I am planning to buy my first rental property and looking at Harvest, AL. Researching on zillow, I am seeing several new properties under construction in this area with rental properties vacant for over 40 days. Wondering if the hype on this market is real and expected rents.
Realtor · Hanover Twp, PA · Member since 2018 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
2y
@Sarvani Vakkalanka, looking at specific cases like that is anecdotal information not really useful for decision making all on its own. If you can find statistics in your market for the average that would be much better.
However, you also need to consider your approach!
Some landlords focus on top dollar rental price but it takes them longer to fill their vacancy. So, the vacancy time is LONGER than it needs to be. In addition, because their rent is high tenants don't stay as long further increasing the vacancy time by increasing the frequency of turnovers. Those factors don't even take into consideration the cost to prep a unit at turnover and possible placement fees paid to an agent to find a replacement tenant.
It isn't just rent. What is the value proposition for the tenant? Do you allow pets? Provide washer/dryer? Lots of things can affect how quickly your vacancy is filled or how often tenants turnover.
So, when you think vacancy, keep in mind that YOU and the decisions you make can significantly affect the vacancy time.