Rental Property Investor · New York, NY · Member since 2018 · 29 posts · 11 votes
I recently purchased an eight-unit apartment building in Killeen that needed major renovations (currently underway) and only had one unit occupied.
Although it's been two months since I closed on the property and three of the units are rent-ready (excluding the one that is currently occupied), my property manager and I are simply not garnering enough interest for each 3 bedroom/2 bathroom unit at $650.00/month.
The building itself is only 43 years old and has recently gone under significant remodeling so I would think there is more appeal than a run-down, poorly managed building.
Can someone please advise what else we can do to get a few more vacancies filled?
Has anyone in the invested in the area that also experienced this issue?
Wow you’re PM really has you wrapped around their finger. Hopefully the property doesn’t stay vacant while you wait for your contract to expire over the next two years.
What’s their recourse if you terminate the contract? You’re getting what you’re paying for (nothing), the only question is how much longer you want that to continue. Terminate and move on.
@Tashfeen Islam what side of town is it on? 650 seems very fair for Killeen so I’m interested why you’re not getting as many candidates as you’d like assuming you’ve posted on all the sites Craigslist,Zillow ,trulia etc..
Are you accepting housing? If so forward your vacancies to local housing authority. Is the property manager a member of mls? Mls listings are most trusted.
Where in Killeen is the property located? Some of the north Killeen neighborhoods can be rough. $650 for 3/2 is well below market. I’m getting $650 for 2/1.5 in Killeen near Harker Heights.
"only 43 years old" LOL must be a northeast investor. People in Texas want new or complete renovations. Thats an old building. Post photos or your ads, we can give better advice then.
@Ronald Rohde I’m actually from the opposite end of the country but good guess haha. Regardless, I have noticed that properties in Killeen tend to be on the older side so something built in the 70’s and 80’s sounds fairly new to me, but of course, that’s just my opinion.
Here is the link to the property for more reference: http://tash.rentlinx.com/1507-N-8Th-St-Killeen-TX-76541-3
@Tashfeen it shows off market if you search property address. With that being said i would look up your property manager at www.trec.texas.gov to see if they are licensed. Please AVOID using an unlicensed Property manager. If you would like more help and resources, please PM me. Your property renovations look good and the size of the unit for $650 is great. I would be happy to help. Affordable rent goes a long way. But of course your main goal is to generate cashflow. Like i said please PM for additional help with this.
@Khanesia Washington Thank you for the insight and I did confirm that they are a licensed PM. My PM mentioned that MLS listings are for properties for sale, not for rent. I don't believe this is accurate but it is possible since they may not be MLS members because they'd rather not pay any fees to a renter's agent, especially considering that my PM does not charge any fee to me for tenant placements nor lease renewals. Any other insight you can offer would be appreciated.
Mls is for properties for sale or lease/rent by an mls member. They may not ne affiliated with mls. Zillow and trulia pull listings from mls unless listed directly on sites mentioned. At the minimum you need to be listed on zillow. Nobody can rent what they dont know about. Your property shows off market online which in a searchers eyes means not for rent/available.
@Ronald Rohde I’m actually from the opposite end of the country but good guess haha. Regardless, I have noticed that properties in Killeen tend to be on the older side so something built in the 70’s and 80’s sounds fairly new to me, but of course, that’s just my opinion.
Here is the link to the property for more reference: http://tash.rentlinx.com/1507-N-8Th-St-Killeen-TX-76541-3
No worries, 43 is old in Texas. it may be common, but still old since we don't have anything thats 100 years old or anything. Units look updated, clean, paint and cabinets are awesome. Get a new PM and have me review the Agreement!
@Andrea Jacob Thanks Andrea but unfortunately, I am locked in with this PM on a 2-year agreement. My PM mentioned the reason her broker likely did not become an MLS member is to avoid paying commission fees to renter's agents since only licensed professionals can access MLS listings, which is what I expected. Regardless, I'll see how the next couple of years play out before deciding to switch since I'm kind of stuck at this point. The big selling point for me on them was that they charge no lease renewal nor tenant placement fees which saves me a good amount in the future and they have a solid track record in that area.
@Ronald Rohde Thanks Ronald and I agree, newer is always better. Since I’m still tight on cash, the more attractive properties are outside of my reach but with time, I’m working towards buying newer/upgraded properties. I’ll definitely keep you in mind if I need help in the future. Unfortunately with the PM, I’m locked in on a 2-year agreement but we’ll see how that plays out before I make a switch.
I would suggest to have your PM or someone take more/maybe better quality photos.
Listings with at least 10 photos usually have better search results. More opportunity for SEO.
Especially if you have multiple units, hire a professional photographer that allows you full rights, maybe cost $200-1000 but if they are high quality (maybe staged?) you can use those for years for all of your units.
@Peter Loudis Thanks for the feedback. Better quality photos would be very beneficial but the ones I have are taken by my PM so I’ll have to explore other options in that case.
Wow you’re PM really has you wrapped around their finger. Hopefully the property doesn’t stay vacant while you wait for your contract to expire over the next two years.
What’s their recourse if you terminate the contract? You’re getting what you’re paying for (nothing), the only question is how much longer you want that to continue. Terminate and move on.
#2 What is you PM offering for co-broke...needs to be at least 50%...maybe more at $650/month.
#3 Can you offer any free rent...like 1 month free rent or no deposit or 1/2 deposit.
#4 Are you allowing pets?
#5 What marketing is your PM doing?
#6 Is the PM charging a reasonable app fee or in this case maybe no app fee. I've seen some crappy stuff lately, like PM charging $150 app fee and $150 processing fee. That probably doesn't fly well in Kileen.
#7 The units have to be clean and in decent condition. Have someone other than PM check it out for you.
@Tashfeen Islam I can see part of your problem. This is one of the worst neighborhoods in Killeen. Look at the crime report on Trulia. Your property is in the middle one of the highest crime areas in Killeen. When you drive through this area you will see a bunch of closed stores and businesses. I would avoid anywhere north of Rancier in old town Killeen. The better areas are on the South side of town, East towards Harker Heights or West towards Copperas Cove. If you buy more properties in Killeen be very careful with location.
I have several properties in that area and have had them for several years and have not had any problems getting them rented. Like many of the previous post I would get the PM on the phone and have a come to jesus conversation. Like I said I have 6 properties in the area. I can tell you which PM company i have used for the last 10 years.
You need to fire your manager. Why would you sign a 2 year agreement? That’s crazy...
At a minimum, you should have professional photos and be listed on Zillow, apartments.com, and cozy. Those 3 networks syndicate pretty well across the Internet