speaking, agents who buy leads do so because they don't get enough leads organically based on being good agents. AI gave you complete garbage advice.
Steve, AI is has actually been incredibly helpful in my research for real estate. Each result has a link to the source information, so you can determine if you want to trust the source. The full results actually came back with some very specific resources in the MD area that looked promising. You would still have to vet any realtor or placing service. It would have typically taken several hours sifting through ads to do the research that you can do with one AI prompt. I wouldn't be so hasty to discount the value.
- Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes9moI have been using AI for 2.5 years and find it to be wildly inaccurate a lot of the time personally and this is a great example of how. It literally directed you to the worst course of action possible in this case, which you passed on to the OP blindly as if you had received the word of God. If you’re going to disseminate information, at least do a little fact-checking! I think most people are coming around on AI and are quickly realizing its limitations. All it does is scrape the internet for info and we all know how reliable random info on the internet is. Also it’s only as good as the prompts you give it. In this case you seem to have entered MD which is Maryland, while the property is in MA which is Massachusetts. OP would be better off with a phone book looking up random local agents than your AI advice.
Quote from @Allison Park:
Quote from @Steve K.:
Quote from @Allison Park:
Maybe try marketing on luxury/premier platforms. I did this AI Prompt and it came up with the following along with a longer list of Luxury Real Estate Marketing Agencies and Property/Tenant Placement services. "I am trying to rent a high class house in Dover, MD at 6900 per month. What resources or services can I use to fill the vacancy given the pool of candidates is limited at that price point"
- Zillow Premier Agent, Realtor.com Luxury Portfolio, JamesEdition, Christie’s International Real Estate, Sotheby’s Realty
People seem to just blindly trust AI these days. You gotta do some fact-checking, especially if you're going to be sharing with others. A lot of what it spits out is trash. AI sent you to Zillow and Realtor.com which are just bottom of the barrel lead services that post MLS properties online to attract viewers and capture leads, then sell these leads to whatever agents are foolish enough to pay for them. Any agent can buy these leads, and any agent desperate enough to buy leads from Zillow right now is a terrible agent as they are not well-loved in the industry. Realtor.com leads are so bad, I don't know a single person who buys them. Generally speaking, agents who buy leads do so because they don't get enough leads organically based on being good agents. AI gave you complete garbage advice.
Steve, AI is has actually been incredibly helpful in my research for real estate. Each result has a link to the source information, so you can determine if you want to trust the source. The full results actually came back with some very specific resources in the MD area that looked promising. You would still have to vet any realtor or placing service. It would have typically taken several hours sifting through ads to do the research that you can do with one AI prompt. I wouldn't be so hasty to discount the value.
- Real Estate Agent · Parsippany, NJ · Member since 2013 · 186 posts · 71 votes9mo
Find someone who does a lot of rentals. A lot of agents can't be bothered and it shows. If you can find yourself an agent who specializes in rentals, you will be better cared for.
Also, it always comes down to price, so do yourself a favor and interview a few realtors and get their price opinion. Then interview them. Ask about the market, their history with rentals and get a feel for their personality. It's always important for to have a good relationship with your agent. Otherwise it will never work.
- Member since 2024 · 158 posts · 88 votes9mo
Steve,
I just brought it up as additional tool to leverage. So far the advice given is to drop the rent price or find a tenant placement service. In that case the OP will need to do research. I am sorry you have been getting a lot of inaccurate data. In my case it has been incredibly useful. You have to validate the sources. Closing off this conversation as I don't want to go too far off topic.
- Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes9mo
OP, the 2 most profitable rentals in my portfolio (by far) are former primaries very similar to yours. Here is what we have done to make them successful: we left them furnished and are open to flexible lease terms (30+ days because we don't have STR licenses which would be required and we don't have the time/ aren't set up for STR). We are priced similar to yours but are on the lower end of the price range for rentals in that location (competitors are more luxury and are in the $10-12k range). We have had very, very low vacancy. I market them among my network of investors and agents exclusively and am usually able to fill the unit with either a buyer who I am working with who is just beginning to learn the market and looking eventually to buy, or an active buyer I connect with through one of my colleagues. These buyers generally take 6 months to 2 years to find the right property to buy, so that is our average tenancy and our longest was 3 years (not bad IMO). Originally I had it listed on Furnished Finder, sabbaticalhomes.com, and FB marketplace but have not needed to use those platforms in 5 years as it has always been filled either by tenants asking if their friend can move in when they move out/ local word of mouth, or by folks who are shopping to buy who came to me through my own lead funnel or that of my colleagues at my office.
Without being an agent yourself?, you could replicate our model by finding a local agent to partner with who has a lot of buyers and works for a large brokerage that is very collaborative. In my area your best bet would be Compass which has over 50% of the market share here and we have our own private platform where we collab to connect buyers and sellers, refer tradespeople, help place tenants and share our rental listings, etc. I don’t know who that would be in your area but can do some quick research and make a referral if you would like.
Perhaps an agent who works a lot with Wellesley college professors or one of the other large employers in your area would be ideal? They will know people moving to the area who will be your perfect renter, but I think it will be easier to rent to this demographic if it is furnished (profs on sabbatical, home buyers who are shopping, professionals relocating for business who aren’t ready to buy just yet).Overall, converting our former primaries has been a great move as they are in prime locations where people want to live and both rent appreciation and value appreciation have been tremendous.
One thing you will want to factor in is your section 121 cap gains tax exclusion up to $250k per individual or $500k/ married couple which is good for 3 years assuming you lived there for at least 2 years. We made the decision to let that expire and not sell prior to the 3 year mark because the properties were performing so well and the cash flow combined with forecasted appreciation exceeded the cap gains tax exclusion of $500k, ymmv. We may move back in for 2 years prior to selling when the time comes to take advantage of that, but for now will keep renting them. Just something to consider.
Not sure how much of that is applicable to your situation but that is what has worked for us. I think if you find the right local agent, they will get it rented for you. Research the top producers for that specific product, ideally at a large collaborative brokerage that has a lot of local market share. If you mention you will use them to buy and sell also (sound like you need a new agent anyway?) they will be more incentivized to help with a rental (most top producers don’t do rentals). Network with top producers and within your community. Our best renters have come to us organically this way, which is important also because I am very protective of these properties compared to our lower end rentals.
Anyway hopefully that helps, just my experience of what has worked for us, human to human no AI needed. Do not follow the above advice from AI/ someone reposting AI slop and resort to entering your info into Zillow or Realtor.com. They are just lead-capture websites that sell leads to mostly desperate beginner agents who can’t get their own leads. Funny how the supposedly latest and greatest technology just sent the above poster to outdated technology (Zillow is on its way out and realtor.com hasn’t been good for many years now, but I digress). Hope that helps and good luck!
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