5 Showing Requests in First Day - Am I priced too low?

Question

Hello Everyone,

I close on a duplex this week and have already pre-listed the top unit for rent. It's only the first morning of it being listed and I have received 5 showing requests already. The unit is listed at $1200 which is comparable to other properties I see on Craigslist (they may no longer be active). I'm wondering if this might be a sign that I have listed the property too low. If this is the case what have people done? Re-listed at a higher price? I will be living in the other unit of this duplex.

I have a second property available for rent, have it listed at $1,400 and have received 2 showing requests today, which seems more reasonable. I'm in Minneapolis MN in very trendy and sought after areas.

Any feedback is appreciated!

Micah

Steve Vaughan · Answer

Sure @Tom V.

How many people?

How many animals?

Is this far from your work?

Do you smoke?

When would you like to or when can you move?

Will avoid 6 people in your one bed.  Will avoid a furry surprise.  Will avoid someone that is perfect, but can't move for 3 months.  Cheers!

Matthew Paul · Answer

Not a big deal . I just put up one for $ 1175 .  I got 15 responses the first day .  Half didnt answer their phone the 2 times I called them , Scratch off the list .  Two had pets , they didnt read the add .  One had a sob story and wanted me to help them out . The other 5 I gave them the address and set all them up to show Sunday between 9 am and 10 am . Only two showed ,  one without a muffler on his car , and a young couple .   Both got applications , havent seen them in the mail yet . So I will do the same thing next weekend .

Bruce Runn · Answer

The police course was very good and I recommend it too.  The key is not to discriminate on ethnicity, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability ect.  You can absolutely limit people from smoking in your apt. and you can exclude any kind of animal/pet.  You can not exclude someone with a disability that has a dog for assistance.  You can also limit based on credit score and criminal activity if you have a consistent written set of criteria.

Peter Vekselman · Answer

@Micah Perzichilli remember, its not how many people want to see the property it's how many offers and actual takers you get.

Don't get putting a good and well priced product out on the market confused with you giving it away.

Bottom line, don't overthink this one.

Brett Sorenson · Answer

Micah - I have owned an owner occupied duplex in south Minneapolis the last 3 years. The local police station will offer a "landlord" course which basically runs over your responsibilities to your tenants as well as the community. It actually is a solid course to attend. In this course they will cover when the city will inspect the property which in most cases is every 3ish years.  They will also cover the "fair housing" rules and the situations in which you could get in trouble for different types of discrimination regarding potential tenants and who and who doesn't qualify etc.

One of those workshops that last a couple hours, is informative if you are new to the area, and also looks good in case a situation comes up that needs to be resolved etc.

I am no real estate pro but that is my thoughts regarding the area.

Tom V. · Answer

@Steve Vaughan

Good stuff, thanks!

Tom V. · Answer

Hey @Steve Vaughan,

Would you mind sharing the 5 questions you put in your ads? Sounds interesting...

Steve Vaughan · Answer

I often have 15+ responses on the first day.  Sometimes I'll have 30 in a few hours and pull the ad while I comb through.

I have things to comb through because I ask 5 questions always at the bottom of my ads.  Anonymous e-mail at first.  Phone after a few back and forths for clarification.

I used to put my phone # in the ad.  Ya'll are crazy!

Account Closed · Answer

There will always be lots of people call who will not (or you should not let them) qualify.  They are playing a numbers game, hoping for the naive landlord who will be charmed by their cuteness, and ignore their credit scores and bad references.

It helps to put your criteria in your ad, but many will ignore them, or will call you without knowing which number they're even calling.

I liked putting my phone number in the ad, because I let all calls go to voicemail, and you can learn a lot from the voicemails they leave.  Many are pretty hilarious.  You can eliminate quite a few that you just don't even bother to call back, because they are screaming obscenities at their kids on the voicemail, or someone in the background is telling them what to say, or they are at some party or at a bar and sound drunk - you just make a list of all the voicemails, and why you didn't call certain ones back.  Drunks, screamers, people who can't leave their own voicemails (unless they require an interpreter), are not protected classes.  I made notes and scratched them off my list.

Then, the ones I did call back, I'd run over the criteria again and ask if they qualified.  If they say yes, I schedule a showing.

If they are late and don't call me with a good reason - they're stuck in bumper to bumper traffic - denied.

If they don't fill out the application completely, after I hand it to them and tell them I need it filled out completely - denied.

If they say they're going to drop something off by a certain time and they don't - denied.

You can actually screen them out pretty quickly, and without having to show the unit to that many applicants.

But, just remember that you will get probably 10 loser applicants to 1 decent applicant - and just because they are trolling all the ads, playing a numbers game, looking for that one naive landlord who will rent to them.  So, keep that in mind.

If you're priced right according to your local Craigslist ads, I'd trust that.  Craigslist will generate a ton of calls, but most won't qualify.  That doesn't mean it's a bad venue, it just means you need to separate out the chaff, which isn't that hard to do.

Congrats on your duplex, by the way!

Steve Vaughan · Answer

Your welcome @Oscar Brooks.  To get a little more PC on the 'how far is this from your work?', I ask "Is this far from your work or income source?".

Overall, I have had no problems with my questions, but are smart to ask about your specific jurisdiction.

Regarding smoking, I actually ask if anyone smokes, not do 'you' smoke.  Typed them quickly when Tom asked me.

Tip: lose the word pet.  From anywhere. From everywhere. You strive to be 'animal free'.  Took me a while, but has been important.  Cheers!

5 Showing Requests in First Day - Am I priced too low?

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