Rental Property Investor · Hartford, CT · Member since 2017 · 168 posts · 163 votes
Hey BP!
Need some advice!! I listed my SFH with a property management company back in May. The PM initially listed it for $1450 which was a bit high for the area, but I was not moving out until July, so he said there was some time to see if it could rent for a bit higher. The weekend I moved out, I had them lower it to $1350, and still nada. Today I spoke with them to have them lower it again, to $1300. They said in total there have been 55 inquires and 10 showings.
The house was built in 2014, is in a very nice B+ neighborhood, it is a 3/2 with a fenced in yard.
I can afford the mortgage payment, however, with being vancant for so long it is killing my cash flow for the year!
I hired the PM to take care of it since I moved out of state. Should I look at getting out of my contract with this PM and get a different one? Should I start advertising it myself?
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1221-Teakwood-Dr-GREENVILLE-NC-27834/102229016_zpid/
Any advice is welcome!
-Heidi
Rental Property Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
8y
You made extremely novice mistakes. You rented it too high to begin with. As a result it sat for months. Then you dropped the price out of necessity. Tenants and home buyers alike (if you were selling the place) are going to wonder what's wrong with the place when it has sat for so long and had a price drop to boot. Shortly, it sounds like your house is in great condition and in a great neighborhood, but your rent is too high and it has sat for too long on the market. If you don't rent it out by the end of September, good luck to you filling it in the fall and winter...not impossible but a feat.
I haven't been a renter for a while, but I use the same concept when I look at houses to purchase as rentals. If I see the listing sit forever, price drop after price drop, I know there is something off about the place. My favorite is when it goes pending and back on market 3-5 times. I stay away from those because I KNOW something is wrong....
Rental Property Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
8y
You made extremely novice mistakes. You rented it too high to begin with. As a result it sat for months. Then you dropped the price out of necessity. Tenants and home buyers alike (if you were selling the place) are going to wonder what's wrong with the place when it has sat for so long and had a price drop to boot. Shortly, it sounds like your house is in great condition and in a great neighborhood, but your rent is too high and it has sat for too long on the market. If you don't rent it out by the end of September, good luck to you filling it in the fall and winter...not impossible but a feat.
I haven't been a renter for a while, but I use the same concept when I look at houses to purchase as rentals. If I see the listing sit forever, price drop after price drop, I know there is something off about the place. My favorite is when it goes pending and back on market 3-5 times. I stay away from those because I KNOW something is wrong....
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
8y
Price too high.
Start advertising on FB market place, Zillow and Craigslist. Put the contact info as your PM and let them take all the calls and respond to emails and do the showings.
Aurora, CO · Member since 2018 · 180 posts · 166 votes
8y
There are two schools of thought on staging. Do and don't. IMO, it depends on the property and the furniture. But in this instance, since pics with your furniture hasn't done any good, try without.
Get some new pictures. Vacant. It really doesn't show well. The focal point of the pictures should be the rooms, not what you used to have in them. I see pictures of big heavy furniture. When compared with the others closest on zillow, all the others have pictures of the front of the house first. your first picture is of a victorian couch.
Several of the others in your over $1000 price point have more square footage. In looking at their pictures, I see hardwood floors, or designer touches, tile in the kitchen, etc. I also see a more established looking neighborhood from looking at google maps (which is like 2013 so very dated).
Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes
8y
Get some better pictures. Vertical pictures are horrid in this case. And get some pictures with it empty.
What's the feedback from the showings? With 10 showing I'd expect to have a tenant. I'd certainly expect some feedback.
According to rentometer, you're on the high end of rents for the area. It says you should be more like $1100. Overpricing a rental is a good way to end up with a crummy tenant.
Overpricing a rental is a good way to end up with a crummy tenant.
Can you explain this concept? I'm quick to drop the price if it looks like it's too high, but I do try to maximize rents. The worst I've had happen is someone want to break the lease, or be a little high maintenance. But mostly it's been fine.
Investor · Verona, NJ · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 832 votes
8y
House looks nice, but i would have to agree with the others, get rid of the furniture pictures and get some better pictures, preferably with a wide angle lens, this way you get more of the room and it makes them look bigger, my guess in looking at the pictures is that these are small rooms in the house. If other places are larger and renting for less then there is part of your problem, you should base your rent on the market rent per sq' for your area. you may think you have the best looking place in the area ( and you may) but $ and space are the bottom line for renters.
Rental Property Investor · Edison, NJ · Member since 2016 · 753 posts · 565 votes
8y
@Heidi Kenefick Your listing did not mention a washer and dryer. I would think that since your rent is top of the market for your area that a tenant would expect a washer and dryer. Your listing did not mention having a washer and dryer.
Overpricing a rental is a good way to end up with a crummy tenant.
Can you explain this concept? I'm quick to drop the price if it looks like it's too high, but I do try to maximize rents. The worst I've had happen is someone want to break the lease, or be a little high maintenance. But mostly it's been fine.
A well qualified tenant will be able to get into any property in an area. So, they would reasonably choose the lowest priced one from among similar properties. That means the owner with more expensive properties will have fewer well qualified applicants. Folks will look, but will think "why would I pay more for this one?" Given the smaller applicant pool, the owner of that expensive property will need to loosen their criteria to get someone. Ten showings is pretty good evidence people don't think this property is a good deal and move on.
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
8y
@Heidi Kenefick the pictures could use a little help. It looks like half the photos were taken with a phone in vertical mode. The main picture is a bad choice in my opinion. The old style couch makes it look dated. I would use a nice front house photo for my main photo. The closet photo has ugly hangers. Flowers in the kitchen look weird. Take new photos now that it is vacant and use a decent camera with proper lighting.
There are a LOT of other houses for rent in your area and price range. Less than a mile from your house, there are places with similar square feet listed for $1200. It seems that $1200-1400 is the right range, but there are many other choices that are nice. Some have lawn care included. I would list is for $1200 to get it rented fast. If it sits two more months, you lose $2600 in rents. How long will it take you to make that up at $100 a month difference?
Accountant · Tulsa, OK · Member since 2018 · 312 posts · 349 votes
8y
@Heidi Kenefick In addition to what everyone else mentioned about the photos you might try beefing up the description, when I go to your listing all I see (besides the pics and standard info Zillow provides) is "No cats allowed". This is a great place to point out all the great things that make your property worth renting as well as put the contact info for your property manager, list rental criteria, etc.
Investor · SANTA BARBARA, CA · Member since 2017 · 22 posts · 27 votes
8y
I don't have access to MLS info, so one thing I do when I'm looking at a listing (in order to get a feel for potential rent amount, and how long it might be on the market) is to simply enter the address (minus the house #) and add "hotpads." When I google "Teakwood Dr, Greenville, NC 27834 hotpads," the 2nd item that pops up is 1204 Teakwood (no longer on the market), which is bigger and photographs nicer than your place (but even these guys took a bunch of stupid portrait shots). You priced yours above that to start, which most certainly set you back.
Your hotpads listing is particularly unflattering IMO. Those first two pics look like a possible short sale! HINT (assuming you have more than just a flip phone): wait til dusk, turn all the lights on in the house, and take a landscape picture of your exterior. Fill the frame with the house--not the house and the driveway and the yard LOL. Your hotpads listing says it's been viewed 29 times this week, and the PM has only been contacted once. You're simply not getting any action, for a number of reasons. When I start getting a 25% engagement rate on hotpads, I know I'll typically have my place rented in a week or less; rough rule of thumb.
No sense renting at $1300; why not do $1295? Those century marks are psychological barriers; retailers figured that out eons ago...
No offense, but your pictures are very naive. People don't want to see your stuff, they want to see it vacant.
Make it vacant, take pictures! You need an outdoor picture as well, curb appeal is huge! You can get other homes 3/2 nearby for $975, so to see $1300, seems very overpriced! Pictures, pictures, pictures!! you need to sell it as a premium home if you want premium price!
Rental Property Investor · Columbia, SC · Member since 2018 · 19 posts · 12 votes
8y
I am of the opinion that a property should use vacant photos in the marketing, as many others have stated. In this case, however, you did not lack prospects, which is what the photos generate. The fact that you had so many showings and inquires validates a rent set to high.
You should certainly have a conversation with the PM to discuss why they were so off on their pricing. Despite whether or not you stay or leave the current PM I would consider "re-marketing" the property so it looks fresh on renters searches. New photos, new description, etc...
Rental Property Investor · Hartford, CT · Member since 2017 · 168 posts · 163 votes
8y
@Amy Beth
It doesn’t have a washer dryer. Initially I had wanted to leave it, but my PM advised against it. He said that it doesn’t command higher rent and that in the Greenville market people want to bring their own. I thought this was a bit crazy because I expect higher end rentals to have them, but I took his advice.
Rental Property Investor · Hartford, CT · Member since 2017 · 168 posts · 163 votes
8y
@Kevin S.
I totally agree! I called my PM yesterday and asked why they haven’t put a description. Is that even something I can edit? I haven’t been thrilled with there marketing, and I’m not really sure what to do about it.
I think that idea works better in a suburb with fairly uniform housing stock than in a city with an extremely varied housing base from new high rises to early 19th century rowhouses, and steep location gradients from best to worse neighborhoods. At any given price point there's tremendous variety in size, amenities and location, and any individual will prioritize these different. I've had people look at a small 1br, but choose more space in lesser neighborhood, or to pay more for more space. Doesn't mean they were any better or worse potential tenant. This aspect also makes it hard to price a unit.
Rental Property Investor · Hartford, CT · Member since 2017 · 168 posts · 163 votes
8y
@Jack B.
Thanks for the tips. I agree with everything you are saying. The mistakes seem obvious in hindsight, but now I need actionable things I can do now.
Rental Property Investor · Hartford, CT · Member since 2017 · 168 posts · 163 votes
8y
@Jon Holdman
The feedback has all been positive.
I also looked at rentometer and noticed it was high, but in Greenville within a close distance are not so good areas with cheaper rent, so you have to take it with a grain of salt.
I trusted the PM to know the market and know what things rent for. A lot of people buy since the cost of living is so low. There are also luxury apartments with huge club houses and pools to choose from, and not as many Single family houses... I’m starting to wonder if there is a good reason for the lack of houses on the market!
Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes
8y
@Heidi Kenefick in this case you do not want positive feedback. If everything was rosy someone would have rented it. Folks will say "nice place" or "I like it" when they have nothing else to say. What you want is critical feedback. "What else are you looking at?" "What would it take for you to rent this property?" and similar closing questions may get you the feedback you need. You need to hear something like "there's a nicer house down the street for the same price" or "it doesn't have a washer and dryer" or whatever. Getting these sales objections are what you need to figure out why its not renting. Ask your PM for this sort of negative feedback.
Accountant · Tulsa, OK · Member since 2018 · 312 posts · 349 votes
8y
@Heidi Kenefick yes, you can absolutely edit that information, all you need to do on Zillow is go to your property, click on the owner (or landlord) view tab, and click "I'm the Owner" and it should let you edit the listing.
Real Estate Broker · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
8y
This is absolutely a pricing issue. If $950 can get a beautiful "open concept" 3/2 of the same size what looks like 1/10th of a mile away. (Could honestly be in the same development I can't tell) You're not going to get a $350 premium for the house vs their duplex.
What is the PM doing to try to get it leased?
I could see commanding maybe a $50-100 premium being a house over a duplex. However, the duplexes you're competing with on Allen Ridge (2 streets over) honestly look like a nicer property for $350 less. Your pms pics make the property look very "choppy" / closed off when open/modern is what people want right now.
Rental Property Investor · Hartford, CT · Member since 2017 · 168 posts · 163 votes
8y
@Alan Grobmeier
Thanks for the feedback. I’m starting to get a feeling that I should not of hired him. I think it may be time to consult with a lawyer to get out of the contract I signed. It has a clause that states if I terminate prior to 12 months then I owe what they would of collected for the remainder of the contract. Not sure how enforceable that is since they have not found a tenet... any idea?