can't find a tenant
Member since 2023 · 17 posts · 12 votes
can't find a tenant
Most Popular Reply
Ned J.Pro Member
Investor · Manteca, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votesMost common...
Price is too high.... this can be relative to the area and condition of the property
Marketing is poor..... place not clean, renovated, bad pictures, bad listing info, criteria is way off for the class of neighborhood
You have a PM..... what are you paying them for?
75 Replies
- 3yAndreas MuellerBusiness MemberReal Estate Agent · Nashville, TN · Member since 2019 · 376 posts · 181 votes
Hello! Gosh sorry to hear this story, thats frustrating! I would Fire your PM and hire someone who knows what they are doing. Find someone and ask for referrals to see what their current clients are saying about the PM candidate. Interview 3 and pick one. I know this kind of stuff can be frustrating so Let's get you back in the real estate game! Happy to chat offline too, feel free to DM me.
- Investor · Wichita Falls, TX · Member since 2014 · 382 posts · 123 votes3y
I do agree with an above post are you do have quite the book written on the Zillow app. 1.start with the size of the home deposit information. pets yes or no
if they are interested, then they will utilize the app to put in an application.
once they get to that app after you approve them then you can present renter insurance ect
the first thing a tenant is going to look for is where is the house located ? Obviously they clicked on your link so if the location was OK with them they’re gonna want to know the size of the home, how many rooms bathrooms etc. pets accepted and of course the rent and the deposit amount then if they are interested, they will go to the link and apply and I do feel the application fee may be a little high as well I don’t know what your area charges , but that fee may be a little high and is it refundable if they are not accepted?
Best of luck getting a great tenant!!
- Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes3y
Thank you for the link. I think you're considerably over priced. Inside looks great. Your outside pics are horrible. Get rid of those garbage cans. Re-side the house, whatever you need to do to get things looking uniform and professional, and show some pride. The old google street view shows a fairly ok street with side walks and greenery. The bush was removed along with all privacy. Maybe re-plant some tall shrubs or arboritve in front, or some kind of see thru wood screen, I don't know. Fix the railing. Clean up those wires in front. Mow the grass and make it green. Show some pride or reduce to it to $550. There's others here that are much better than I for suggestions increasing appeal. Based on the nieghborhood you don't want to go all out, but you def need to pay more attention to the outside. Man, if I bought a place for 44k I'd be ecstatic making $500 right off the bat, more so at $900. Ohio opportunity is unreal if you can get that. It'll work out, good luck.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4648-E-173rd-St-Cleveland-OH-44128/33445282_zpid/?
- Real Estate Agent · Tipp City, OH · Member since 2018 · 65 posts · 35 votes3y
Your property manager should be able to answer any questions you have. Since you are asking in this forum, I'm assuming your property manager hasn't given you the answers you're looking for. I think you should look into finding a better PM.
I have had good luck marketing rentals with FaceBook Marketplace, I typically have hundreds of messages within a week.
- Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes3y
Maybe a drone overhead pic highlighting that beautiful park in the back. Great for kids and joggers. Write a nice description. "Established nieghborhood close to parks and amenities, trader joes, lowes, blah bblah, 6 miles to downtown,, etc etc, large backyard for cook outs and bbq. Dont overhype, smooth sale with facts.
- Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2020 · 294 posts · 142 votes3y
@Audrey Peltier
Typical PM ad, loaded with too many fees and undesirables. Does not make anyone interested in the property.
Compare ad to this one, also posted by PM but reads like an actual owner posted it
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4320-E-167th-St-APT-C-Cleveland-OH-44128/2106926058_zpid/?utm_campaign=iosappmessage&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=txtshare
- Rental Property Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes3y
@Audrey Peltier wow. Maybe lower the rent?
- Rental Property Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes3y
@Audrey Peltier surprising at that low of a price. Is it a tough area
- Real Estate Agent · Nashville, TN · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes3y
Quote from @Eliott Elias:
What does your property manager say? Rental demand has decreased significantly.
What market are you seeing rental demand decrease?
My local market you have to apply same day if you want to get a rental. Ton of demand.
- Investor · Fort Washington, MD · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes3y
People here can speculate and the perspectives are solid but it's actually no way of being sure. That is the problem with buying stuff out of town. The most important thing is to know your neighborhood and community. Some get by, by having competent and professional teams on the ground but in general it's hard. People all over the world try to invest in Baltimore not knowing anything about the place besides stuff on a google search. I specialize in low income neighborhoods and it could be a wide range of problems. However, from the basic stuff I see my hypothesis would deem that you have an incompetent PM. In most low income communities quality PMs wont take them and many who are willing are either jackasses or inept. In addition to that, many of these communities have the lowest (SOME) element that are willing to be there. A lot of people willing to play ball are either very familiar with it or have nowhere else to go. This means you have taken the majority of potential tenants off the playing field. Your incompetent manager most likely doesnt effectively screen or may not care. This person destroyed your garage with leans more to my theory. A combination of no viable property management, not understanding the neighborhood, inability to screen and a very low threshold of quality people to select, it creates a cluster f. Of course I cant be certain but it sounds close to what I see often. No matter what the case may be, Id advise going to this location and learn as much as you can in regard to what is going on. Many of mine are out of town and I visit often and I do have solid PMs. Next, start networking with people from the area. Build up a reliable and credible network. Start to talk to them about everything and eventually start getting referrals for decent PMs. Good luck and sorry about the current circumstance.
- Investor · Cleveland · Member since 2022 · 58 posts · 41 votes3y
Quote from @Audrey Peltier:
Thank you for all your responses.
I have not been really happy with the PM, even if I pay 10%.
Here the link. I'm ready for your honest thoughts.
First of all, this area is not for freshman, out of state investors. There are two empty lots right in front of your property and a few vacants on the block. You need a S8 play here to make things work.
What this implies is that you need to focus on your team. Given that you had a PM at first which you now you don't, that the garage was destroyed, and that the current PM is struggling to rent it, I will again double down on the idea that the PM is mostly the problem. Namely, YOUR PM selection has been deficient.
You need to focus on that. You need someone with proven experience in that area who has a solid plan. I'm sure you will get plenty of offers here, make sure you explore those options and other and to also ask the right questions (educate yourself on what those are).
Wishing you the best of luck.
- Real Estate Agent · Puyallup, WA · Member since 2022 · 551 posts · 378 votes3y
Everyone is talking about price but parts of Cleveland are STRUGGLING right now. It may be priced a little high but an updated 3bed SF for $915....? What is the zip?
- Rental Property Investor · Beavercreek OH · Member since 2018 · 422 posts · 970 votes3y
Quote from @Audrey Peltier:
Hi all!
This is my first time posting something here. I'm kind a newbie. I bought my first and only rental 2 years ago in Cleveland (I live in CA). The former PM found a tenant quickly. They left in December (without paying the last month). I had to spend a lot of money to renovate the house and the garage was totally destroyed.
The new PM can't find a new tenant (32 days on the market and 216 view but no application) and right now I am hemorrhaging money.
It is a single family home - 3 bd/1ba - 993 sqft - with backyard. $915/month
Do you have any advice?
Decent house with the exception of the horrible look of patched-in siding on the rear of the house, pictured no less. Garage is also a mess. I would re-side the back of the home and clean up the garage.
Pricing seems fine compared to others in the area but the listing is very poorly done. I'm always amazed at how many property owners and managers have no idea on how to write an add. It's supposed to help you sell your property to perspective renters, not scare them away. Why would any property manager list every utility the tenant has to pay separately? Just say utilities not included. What's with the $129 fee and $30 monthly tenant benefit package? You're trying to rent a C class home, not a room at the Plaza. Get rid of all the legalese and junk fees and you'll be fine.
IMHO,
Gary
- Member since 2023 · 17 posts · 12 votes3y
Quote from @Gary L Wallman:
Quote from @Audrey Peltier:
Hi all!
This is my first time posting something here. I'm kind a newbie. I bought my first and only rental 2 years ago in Cleveland (I live in CA). The former PM found a tenant quickly. They left in December (without paying the last month). I had to spend a lot of money to renovate the house and the garage was totally destroyed.
The new PM can't find a new tenant (32 days on the market and 216 view but no application) and right now I am hemorrhaging money.
It is a single family home - 3 bd/1ba - 993 sqft - with backyard. $915/month
Do you have any advice?
Decent house with the exception of the horrible look of patched-in siding on the rear of the house, pictured no less. Garage is also a mess. I would re-side the back of the home and clean up the garage.
Pricing seems fine compared to others in the area but the listing is very poorly done. I'm always amazed at how many property owners and managers have no idea on how to write an add. It's supposed to help you sell your property to perspective renters, not scare them away. Why would any property manager list every utility the tenant has to pay separately? Just say utilities not included. What's with the $129 fee and $30 monthly tenant benefit package? You're trying to rent a C class home, not a room at the Plaza. Get rid of all the legalese and junk fees and you'll be fine.
IMHO,
Gary
The garage is being renovated entirely.
I tried to make the PM change the ads but they won't move.
Look at their answer:
All of our rental listings are listed in the same format, to make prospective tenants truly aware of all costs, processess, etc that go into securing a home. We have never had an issue or complaint with the set-up of our marketing ads. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I'm unable to adjust the listing. We have also found that most tenants appreciate the full transparency, so they can fully get a breakdown of costs before viewing a unit/signing a lease. - Rental Property Investor · Beavercreek OH · Member since 2018 · 422 posts · 970 votes3y
Quote from @Audrey Peltier:
Quote from @Gary L Wallman:
Quote from @Audrey Peltier:
Hi all!
This is my first time posting something here. I'm kind a newbie. I bought my first and only rental 2 years ago in Cleveland (I live in CA). The former PM found a tenant quickly. They left in December (without paying the last month). I had to spend a lot of money to renovate the house and the garage was totally destroyed.
The new PM can't find a new tenant (32 days on the market and 216 view but no application) and right now I am hemorrhaging money.
It is a single family home - 3 bd/1ba - 993 sqft - with backyard. $915/month
Do you have any advice?
Decent house with the exception of the horrible look of patched-in siding on the rear of the house, pictured no less. Garage is also a mess. I would re-side the back of the home and clean up the garage.
Pricing seems fine compared to others in the area but the listing is very poorly done. I'm always amazed at how many property owners and managers have no idea on how to write an add. It's supposed to help you sell your property to perspective renters, not scare them away. Why would any property manager list every utility the tenant has to pay separately? Just say utilities not included. What's with the $129 fee and $30 monthly tenant benefit package? You're trying to rent a C class home, not a room at the Plaza. Get rid of all the legalese and junk fees and you'll be fine.
IMHO,
Gary
The garage is being renovated entirely.
I tried to make the PM change the ads but they won't move.
Look at their answer:
All of our rental listings are listed in the same format, to make prospective tenants truly aware of all costs, processess, etc that go into securing a home. We have never had an issue or complaint with the set-up of our marketing ads. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I'm unable to adjust the listing. We have also found that most tenants appreciate the full transparency, so they can fully get a breakdown of costs before viewing a unit/signing a lease.I'd tell your PM "You may not be able to change your ad, but I can change you". Then do it.
Gary
- Member since 2023 · 17 posts · 12 votes3y
Thank you all for your responses.
I have a lot to think of and work on...
- Rental Property Investor · San Francisco Bay Area · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes3y
Quote from @Ned J.:
Not familiar with the Cleveland market and that area but here is my opinion of your listing....
Looks really nice inside...small but well done, clean etc. Good pictures
Outside.....not familiar with area, so this may be the "norm" ....but needs some work.
Overview... start with the property description at the top You want to "hype" all the great stuff first..... you want to SELL the listing......the current layout has a LOT of "you have to pay for this...submit this...apply to this" info first. Its take a long scroll down to get to the stuff that makes the unit appealing....the stuff that makes the "sale". A lot of tenants aren't going to scroll that far down. I was turned off by all the "you have to do all this stuff" info right off the bat. You need to include that info, but it should be more abbreviated and at the bottom AFTER you have peaked a tenants interest
You have views but something is not making prospects go to the next step
This is spot on! Put the positive things about the house and neighborhood at the beginning of the ad. Remove trash/recycle cans from the exterior photos. The inside photos look nice. And get a new PM
- Member since 2021 · 11 posts · 4 votes3y
Quote from @Bob S.:
Quote from @Audrey Peltier:
Hi all!
This is my first time posting something here. I'm kind a newbie. I bought my first and only rental 2 years ago in Cleveland (I live in CA). The former PM found a tenant quickly. They left in December (without paying the last month). I had to spend a lot of money to renovate the house and the garage was totally destroyed.
The new PM can't find a new tenant (32 days on the market and 216 view but no application) and right now I am hemorrhaging money.
It is a single family home - 3 bd/1ba - 993 sqft - with backyard. $915/month
Do you have any advice?
you need a new PM, Tenants are the easy part, I have many rental there and get 20 calls a week, More than happy to refer you
Hi Bob,
May I ask whom do you recommend for property management in Cleveland?
- Developer · Houston TX · Member since 2018 · 423 posts · 400 votes3y
If rent and location are not the issues and you have had over 200 views then maybe you need to get a Google number or call from another number into the line to the listing for your property and pretend to be someone interested in the property. See how the property management handles your call and your questions. Sometimes prospects make a decision just on how the management handles their call before stepping into the property. You can see how responsive your management team is. Are they even taking calls or returning voicemails? Since this is your first time working with them you are going through this blindly given you are out of state investor. BP promotes out-of-state investing as being easy but as I am sure you are finding not having a strong team is taxing. Hope you are able to get a renter in there soon.
Best of luck
- Real Estate Consultant · Cleveland · Member since 2020 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes3y
Quote from @Joel Rosa:
Quote from @Bob S.:
Quote from @Audrey Peltier:
Hi all!
This is my first time posting something here. I'm kind a newbie. I bought my first and only rental 2 years ago in Cleveland (I live in CA). The former PM found a tenant quickly. They left in December (without paying the last month). I had to spend a lot of money to renovate the house and the garage was totally destroyed.
The new PM can't find a new tenant (32 days on the market and 216 view but no application) and right now I am hemorrhaging money.
It is a single family home - 3 bd/1ba - 993 sqft - with backyard. $915/month
Do you have any advice?
you need a new PM, Tenants are the easy part, I have many rental there and get 20 calls a week, More than happy to refer you
Hi Bob,
May I ask whom do you recommend for property management in Cleveland?
Hi how many do you have there ?
- 3yKerry Noble JrPro MemberInvestor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
Where are they marketing?
- Real Estate Broker · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 6k+ votes3y
@Audrey Peltier I am curious what PM has had to say on this, as others mentioned, because the PM should be giving exact details what's going on and there input. And how they are communicating, what they are saying, could quickly tell myself and many of us if there a garbage PM or if it's situational.
But to give some insight, I will detail the process here a bit, which will identify the issue when followed.
marketing for a new tenant is not a singular data point action of finding a tenant or not. And the data points in the flow directly tell us what we need to do, if anything.
(1st) Step 1 is the base level of marketing a property which is a simple concept for success of getting it seen by as many eyes as possible. At this point we look at how many sites is our listing syndicated upon, and how many views in total # are we getting. Depending on market size we will know how many views per day, 3 day, week we expect to be getting. If we are not getting that view count, this tells us there is either (a) an issue in the market place or (b) we need to adjust our photos. maybe photo quality OR it could be the leading photo. Or possibly headline edits. At this level it's just headline and that first photo, because we are just looking at how many views are we getting.
(2nd) Next we are looking at listing engagement. How many are viewing and then inquiring, be that calling or scheduling for showing, and how many just view and leave. We obviously want a good conversion rate and again, depending on market and seasonality, we will know a healthy conversion rate. If falling below that, it can indicate again our marketing material, maybe terms such as no pets in a market pet-heavy. Or, priced too high. So for low conversion, we start with simple stuff, adjust marketing collateral and then measure results. If results adjust, we know that we need to focus better on that marketing component. If after several edits it has no effect, we know it's more fundamental factors such as pricing or terms.
(3rd) Showings. We know how many showings we are looking for in a given market per 3/4 day cycle, and how many booked showings to views. But at this point we are looking at conversion rate of attended showings to cancelations. If we have a high % of showing cancelations/no-shows, we know they were just non-serious tire kickers which indicates our offering is non-competitive in the market, that it was not an offering worth giving a squat about. Most often this is our BIGGEST indicator on price/terms. Getting a showing is often about marketing piece but actually completing a showing is mostly about price/terms. So if you have a cancelation/no-show rate of 50%+, yes your price/terms are not-competitive and it's time to revamp, no doubt.
(4th) Showings too app's. We never expect a 1:1 ratio, if we get that we actually get a bit down on ourselves because we know we under-priced it. Yeah, app's are great but we are really a more healthy ratio is about 50%-65% showings too app's, if have done everything else correctly. If we are getting a showing too app ratio under 50%, we know we have issues. It could be condition, or price/terms. How we find out, we ask. We have an exit survey of every showing, and we ask in person. What people tell us via auto-email/text vs in person does not always match, people generally say nicer things in person so it's important to have that auto exit survey to get the "ugly" replies. When asking in person we can often find out if feelings is price/terms.
This is the process every "good" PM follows, or should, for a listing. You will see, we are VERY data driven, there is very limited guess work, it's about how to collect the data and how to listen to the data, it will tell us everything we need to know.
Your PM should be having data based conversations with you, pointing out where in this chain things are not going good, what the bad data is, and what they believe it is indicating, along with there advisory of what to do. If PM is saying "well golly-gosh gee-whiz we just ain't getting no tenant's, hummm, hey, let's IDK, lower price, maybe" it's time for a new PM.
- Investor · Cleveland · Member since 2022 · 58 posts · 41 votes3y
Quote from @Audrey Peltier:
Quote from @Gary L Wallman:
Quote from @Audrey Peltier:
Hi all!
This is my first time posting something here. I'm kind a newbie. I bought my first and only rental 2 years ago in Cleveland (I live in CA). The former PM found a tenant quickly. They left in December (without paying the last month). I had to spend a lot of money to renovate the house and the garage was totally destroyed.
The new PM can't find a new tenant (32 days on the market and 216 view but no application) and right now I am hemorrhaging money.
It is a single family home - 3 bd/1ba - 993 sqft - with backyard. $915/month
Do you have any advice?
Decent house with the exception of the horrible look of patched-in siding on the rear of the house, pictured no less. Garage is also a mess. I would re-side the back of the home and clean up the garage.
Pricing seems fine compared to others in the area but the listing is very poorly done. I'm always amazed at how many property owners and managers have no idea on how to write an add. It's supposed to help you sell your property to perspective renters, not scare them away. Why would any property manager list every utility the tenant has to pay separately? Just say utilities not included. What's with the $129 fee and $30 monthly tenant benefit package? You're trying to rent a C class home, not a room at the Plaza. Get rid of all the legalese and junk fees and you'll be fine.
IMHO,
Gary
The garage is being renovated entirely.
I tried to make the PM change the ads but they won't move.
Look at their answer:
All of our rental listings are listed in the same format, to make prospective tenants truly aware of all costs, processess, etc that go into securing a home. We have never had an issue or complaint with the set-up of our marketing ads. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I'm unable to adjust the listing. We have also found that most tenants appreciate the full transparency, so they can fully get a breakdown of costs before viewing a unit/signing a lease.I think this tells you all you need to know. This is the most non-answer to a genuine concern. They never had an issue, yet the house remains open for 30 days...
Make sure you thread carefully here. Pissing the PM off is not going to be productive, in their mind you are probably one of many annoying customers that only happens to have a single house with them. You need to understand how they are thinking about the problem (if they see any) and if that is aligned with what you want. You also need to understand if your concerns are reasonable (again educate yourself)
You are in a bind, so you need to come up with a plan on how to move forward.
Wishing you all the best
- Real Estate Broker · New York, NY · Member since 2020 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes3y
Hey @Audrey Peltier - sorry to hear about the issue you're running into.
It might be a couple of things and not limited to:
- PM not motivated to show the property to interested parties
- Not priced well for the area
- Property looks run down in pictures or when potential tenants drive by
- Too strict renting requirements
These are the initial things that come to mind (unless something has changed drastically in your local market that would deter any and all tenants).
- Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2020 · 294 posts · 142 votes3y
@Audrey Peltier
Does property allow self viewing? If not, is your PM readily available to show property? Is she requiring a qualifying application before showing? Does she respond to inquires prompt or take several days to respond?
All these make a difference if property is not in a high demand neighborhood.
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