How to attract older tenants

Question

Does anyone have any ideas for attracting tenants over 50 years old?

Joel Owens · Answer

My mom has a one bedroom that are on one level and is about 800 sq ft. There is about 80 units on the 8 acre property in town. They were built in the 1980's. They are ranches with nobody above or below just beside and behind.

Even though it is not technically a senior community about 90% are elderly. They tend to stay much longer but with the elderly you do have more maintenance calls for everyday items they just can't fix themselves.

Rents you do not raise as much because they are on fixed incomes. Turnover and damage to units is much less though some do pass away more frequently but the buildings tend to have backup waiting lists.

Some have pets but they tend to be older pets they have brought with them as they become less mobile. So usually they do not have puppies or kittens tearing up all the units. The older pets tend to sleep more and be less mobile. My mom knows most of the people by name in the community. Older people typically hate moving and want to stay in one place and become part of the community. Some get depressed and suffer in silence when all they want is people to talk with them. My mom has gotten one guy in a wheel chair to go check his mail everyday and take a spin around the building walkways to get fresh air.

There is a difference between 55+ communities, assisted living, acute care facilities etc.  Each one has different requirements and standards of care.

Steve Babiak · Answer

How about wheelchair ramps and chairlifts on the stairs?

Seriously though, you will learn how to evaluate applicants as you gain more experience, so that you can tell a good twenty-something tenant from a bad fifty-something tenant using criteria other than age.  Tell us about your tenant selection and rejection criteria and we can probably help you in a constructive way.

David Beard · Answer

From an acquisition standpoint, 2BR houses can be attractive to older folks who need less room and are on a fixed income.  The $2BR 20-25K house that rents for $700 is a pretty decent investment around here.

Any my experience with this tenant class has been great, especially long term tenancy.  I have a house with an older lady that has lived there 11 years (I've only owned the house for two of those.)  So you have a great line of thinking there.  Another that has been there a good while is a former Cincinnati Reds all-star from the 60's.

And maybe you don't have to do ANY updates, because they LOVE the decor just as it is.

Joffrey Long · Answer

Billy,

You're on a very smart track here.  Not only will this help you meet your immediate needs of leasing to hopefully more responsible and careful tenants, but you're setting yourself up well for a growing market - that of retiring boomers needing housing.

And we're talking about 58 year olds, or 63 year olds, or more active and independent mature people, as opposed to 96 year olds, who may not be as likely to live independently, if at all.

Where Gene and Justin are correct - you can't indicate a preference for any specific age group (unless it's set up as an age restricted community), but  you can be sure to APPEAL to the preferences, likes and dislikes, and subconscious "ques" that will attract older tenants.

Here's the ticket to marketing to the mature crowd.  There's a marketing expert that totally appeals to marketing to this group, and he has a book, "77 things to know for marketing to the 55+ crowd," or something like that.

Bottom line, just find books and other material (there's a ton of it out there) on how to market to that crowd and you'll attract them.

Hope that helps.

Callum K. · Answer

Rob K and perhaps market the effectiveness of non-slip bathtubs and possibly even throw in a typewriter as well .

Rob K. · Answer

You could also put in orange or yellow countertops and popcorn ceilings. I see that all the time in old people's houses. :)

Justin McClelland · Answer

Gene Hacker is right that you should keep in mind housing discrimination laws, however it sounds like you are merely asking how to 'attract' a specific demographic. Nothing illegal about that.

I'd say the bulk of your answer lies in where you market. Where are those who are 50+ turning when they begin their residence search?

Just to brainstorm in 10 seconds, here are some places I think:
- Church bulletins
- Bingo hall bulletins
- Cafeteria bulletins
- YMCA newsletter
- Newspapers/Yellowpages (they're prob the only age group reading these at this point)
- Senior Citizen mailing list

Rob K. · Answer

Have you put up ads at bingo halls?

You could also let all calls go to voice mail and only call back the people with names like Harold, Dick, or Linda.

Andy Collins · Answer

don't worry about  'age discrimination' for not wanting to rent to people younger, it's not against the law!  You have to do so against a "protected group", the only age group that is protected are older people.

My mother lives in one of my rent houses, it my smallest house at 1475 sq. ft (3/2), she says its too big,,so she thinks a house around 1k sq. ft would be perfect, but I would be scared I couldn't rent it out to any families, also being in a safe area is very important, my problem is finding a small house in a nice neighborhood

Karen Margrave · Answer

LOL...what many of you are describing are probably 80 year olds.. not someone in their 50's. So the first thing you would need to do is narrow down the demographic of the tenant you want to appeal to, and include things that attract them. Higher end finishes, plenty of storage, low maintenance yards, good neighborhoods, etc.

How to attract older tenants

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