First Rental Unit...Still waiting for a tenant to sign a lease
My fiance and I just bought a duplex in Highland Park, Los Angeles that came with a 600 sq. ft. bungalow. The unit is completely separate from our front house and doesn't have any shared walls (2 house on a lot). We renovated the entire kitchen, cleaned it up with paint and new fixtures and have it listed to rent on Zillow, Craigslist, Apartments.com, and several other sites. It is listed as a 1 bedroom but has an additional bonus room that can be used as a bedroom as well. We have had about 10 potential tenants come to view the unit, but no one has shown any interest in signing.
I am now on month 2 of paying the FULL mortgage and really want to get the unit filled so we can utilize that rent towards our mortgage.
Some potential factors I see that may be effecting the situation are...
-Rent May be too high ($2395...on the higher end for a 1 bedroom (+Bonus room) in Highland Park)
-Street Parking (the street is a dead end with a school at the end of the block)
-The bathroom is in the kitchen (House built in 1920s...kinda weird)
-Sharing a lot with the owners (we have provided their own private walkway and secluded patio, so interaction with us would be minimal).
I would love any advice on things I may be over looking or potential strategies I can implement to get this thing filled. This is our first investment and want to get it off the ground so we can continue to invest.
Thanks,
Matt