Raising Listed Rent Price After Listed or Receiving Applications

[Crystal Granger]

Hi All,

Are there any rules to raising the listed rent price after it has been listed and you've received applications on the property?  I think that the rental estimates are too low for the amount of interest I've received in my property. I'm curious if there could be any issues with raising the rent after some people have applied already. I'm in the Raleigh/Durham area of NC.

Thank you.

[Michele Fischer]

For any applicants who have already paid a screening fee, I personally would offer them the option to withdraw and refund the fee.  Otherwise I would update/repost the ad right away and notify folks already in the process.  When you show the unit, ask folks what they liked about it, try to see if there is something unique or extra marketable about your property or if the interest was mostly price based.  Figure out what you can do next time to avoid this, get better rental comps going forward.  And you could always use the high demand as an opportunity to get a high quality tentant and adjust rent at renewal.