Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2015 · 246 posts · 183 votes
I have a rental that will be available to rent beginning 9/1. The last time I had to rent it, I had half the notice and a lot of work to do on the place, so I didn't list it until it was ready to show, which was after my tenant vacated. As soon as I listed it, I got a ton of interest and had a lease signed right away. So far, I'm getting very little interest, so I don't know if it is because it is priced too high or listed too early, or a combination of both. My price is in line with similar rentals in the same neighborhood, but those don't appear to be moving either. I'm planning on doing an open house in two weeks. Am I better off taking the ads down for a week or so? I fear that if it looks stale that people will lose interest.
Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
10y
If vacant, I like to show mine when only mostly done. If a few things still need to be completed and the applicant flinches too much, I know I have a nit-picker to avoid. I seek flexible and tolerant tenants.
It not being available for 6 weeks probably is a little soon, but not necessarily. My area has a lot of folks moving from out of area and their positions don't start until then. You only need one, right? Consider yourself blessed for not having to deal with a bunch of tire kickers.
Open houses are a whole nother area of debate. I avoid them like the plague. Some love them, but the same also put their phone number in their ad and don't mind answering the same questions over and over. I like to ask questions in my ad and not exchange numbers until a few anonymous e-mails have been exchanged.
Good luck renting your place to a quality tenant @Jennifer L.!
Rental Property Investor · East Wenatchee, WA · Member since 2014 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
10y
If vacant, I like to show mine when only mostly done. If a few things still need to be completed and the applicant flinches too much, I know I have a nit-picker to avoid. I seek flexible and tolerant tenants.
It not being available for 6 weeks probably is a little soon, but not necessarily. My area has a lot of folks moving from out of area and their positions don't start until then. You only need one, right? Consider yourself blessed for not having to deal with a bunch of tire kickers.
Open houses are a whole nother area of debate. I avoid them like the plague. Some love them, but the same also put their phone number in their ad and don't mind answering the same questions over and over. I like to ask questions in my ad and not exchange numbers until a few anonymous e-mails have been exchanged.
Good luck renting your place to a quality tenant @Jennifer L.!
Investor · Riverside, CA · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
10y
I wait until it is vacant. I've tried doing it after the tenants gave notice and it is too much of a hassle. If the tenants are really clean people and their place looks very showable, I might try to arrange with them to show it for me which has worked well, but most of my rentals are in not very great areas so I find it easier to just wait until the tenants have vacated and the place is ready again.
Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2015 · 246 posts · 183 votes
10y
Craigslist (which is the only listing I used last time), Zillow, HotPads, Trulia, etc. My feeling is that I'm asking too much. I went $150 under last time and now I'm way under market with my current tenants. Working professionals are the ones that have rented it in the past. Small families or couples.
Now is the time to advertise. Responsible tenants will begin looking two months ahead assuming they are giving or planning to give proper notice to their present landlord. You do not want a tenant that needs a unit on short notice. If the market is slow you simply need to be patient.
Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2015 · 246 posts · 183 votes
10y
@Steve Vaughan I had 5 people ask for showings. I scheduled them for one evening and only one showed up. The one who showed up was probably trying to see if I would violate fair housing. When I didn't, he said the place wasn't for him. So it was an utter waste of time.
@Steve Vaughan I had 5 people ask for showings. I scheduled them for one evening and only one showed up. The one who showed up was probably trying to see if I would violate fair housing. When I didn't, he said the place wasn't for him. So it was an utter waste of time.
Trying to show it to 5 people that haven't been pre-qualified is the waste of time. My pre-qual's pretty much always show up. We have e-mailed a few times and they have time invested. I would also know if they are a HUD shill or someone looking to be offended before hand. I used to do the quantity method, but changed over time. Good luck anyway!
Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2015 · 246 posts · 183 votes
10y
@Steve Vaughan Yes. After that, I had one of the no-shows ask for another appointment. I sent him a link to my application and told him I would schedule him a time after I knew that met my minimum qualifications. Never heard back from him. So, I'm learning.
I prefer the Open House method because competition creates urgency. My tenant was uncomfortable with that because she is still living there. After spending an evening hanging out and seeing the no-shows, she offered to allow me to do an open house. She said that when I held my open house that she attended, she was eager to sign the lease because she didn't like seeing other people in 'her' house.
San Jose, CA · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
10y
I stopped showing units until they were ready, because it's hard for people to see past other people's junk, or to envision their own stuff in there in a different way, etc. And I learned not to show them partly ready, because they worry it won't really be ready on time or the work will be done badly.
But, in San Jose, you should have families moving from out of state for jobs, who want to get there for school. When does school start? Are you in a good school district? Maybe you could play up the good school angle - give the greatschools.org rating, and work with people relocating and willing to rent sight-unseen. I did this a lot and it wasn't a problem for me - my tenants were mostly young professionals and students. My units were mostly studios, with some 1 bedrooms.
Since you want families, then advertising at the universities won't work - that's why I was asking. Craigslist and the others are the way to go to find people relocating.
The good news is that you have had some calls, so it's not ridiculously priced, I don't think. And the owner I worked for said if you're slammed with calls, you're priced too low. We started high on vacant units, and came down if necessary.
Would you be willing to cut and paste your ad? Leaving out the address or whatever? Maybe your ad could be worded better? Did you include old photos from when it was vacant and ready? Just brainstorming.
Investor · Dallas TX, United States · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
10y
I market mine a month before my tenants leave, that seems to work pretty well for me in general There are times when for no known reason a property just doesnt seem to catch the attention of renters. When that happens, I mess around with the property description.
San Jose, CA · Member since 2015 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
10y
Forgot to add, though, that I wouldn't take the ad down. If the ad says it's not going to be ready until Aug 1st, then I don't think there will be a sense that something's wrong with it. At any rate, I'd leave it up. New people will be looking all the time.
Investor · Los Altos, CA · Member since 2016 · 13 posts · 7 votes
10y
I have my property, which is also in San Jose, posted on Craigslist and internally on my company's ad postings. I have a lot of inquiries and I am asking all of them to show up at my open house. I did not advertise until my tenant has moved out and the place is clean enough to take pictures for advertising.
I am overlapping my contractor repainting the place with the open house to shorten the vacancy time.
How big is your place and how much are you looking for? I researched my zip code and survey the asking rent. I am pricing my condo below the large apartment complex but above the ones that are dated. We will see how it goes this weekend.
Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2015 · 246 posts · 183 votes
10y
My asking rent is in line with the other listings for the zip code and neighborhood. It is a 2/1 SFH, just under 1000 sf in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in SJ. A similar property that was 100sf less and not as well-kept rented for the same price earlier this week. I'm scheduling an Open House right before the 30 day notice mark, if I don't get decent leads then, I'll readjust my price.
Investor · Century, FL · Member since 2015 · 950 posts · 603 votes
10y
We put them back on the rental market when they are vacant. I'm not going through all the hassle of renting a place that has an existing, or even worse, signing a contract with a new tenant when the old one isn't even gone yet.
And to be honest, I like the place to have a month downtime between tenants. Gives me a chance to inspect the place, do the odd jobs without the pressure of someone moving in the following day, and generally take my time.
Investor · Los Altos, CA · Member since 2016 · 13 posts · 7 votes
10y
My open house for 2 hours went well. Got 4 applicants, and got a 5th one after the open house as a back up in case things fall through. The lease is signed and deposit transferred to my bank after 2 days. I was a little selective and rented to a couple who actually did not want to move till end of Aug. They saw the competition and split the difference. So I ended up with a month down time. If I were more pressing to rent it out, I could have started rent this Thur. Maybe I can refer these perspective tenants to you?!