Having a hard time finding tenants for my rental my unit.

[Diana Costta]

Dear BP investors,

I have a duplex in Ohio and I put an 1/1 unit on the market for rent. It has been on the market for more than a month, my PM told me to consider decreasing the rent, but I see competitors in the area charging the same amount for the same type of unit. My question is: what strategies do you usually employ to get tenants in situations like this? and how long do you wait to see if a strategy is working or not (2 weeks)? Thank you.

[Nathan Gesner]

@Diana Costta if Rentometer is telling you the property is worth $XXX, then see if they'll rent it from you.

You're basing expectations on a computer algorithm. That computer does not know the size of rooms, layout, noise levels, condition of the yard, smells, paint colors, or the other 72 variables that impact a renter's decision-making process. Are the others higher quality? Better location? Better layout? Larger square footage? Across from a park? Walking distance to the local watering hole? Do they include some utilities? Maybe they include a washer/dryer whereas you only have hookups (or nothing)?

You "estimate" your rental is worth $XXX. It sits vacant in a HOT market for two weeks without a single qualified applicant. That's a good indication you're priced too high. You may see other rentals that appear comparable to yours, but there's obviously something that attracts renters to something else, so you need to figure out what that is or reduce your price to make yours more attractive.