Rental vacant for 2 months, what can i do to get it rented

Member since 2010 · 1 post · 0 votes

i have a rental house sitting vacant for 2 months that i would like to rent. i hired a property manager who said i had it priced fairly. i consulted with another property manager who said i had it price about 100 too high & also had a lot & better quality (house) competition in that neighborhood.

can anyone give me some either basic ways that should work to rent a house assuming its priced right or some creative ideas that i might try?

john in tampa

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Jon Klaus

Developer · Garland, TX · Member since 2008 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes

16y

If you are getting plenty of exposure and the condition is good, then drop the price, Better to have it rented to a good tenant at a lower price, than to have it vacant and bringing in zero.

Why hasn't the property manager rented it? Might be time for a new one.

Craigslist alone, is typically all you need to rent a home. Have good pictures, detailed description and requirements in your ads..

Renting is a bit like selling; there are just 3 big categories that control your results. Condition, location, and price.

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Jon Klaus
Developer · Garland, TX · Member since 2008 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
16y
If you are getting plenty of exposure and the condition is good, then drop the price, Better to have it rented to a good tenant at a lower price, than to have it vacant and bringing in zero.

Why hasn't the property manager rented it? Might be time for a new one.

Craigslist alone, is typically all you need to rent a home. Have good pictures, detailed description and requirements in your ads..

Renting is a bit like selling; there are just 3 big categories that control your results. Condition, location, and price.
2 Reply
Jon Holdman
Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes
16y
What's the feedback from people who view it? What's the feedback from the PM?

Are there lots of similar units vacant in the area?
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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
16y
I don't know how anyone can answer your question without knowing every aspect of the property.

1. Are other managers experiencing long vacancy periods, or is occupancy high?

2. Is it priced properly? Look in the paper at similar units to see what's on the market. Visit them to get a better idea of what's renting within your price range and see how you stack up.

3. Have you property marketed the unit to get the widest coverage? Newspaper, web site, Craigslist, etc?

If occupancy rates are high, you're priced correctly, and it's marketed, there's nothing else you can do. If you price it too low just to find a tenant, you may end up getting the dregs of society and it will cost you more in the long run. Make sure it's priced and marketed and then be patient.
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Steven Horvath
Real Estate Investor · houston, TX · Member since 2009 · 77 posts · 18 votes
16y
I am a firm beleiver in best product best price, find out what other rentals are goin for and make yours slightly better for the same price or slightly less. get a tenant in there who has choices and you will get a much better one. Also, i would recommend you read up in the property management section and learn how to properly screen tenants, among many other things, if you want to rent the property yourself.
Good Luck,
Steven
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Michael S.
Residential Real Estate Agent · Camden, NJ · Member since 2010 · 126 posts · 55 votes
16y
"if a property is not selling", or in your case "renting" then the price is too high...i don't care if donald trump is your property manager

i used craigslist for first time this weekend and i am shocked with the amount of phone calls i received, much better applicants than local newspaper
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Chase T.
Member since 2009 · 30 posts · 7 votes
16y
Make sure it looks good, first off. Post on Postlets + Craigslist. Make sure you have good pictures. I firmly believe that most people do a poor job in marketing their units. Make sure you have a big sign with your phone # on it, and answer it! I'm guessing your house's price is fine. If someone thinks the price is high by $100 they would probably make an offer.
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Mike Nelson
Property Manager · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2010 · 2 posts · 1 vote
16y
If it has been on the market for more than 60 days, and it has been getting activity, then it is over priced. Are you sure the marketing is getting you the exposure you need? We use www.RentalHomePros.com which allows us to push ads to many web sites from the one post and we can push it to Craigslist as a good looking HTML ad in just a few seconds. wwwRentalHomePros.com also allows us to run CMAs so we can see not just which properties are on the market, but which ones have rented (sold comps) and for how much. Zilpy only looks at asking rents.
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Edwin Brown
Real Estate Investor · Chattanooga, TN · Member since 2010 · 151 posts · 59 votes
16y
One thing that we do to make our property stand out is offer it as a lease to own. There are a lot of families that want to buy right not but can't get financed. Giving them an option working towards ownership may attract them to your property over others.
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Rich Schroeder
Real Estate Investor · Elkhorn, WI · Member since 2008 · 453 posts · 104 votes
16y
Originally posted by Michael S.:
"if a property is not selling", or in your case "renting" then the price is too high...i don't care if donald trump is your property manager

i used craigslist for first time this weekend and i am shocked with the amount of phone calls i received, much better applicants than local newspaper

you hit this right on the head. The right rental price is the key (in relation to condition), not the condition of the property itself. If you don't believe this, then put an ad on craigslist for $1 per month. Then see how many qualified renters call you up.

-Rich
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Steve Babiak
Real Estate Investor · Audubon, PA · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 8k+ votes
16y
Price vs condition is key, without a doubt. Tenants aren't always the brightest, but they are able to look at a few places, and figure out whether what they see is worth what is being asked when they draw the comparisons to the other properties they see.

One thing I also do is give the info to a local company that sells lists of "for rent" listings to prospective tenants; that's right, these potential tenants pay for a list of available rentals. This is actually a free service to me as landlord; I get the option to give the tenant some reimbursement of the fee they paid to get the listings (don't have to reimburse at all). In my area this company is called Locaters, Inc.
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Aly W.
Investor · Middletown, NJ · Member since 2008 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
I'm a photographer, and I have to say, pictures speak a thousand words. Ok, I'm not the one who made it up, but it's true. Don't use a little point 'n shoot with a tiny flash, or your cell phone camera. Pay a professional, or at least find someone with a decent camera and a knowledge of lighting and a wide angle lens to show your property at its best. I can't count how many phone calls I got on my properties where they said how beautiful it looked online. And it looked the same in person.

If you think your property is priced right, give a little incentive. I gave one tenant a window air conditioner, and another a $300 Best Buy gift card. I advertised that in my craigslist ad. You can also try 2 weeks free rent.

Make sure the property is clean clean clean! Everyone that saw my properties commented on how clean they were. We cleaned them before each appointment, so that they smelled fresh. Scented candles work too, as well as a couple of potted (fake) plants on the countertops. Make it look homey so they want to live there.

That said, in your market it just might take a while to find a qualified tenant.
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