How long?

Question

Hello all.Just wondering how long till one rents a house or apartment?Seems I have been getting potential tenants with low credit scores and ones that lie on their application.Thanks in advance,Andrew.

Andrew Kusuplos · Answer

Hi All!

Finally,a tenant that has the credit and credentials to rent my property.Had the add on Zillow,Craig's list,etc.Seems that most lied on their preliminary apps and then when I told them I would charge the 30.00,they backed out,even though I told them up front.Out of 12,2 no shows,3 that tried to negotiate a lower price,6 didn't give me the 30.00,therefore no application processing and one that gave the truth and got my rental.Lessons learned,do not even start the process unless the 30.00 is given up front and don't fall for some B.S story!I was vigilant,due to reading this and other posts on how important it is to have "qualified" tenants.It took me 2 weeks,but alas it's finally rented.How long does it take most of you to finally find a "keeper"?Thanks to all,Andrew.

Steve Babiak · Answer

If your unit is in Lancaster County PA, then learning how quickly a unit rents in other locations isn't of much good for you. I suggest looking at the online ads for your area, and seeing whether ads for similar units are going away; that is an indicator that those have been rented. And use a similar approach to evaluate whether you are priced appropriately; you might find you are receiving fewer replies because you aren't competitively priced.

So a few more pieces of information should be supplied by you to help get a better answer. Where / how are you advertising? What does the unit feature and what is the asking rent? How long have you been advertising that? And really important - what are you using as acceptance / rejection criteria when screening for applicants?

Adam Bartomeo · Answer

My rentals are usually rented within a day. I charge an application fee and make it clear in the ad (we only use FB and CL) that we will not except anyone who doesn't meet our criteria.

Andrew Kusuplos · Answer

That's what's crazy,I am...........

Dawn Anastasi · Answer

@Andrew Kusuplos Welcome to Bigger Pockets!

Are you doing any type of pre-screening on the phone before meeting the applicants in person?  Are you stating your requirements in the ad?