Finding tenants in the middle of covid19

Rental Property Investor · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2018 · 27 posts · 8 votes

From the beginning of covid19 we had a few straggler tenants that where not able to pay rent for a couple of months until now and a few that are still unable to pay and will have to evict. We are still paying our mortgage so I feel that it’s only fare if we evict the ones that are still not paying. Our investment properties are located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with about 18 doors. We did have a few that left so we are about 50% vacant and we are not having any luck finding tenants. Is anyone else having this issue?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

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Lola Uriona

Property Manager · Milwaukee · Member since 2020 · 9 posts · 4 votes

@Arnold B. Guerrero Welcome Home Milwaukee has been able to fill all vacants so quickly we are now pre leasing and clients are not even losing 1 months income.

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Moises R Cosme
Flipper/Rehabber · Leominster, MA · Member since 2020 · 667 posts · 384 votes
6y
We are not having this issue in MA; housing inventory is so tight state wide that anytime there is anything new on the market it gets snapped up. Consider working with an Agent, they may be able to assist.
2 Reply
Karl B.
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
How are you currently advertising the units? For me, personally, I've found local Facebook rental groups/Facebook marketplace to be my #1 source for finding tenants, Zillow Rental Manager #2, Apartments.com #3 (and Craig's List is probably a tie for 3rd as well).
1 Reply
Dawn AnastasiPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 4k+ votes
6y
I'm in Milwaukee. I've found that Facebook gets you a lot of potential tenants. I can only leave an ad up for a little unless I get completely overwhelmed with inquiries.
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Lola Uriona
Property Manager · Milwaukee · Member since 2020 · 9 posts · 4 votes
6y
@Arnold B. Guerrero Welcome Home Milwaukee has been able to fill all vacants so quickly we are now pre leasing and clients are not even losing 1 months income.
2 Reply
Arnold B. Guerrero
OP
Rental Property Investor · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2018 · 27 posts · 8 votes
6y
@Karl B.
Thank you all. I love the Facebook idea.
I have a property manager in place but she uses Zillow, signs, and word to mouth. But it has been very slow to find new tenants for most units. Do you guys rent it your selfs or do you use PM? And does anyone know a Milwaukee WI PM that maybe able to help?
0 Reply
Marcus Auerbach
Investor · Milwaukee - Mequon, WI · Member since 2010 · 5k+ posts · 7k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Arnold B. Guerrero:
@Karl B.
Thank you all. I love the Facebook idea.
I have a property manager in place but she uses Zillow, signs, and word to mouth. But it has been very slow to find new tenants for most units. Do you guys rent it your selfs or do you use PM? And does anyone know a Milwaukee WI PM that maybe able to help?
Do you know the condition of your units? We do not have any issues finding tenants and usually end up with multiple qualified applications in a week or two at the most. We use Zillow and post professional pictures.
Talk to Lola at Welcome Home Milwaukee!

1 Reply
Laticia Braxton
Real Estate Consultant · Joppa, MD · Member since 2015 · 218 posts · 178 votes
6y
I would really press upon your PM to explore more leasing platforms, as it is ultimately her job to lease your units and not yours. With the very limited platforms she is using, it makes me wonder how motivated she truly is to get your occupancy numbers up. One would think that she would be highly motivated since I assume she's paid a leasing commission for each unit.
Have her offer a move-in special, check the rents to make sure your rates are in line with the market and have her do a market survey for you. If similar properties around yours have high occupancy rates, you need to visit your property and make sure the property and units are actually in great shape (check on cleanliness, repair needs and curb appeal). Best of luck to you!
1 Reply
Karl B.
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Arnold B. Guerrero:
@Karl B.
Thank you all. I love the Facebook idea.
I have a property manager in place but she uses Zillow, signs, and word to mouth. But it has been very slow to find new tenants for most units. Do you guys rent it your selfs or do you use PM? And does anyone know a Milwaukee WI PM that maybe able to help?

I am shocked a PM wouldn't use Facebook for rental units. It has definitely been my #1 source to find tenants (literally like 75%). People in general spend hours a day on social media; my mind is boggled. Your PM is costing you money.

I don't use a PM because most of them suck and I like pocketing that 10% and running things myself, despite the fact I invest out of town (though I do go home a few times a year to check up - it's amazing how having good tenants = not having to be there).

I don't know anyone in Milwaukee though I would trust an established BP member from Milwaukee for help before I would trust the average PM. With multiple vacancies I would honestly post on FB yourself and experience what happens - when I post an ad in a town of 100,000 people for a unit I get probably 10-20 inquiries daily.
1 Reply
Lien VuongBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Boston, MA · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
Price and marketing (exposure) is always the biggest issues if a unit is not moving. I would try to get feedback with the prospects on why they didn't like the house and work with some of the notes there.
Just for reference - I'm in MA and am listing 14 rentals until now, 5 of them are under contract in the last 2 weeks but good steady activity.
My peers have given you good sites to work with.
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Chaim Lampert
Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2019 · 54 posts · 44 votes
6y
I agree with the Facebook marketplace posts. I use that and get a lot of leads. I also use a software that sends it out to a few different listing sites, like Zillow etc. I had used another website in the past called Hunt.com and used to get a good amount of leads from there. I have not had a hard time filling vacancies at all.
1 Reply
Syed H.
Developer · NY/NJ/PA · Member since 2018 · 758 posts · 935 votes
6y
50% vacancy is nuts and means you or your PM is doing something VERY wrong. Covid has made leasing easier in most markets, not harder. Even in places Covid affected leasing, you still shouldn’t be at 50% vacant
2 Reply
Arnold B. Guerrero
OP
Rental Property Investor · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2018 · 27 posts · 8 votes
6y
@Marcus Auerbach
Hey Marcus,
You referred them to me before. Unfortunately they don’t manage “C” class properties. They would only take a few that are or where already rented. You also referred Dennis. He stopped replying to my emails. It seams like he is out of business.
On the unit conditions, we are looking at that now to make sure they are up to our standers. But do to covid19 we froze all unnecessary expenses.
0 Reply
Aigo Pyles
Flipper/Rehabber · Memphis, TN · Member since 2020 · 758 posts · 285 votes
6y
Originally posted by @Chaim Lampert:
I agree with the Facebook marketplace posts. I use that and get a lot of leads. I also use a software that sends it out to a few different listing sites, like Zillow etc. I had used another website in the past called Hunt.com and used to get a good amount of leads from there. I have not had a hard time filling vacancies at all.

I agree on this.
2 Reply
Matthew Meunier
Real Estate Agent · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2018 · 50 posts · 45 votes
6y
@Arnold B. Guerrero

Condition and price make up a huge factor. What income requirements are they enforcing? I’m sorry, but with the rental market in MKE right now as strong as it is, there’s absolutely NO reason to be at 50%. We are the 3rd highest sought after city for renting since Covid began as renters begin to migrate to areas with lower rent costs in this work from home culture we are transforming into. At Ogden & Company, we are filling leases in advance of vacancy (60-90 days). Apartments.com is a big component of our advertising but we also use FB Marketplace and Zillow, along with personal property websites that RentCafe allows us to utilize through Yardi. If they are duplexes, it’s worthwhile asking the tenant in the occupied unit (if they’re a good tenant) if they have any family in the area looking for a place to stay as well. I’m guessing your PM is collecting her flat fee regardless of what your occupancy looks like too? For this reason alone I’d always sway to a company that gets paid based on COLLECTED rent. Skin in the game means everything. Hope your situation improves!
1 Reply
Angelo Mart
Professional · Parsippany, NJ · Member since 2013 · 384 posts · 262 votes
6y
It was tough here in NJ as my city is 20 minutes away from ground zero of Pandemic. It took ALOT more showings since many people were unemployed during their Pre Screening but all in all we got the rent prices we wanted. Was def tough
0 Reply
Rob Myers
Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2014 · 180 posts · 114 votes
6y
As others have said, something isn't right with the condition of property, amount of rent or engagement of your PM.
For reference, I listed a 3Br/1Bath unit in a duplex in Milwaukee County on Tuesday. I had over 10 inquiries in 48 hours of posting and will be signing a lease today. This is after raising the rent $100/mo from what the previous tenant was at. That said, I did spend time reconditioning the unit and it's in great shape.
0 Reply
Brock Mogensen
Real Estate Syndicator · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 907 votes
6y
I've noticed leasing slow down slightly in the past few weeks but there are still plenty of leads coming in. FB Marketplace is the BEST place to advertise. You will get the most leads from that source. We get at least 50 leads a day from FB Marketplace.
0 Reply
Marcus Auerbach
Investor · Milwaukee - Mequon, WI · Member since 2010 · 5k+ posts · 7k+ votes
6y
Originally posted by @Arnold B. Guerrero:
@Marcus Auerbach
Hey Marcus,
You referred them to me before. Unfortunately they don’t manage “C” class properties. They would only take a few that are or where already rented. You also referred Dennis. He stopped replying to my emails. It seams like he is out of business.
On the unit conditions, we are looking at that now to make sure they are up to our standers. But do to covid19 we froze all unnecessary expenses.

The question is not so much if they are up to your standards, but if they are up to the market standards. You are in danger of entering a downward spiral that looks like this: the owner can't fill vacancies bacause your units are unattractive, cash flow is down, owner hesitates to improve units, pushes PM to fill units anyway, so they lower the standard which leads to much bigger and expensive problems including ecivtions. Cost pressure increases, cycle continues until owner is either forced to give up or will just pull the plug. Don't go down that path!
Your only way out is a combination of lower rents, selective, but meaningful improvements and better management. That's a hard road, but much better than the alternative.

1 Reply
AJ ShepardPro Member
Real Estate Syndicator · Portland, OR · Member since 2014 · 453 posts · 312 votes
6y
I highly suggest you to utilize available leasing platforms. Advertising your rental property plays a big factor in getting potential tenants and having your property rented. You may also want to take into considerations working with a Property Management company as they will take care of everything for you. Also, check the rates aligned in the market to make sure you are giving a reasonable rent rate. Ensure the property is in good condition so you can attract potential tenants. You may also want to learn more about mortgage forbearance.
0 Reply
Todd Dexheimer
Rental Property Investor · St. Paul, MN · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
6y
Something is very wrong. The market is white hot, so it's either location, price, condition or the lack of marketing. The only one you can't fix is location.
0 Reply
Arnold B. Guerrero
OP
Rental Property Investor · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2018 · 27 posts · 8 votes
6y
@Marcus Auerbach
Thank you so much Marcus. I am communicating with her now.
0 Reply
Lynnette E.
Rental Property Investor · TN · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
6y
Where I rent, it has been hard to find qualified, employed tenants right now. Many folks work at factories and restaurant/tourism. Those jobs are still closed or partially closed.
So those looking are very low credit, and 'hoping' to get back to work soon. As soon as the extra unemployment stops they won't pay.
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