Property sitting vacant in NJ

Newark, New Jersey
General Landlording & Rental Properties
9moFollow

Property sitting vacant in NJ

Ravi P.
Newark, NJ · Member since 2016 · 6 posts · 10 votes

I recently purchased a 2-bedroom, 2.5-bath condo/townhouse in New Jersey in November 2025. We have completed several upgrades, including replacing all carpets with luxury vinyl plank (LVP) flooring throughout the unit, and adding ceiling lights and a fan in the living room. 

Despite these improvements, the property has remained vacant, and we have not received applications from qualified prospects. If not rented soon, the unit will continue to remain vacant into January 2026. The rent has been priced $100–$200 below current market rates to attract interest.

The property is being self-managed, and we have advertised it on Zillow, Apartments.com, Rent.com, and local Facebook Marketplace groups.

Qualifying Requirements:

  • Minimum 650+ credit score

  • Income of at least 3× the monthly rent

  • No Pets

  • No Smoking

  • First Month Rent and 1.5 Month Deposit

  • Background and credit screening conducted through RentPrep

I would appreciate any suggestions or strategies on how to rent the property more quickly while still maintaining responsible tenant screening. Any advice would be very helpful. 

1Reply
231 views

Most Popular Reply

Kenneth GarrettPro Member
Investor · Florida Panhandle/Illinois · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9mo

This time of year is typically slower and rents are lower a bit compared to spring and early summer time.  You can add rentometer to your list of sources.  Again, those are advertised rents, not actual lease rents.  You want to use multiple sources to get a feel for rents.

I hold open houses for my rentals.  Just like an open house when you’re selling.  I try to get attention and create competition.  If I can get multiple people to come at the same time it creates competition.  You still need to screen people correctly.

I also started with a no pet policy, but realized many tenants are pet owners.  There was an article by Forbes a couple months ago stating that 72% of renters own pets.  That’s a bit hit to your tenant pool.  Create a pet fee and or deposit to cover pet damage.

2Reply
See this reply in the discussion

13 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Nicholas L.Pro Member
    Flipper/Rehabber · Pittsburgh · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    9mo

    @Ravi P.

    allow pets

    1Reply
  • Dominic RosatoBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Jersey City, NJ · Member since 2022 · 82 posts · 61 votes
    9mo

    Hi Ravi, you can tweak a few things to make it more appealing. Lowering the rent is the obvious one (even if it’s not ideal), or you could try a promo like 1 month free on a 13-month lease. Allowing pets would help too.

    One common mistake I see is using only the active listings for comps. Try re-running your comps using rented units in your area, not active. You might see that you are not so under-market value after all. Also, keep in mind late fall/winter can be slower, so it could just be that.

    [email protected]973-224-8969
    Dominic Rosato528 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Kenneth GarrettPro Member
    Investor · Florida Panhandle/Illinois · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    9mo

    This time of year is typically slower and rents are lower a bit compared to spring and early summer time.  You can add rentometer to your list of sources.  Again, those are advertised rents, not actual lease rents.  You want to use multiple sources to get a feel for rents.

    I hold open houses for my rentals.  Just like an open house when you’re selling.  I try to get attention and create competition.  If I can get multiple people to come at the same time it creates competition.  You still need to screen people correctly.

    I also started with a no pet policy, but realized many tenants are pet owners.  There was an article by Forbes a couple months ago stating that 72% of renters own pets.  That’s a bit hit to your tenant pool.  Create a pet fee and or deposit to cover pet damage.

    2Reply
  • Colleen F.Pro Member
    Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    9mo

    @Ravi P.  while people are reccommending adding pets I would say that you should set a limit and decide what you are comfortable with when it comes to pets. One way is to say pets considered or set a number. This is also a bad time of year to rent.  If you offer incentives do it for the second month,  not sure the price point but do you maybe want to make deposit 1 month rent. 

    0Reply
  • Matthew Paul
    Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    9mo

    What I have found is that after Nov 1 the pool of good applicants decreases . And it picks up in mid February . 

    I have one unit vacant that I just took off the market on the first of December , winterized the place and will wait for the weather to break . 

    the only applicants I was getting were not even close to qualifying , poor credit , evictions , and lack of income 

    0Reply
  • Mohammed Rahman
    Real Estate Broker · New York, NY · Member since 2020 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9mo

    Hi Ravi,

    As many others have said winter months can be slower, so it could be that. You could also try reassessing the rental price and incentives. Even if you’re below market, offering flexible lease terms, a small move-in credit, or covering a portion of utilities can make your unit more appealing. Sometimes minor incentives get tenants to act quickly. Perhaps, you could also try leveraging local connections. Share the listing with local real estate agents.

    Best of luck!

    0Reply
  • Joseph Guzzardi Jr
    Rental Property Investor · Member since 2019 · 411 posts · 148 votes
    9mo

    There a few ways to incentivize long term tenants.

    1) Offer biweekly payments instead of monthly, which would this lower the tenant move in cost. Key is to make the biweekly payments a tad higher than monthly so you make more on an annual basis.

    2) Offer complimentary maintenance walk thrus quarterly ( fancy way of inspecting the unit)

    3) Offer free month at the end of the lease if all payments are made in time. Simultaneously offer longer lease.

    1Reply
    • Steven WeidlerPro Member
      Member since 2025 · 38 posts · 9 votes
      8mo
      Quote from @Joseph Guzzardi Jr:

      There a few ways to incentivize long term tenants.

      1) Offer biweekly payments instead of monthly, which would this lower the tenant move in cost. Key is to make the biweekly payments a tad higher than monthly so you make more on an annual basis.

      2) Offer complimentary maintenance walk thrus quarterly ( fancy way of inspecting the unit)

      3) Offer free month at the end of the lease if all payments are made in time. Simultaneously offer longer lease.


       Oh i really like number 3. gotta try that one.

      0Reply
  • Cheryl Schuck
    Real Estate Agent · Parsippany, NJ · Member since 2013 · 186 posts · 71 votes
    9mo

    Depending on where your proerty is located will determine if it's a bad time or if your numbers are off.

    What part of Jersey are you in?  Have you considered speaking with a realtor? Did you base your price on what is currently on the market, or what has rented?

    Being a pet friendly unit also adds to the attraction of a property since a lot of people got pets during covid and are having difficulties finding landlords that will accept them.  You can always charge an additional monthly "pet fee" which would increase your monthly rent and can be held towards deposit monies should it be required.

    FYI, you can only collect a max of 1.5 month's rent for a security deposit, yet you can request a non-refundable pet fee if you choose to accept pets.

    Feel free to reach out with any questions that you may have, for I would be happy to guide you through it.

    1Reply
  • Vaughn Smith
    Property Manager · NJ · Member since 2017 · 786 posts · 396 votes
    7mo

    @Ravi P. Not sure exactly where the property is located so I can only provide so much insight but here are a few things you may want to consider:

    - Where were your rental comps pulled from and how confident are you in those numbers? If the comps are off or you're looking at active listings it can throw your whole strategy off

    -DOM is up: Seasonality and this rough winter we're having are adding to increased DOMs in areas that are price sensitive many tenants cant afford the current rent rates due to inflation job loss etc so many tenants are staying put 

    -Revisit your marketing, do you have high quality photos? Video? and are you highlighting the best features of the property 

    -Different strategy: Is the property in an area where MTR makes more sense? What about 6 month leases? Can you decrease the monthly rent 10-15%, offer a 16 month lease this way you net more than you would on a 12 month and your lease cycle resets in peak season 

    -Use a high quality Realtor (and pay the brokerage fee) The MLS syndicates and agents who have clients tend to only look there to place their clients. The key here is a HIGH quality realtor who is going to actively hunt to get you a tenant not just throw the listing on the MLS. Perhaps consider working with an agent or firm that offers a tenant replacement guarantee

     

    1Reply
  • Cheryl Schuck
    Real Estate Agent · Parsippany, NJ · Member since 2013 · 186 posts · 71 votes
    7mo

    Hi Ravi, how are you making out with finding a tenant? Have yousecured one yet?

    I noticed that we started getting a lot more calls this week on our properties. Hopefully you have experienced the same and have a tenant in your unit.

    If not, feel free to reach out and we can discuss how I might be able to help you.

    0Reply
  • Nick DiCarlo
    TX · Member since 2026 · 6 posts · 1 vote
    7mo

    Our experience is allowing pets is worth more than a rent discount. What proved this to us was we had a listing that was struggling to lease, then I noticed the listing accidentally explicitly said no pets, but we actually allow pets and probably have them in close to 100% of our homes.  We had our Property Manager fix the listing and within a week we had a signed lease.  We limit the # and collect a dedicated security deposit for each pet, and our PM also does annual inspections so we catch unregistered pets and then collect the deposit.

    0Reply
  • Nadiyah MalbonBusiness Member
    Realtor · NJ · Member since 2020 · 104 posts · 31 votes
    5mo

    @Ravi P.. Did you get the property rented?

    908-663-8996
    Nadiyah Malbon Group (NMG) 4.941 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.
Log InJoin for Free