How long to find Tenant?

Question

Dean Meier · Answer

Hi Brain:

My experience has been if you have 5 quality showings and not one qualified person fills out an app, you are asking too much.  If your issue is not enough showings then you have an advertising problem.

BTW, before vacancy rates got so low, the best advertising in the world for me was " house for rent signs " on telephone poles in the neighborhood.  Today Craigs List and Postlets gets me dozens of calls. No need for the signs.

I agree with the posts above.  Ditch the property manager.  Even if they're not the leasing agent, any manage worth their price will be able to help you get the place filled.  They shouldn't be making money if it's empty.

Terry Hershberger · Answer

Brian M.

I believe you have multiple problems. I would start by firing the property manager. Something is not right. Check your market and make sure you are not overpriced. Thirdly, is their a problem with the home or the area? The longest I have ever had a out of state empty has been 3 weeks. Usually, one week does it.

Hope this helps!

Happy Investing!

Brian Marshall · Answer

Thanks everyone for your advice.  I dropped the price and the property is now rented :)

Steve Babiak · Answer

You have waited too long to make your price adjustment.  That has to happen early on (after a few weeks), when you are not getting any showings, or are only getting poor candidates to look.  With school starting soon, many families have already done their moving and will be staying put until end of the school year next June.  there might still be some decent prospects for you, but i think you missed out on the bulk of them.  And if the PM is not savvy enough about these sorts of things ...

Dawn Brenengen · Answer

Google the address and make sure it's showing up properly on Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, etc. if the marketing looks decent, drop the price. If you're still not getting any bites, hire a different PM. It shouldn't take more than a few weeks to get a property rented!

Scott Stevens · Answer

Check into how your property manager is doing. I see property management company employees turn over frequently with some companies, so someone may be learning the ropes on your property. Go to where your house is posted and look at the photos. How good are they? How well is the listing worded? Go to bluffmycall.com and call and inquire about the rental from a number other than yours or use a friend's number. How are they on the phone? Are they too lazy to show the house on friday or the weekend?

First though, double check your property... how clean is it? Is there anything you can do to make it more appealing? But... if you have been with that property manager for a bit now, they should be giving you feedback on the showing outcomes and what tenants say about the house. They should be talking to you about price and even trying new photos or some staging of the house.

If you feel it's them, time to get tough. Call and ask how the showings have gone and what their next step is going to be. Also, you may want to see if there are other options out there and find a way to end the agreement if they aren't cutting it for you because when you have tenant turnover, you'll be relying on this same company to show the house again and manage the turnover tasks for you. Let us know what happens.

Elizabeth Colegrove · Answer

I have found that more than a couple of weeks means it's over priced or the property manager is not showing the house property. I had someone in my area complain they couldn't get the house rented. I did a market analysis and found their house wasn't listed anywhere. It was undervalued price wise just not being advertised.

Ned Carey · Answer

That is way to long in Baltimore.  Something is wrong. Ether the price is too high,  the marketing isn't getting the word out, or the property is just not up to standards.

As I reread your post another option is the property manager is doing a bad job of converting leads.

How long to find Tenant?

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