Can not lease this house. What is wrong?

Question

I have had this house available since July without results.  We have had a few showings, but no one calls back.  The price is actually below what other landlords are asking for comparable houses.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/Fontaine-Ave-Madison-Heights-MI-48071/2101773450_zpid/?fullpage=true

Katie Stewart · Answer

Joe and the others made some great points in their responses. I think your description is much too long, especially with how short people's attention spans are nowadays. I would also recommend utilizing one of the many free landlord software platforms out there that will market your rental on a bunch of different sites, rather than just relying on one!

Joe Arida · Answer

Some of the things in your wording seem like things a renter would not care about. I think you should outline your property description differently, nothing about it is very attractive right now. It is somewhat difficult to read through, and has a lot of things tenants won't care about.

Having it listed that it's a newer furnace, the refrigerator and stove are included--I wouldn't care as a renter. As long as it works and I assume it will stay working. Also, saying that major appliances are included--if you are going to rent a home and NOT including a fridge or stove or oven then GOOD LUCK finding a tenant who will bring their own FRIDGE lol...

Also, I don't know why a tenant would care if the fridge is new, or that there's a door wall, vinyl windows, or that the cabinets are updated or the microwave and range/oven are "upgrades." They don't care what was there before, just what's there now. If you were SELLING the house this would be a slightly different story, as buyers would care about updates and appliance ages. I also think having "NO PETS" twice is off putting. It seems unfriendly to me. I get it though, people have pets and apply anyway, but it just seems unfriendly.

Long story short: Show off what you have, highlight the good things that will directly affect them during their tenancy. Also, change the format into sections. Something like this instead:

Brief desccriptions here <Beautiful bed 1.5 bath home with LOTS of new updates looking for someone to call it home!

HIGHLIGHTS:

Close to school! Excellent schools! Close to park! Etc., etc.

FEATURES:

+ Beautiful home with many new updates!

+ TWO Car garage AND two car parking pad

+ Washer & drier included!

+ Motion detector lighting at entrances!

+ Large basement for plenty of storage!

Etc.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Must earn 3 times the monthly rent

No prior evictions or criminal record

No smoking

No pets

Application fee is $25. We look forward to hearing from you!

Wilson Churchill · Answer

It helps to price it about $50 per month below other comparable homes. Otherwise, maybe make it stand out some other way. Have you had any showings at all? What have the tenants said about the place? I always like to get feedback from potential tenants to see what they like or don't like.

Anthony Wick · Answer

Is it listed anywhere else? Any other websites, sign in yard, anything at all? Craigslist, Realtor.com, Facebook Marketplace?

Changes I'd make, since it has gone a long time vacant:

• Bullet point the highlights in the ad.
• Shorten the ad. Just too much info to read. Attention spans are short. 
• Take the ad down for a couple days, then put it back up at $1,300, allowing small pets. It's been months, you need to change something big here. 
• Change wording to "Background and Credit Check" (Your criteria is solid, but you need traffic). 
• Change damage deposit to one month rent, or even $1,000

You've gone 4 months without a tenant. That is $5k. That's a ton of money. If and when people come and look, but don't put in an application, you need to ask them why, and what would change their mind. What are the vacancy rates in Madison Heights?

Mark Forest · Answer

So all of you think the interior looks good enough?

Nathan Gesner · Answer

It looks nice. It definitely looks like yours is priced well for that area. I notice the Zillow listing doesn't have a complete address and there's a notice at the bottom that the listing is incomplete. Maybe try filling in more detail or advertising on a different site?

Terrell Garren · Answer

Many things determine customer interest - location, size, quality, floor plan, etc.  Price normalizes all these factors.  If the price is right, you will find potential residents.  I suspect there is something you are unaware of that causes your price to be too high.  Good luck to you.