apartment vacany help
Anna WentzellPro Member
Member since 2026 · 5 posts · 3 votesapartment vacany help
Most Popular Reply
Honolulu, HI · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
1moThe link you provided, as well as the return for a search on the address and company name, were both rejected by my Bitdefender anti-virus, so that might be one issue. The search return did provide links to other sources, including apartments.com, zillow, and rent.com which showed the property along with screening cost and numerous criteria.
To be clear, I've never been east of the Missouri river, so have no clue to your local market. What I do see however, first of all, is a $75 application fee, presumably per adult, for a $950 per month rental. That's a big bite for a maybe! $10 - $20 app fee will get you many more applications, just track whatever the additional cost to you is for the tax deduction.
You go on to provide numerous criteria:
3X Rent (is this total household, or per individual?) You need to get complete info and perform full screening on every adult. Why would someone with a lot of Bad Habits offer any info on their past if you do not investigate them? What do you do if the Good Tenant moves out? It happens. Marriages split up, roommates argue and separate, young lovers find out living together is not so rosy. You need everyone's info.
MUST NOT HAVE ANY PAST DUE PAYMENTS, CHARGE OFFS, OR FILED EVICTIONS AND NO CRIMINAL BACKGROUND.
I guarantee that alone is greatly reducing the interest in the unit, and you are missing out on some very good tenants. Someone with just one of any of those issues will usually just move on to the next property.
While the individual elements in your criteria are important factors, they are far too broad and will eliminate perfectly good tenants.
"Past due payments", there is a big difference between one or two or three late 30 DAY payments for credit cards, loans, cars, etc. vs. a history of 60 day and multiple lates for multiple years on multiple accounts, combined with high balances on those accounts.
Charge offs are not great, but if other factors are good, or if they total less than, and the charge off is old, or a small amount, or maybe for medical services, not a big deal. Criminal backgrounds...first, be sure you know local laws regarding using this as a criteria, some have limitations. Second, again, a couple inconsequential issues, particularly misdemeanors, or something that happened years ago, but all of their other areas including legal have been good for several years, then not a big deal. To be clear, axe murderers, drug dealers, violent crimes or a string of misdemeanors for a period of recent time is still a NO. You need to be realistic when looking at the total picture.
You can establish criteria that causes rejection if there are more than 3 collection items totaling $150; 3 or more misdemeanors within past 18 months, violent of felonious offenses within past 5 years, with completion of incarceration at least 3 years prior.
As long as recent 18 - 24 months of consumer accounts are acceptable, I ignore medical debts, foreclosures, bankruptcies, and aged auto repos. You do need to ask questions to see what changed to get them on the path of Good Habits. Life Happens, and some people actually get older AND wiser, so you need to consider that, but the most recent three years of activities is far more important than older issues.
I will make a comment on credit scores. I constantly advise that the score alone is not important, and should not be used as a criteria. It is more important to look at these more granular details yourself, and establish what you believe to be more, or less, important to show recent responsible behavior, and publish those criteria.
What are you showing in the photos? A laundry connection? Are inexperienced renters supposed to guess about that? Is it common for apartments in your locale to NOT have a washer/dryer included? Zero Features and Benefits are included in your ad.
You only show part of the bathroom...no idea if it is single or double sink, or what storage there might be in it. You show only a corner of a room, with blinds closed.I'm guessing it is a bedroom but where and how big is the closet? Eventually you show both sides of the kitchen, and location of the dining area, but again blinds are closed. Decent view of the building, but what about common/private yard areas are included? Is parking random or assigned, and how many stalls?
Yo do not need a professional photographer...ever! Unless you are working with executive or luxury homes. Most cellphones have great capabilities, but mostly it is a matter of taking intentional marketing shots. Using a wider lens option, you should be able to stand in the room entry and take one image that captures floor, ceiling, and most of all 4 walls. A lot of phones now also have a panoramic function (or lens) to enable great pics of yards or neighborhoods, or views from the home/property. You don't need to mess with a lot of settings, but just choosing the different zoom options dramatically changes the view. And turn on all interior lights day or night, and open the darned blinds. Just make sure the windows are clean!
Your pics should tell a story...the same story you would tell if you were showing in person, flowing from the entry, into the main areas, then to the bedrooms, and out to the back yard, stopping for closer specific details where appropriate...but nothing stands out here. You cannot determine the type of countertops; if there are ceiling fans; is there AC; separate water heaters or one for the entire building (which affects util costs); the ceiling is pretty dirty around the ventilation duct, and the vertical blinds are in tatters. Does not say much for standards. Also, and it may well be just the angle of light and the pic, but it appears there could have been water damage causing some minor cupping of the flooring across the dining area from the refer. If that were the case, and it looks like that in person, that alone would spoil a chance at renting to any quality tenants.
I'm not trying to beat you up here. It IS a very fine looking building, but I've processed over 3000 applications, placing over 1000 tenants over more than 20 years, and that is just what I see. I hope it helps you.
11 Replies
- Honolulu, HI · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes1mo
Post a link to their ad. Tell us what the screening criteria/process is.
- Member since 2026 · 5 posts · 3 votes1mo
Quote from @Richard F.:
Post a link to their ad. Tell us what the screening criteria/process is.
513 S COIT ST. UNIT B | The Blanton Company
I have another unit available just like this one, screening criteria is provided in listing
- Real Estate Broker · New York, NY · Member since 2020 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes1mo
Hey Anna,
One thing that stood out to me is what you said at the end: it doesn't sound like you're struggling to get eyes on the listing, it sounds like you're struggling to find people who actually qualify. Those are two different problems.
If you're getting applications but very few make it through screening, I'd take a step back and ask why. Is it an income issue? Credit? Rental history? If there's a common trend, it might help you figure out whether it's a marketing problem or just the applicant pool in your area. I wouldn't lower your standards just to fill a vacancy, but it's worth making sure your criteria line up with your market.
I'd also lean on your PM here. They should have a pretty good pulse on what's happening locally. Are they getting a lot of inquiries? Are people touring but not applying? Are comparable units leasing faster? Those answers can tell you a lot.
I'd much rather have a unit sit vacant for another few weeks than rush someone through screening and end up dealing with another eviction a few months later.
Good luck, and feel free to DM me any more questions!
- 1moDrew SygitBusiness MemberProperty Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 8k+ votes
Quote from @Anna Wentzell:
I have a 16-unit apartment complex with 2 vacancies at the moment & 1 currently being evicted. I purchased the complex with the 2 vacancies not thinking it would be difficult to fill, but that has proven otherwise. My PM has it posted on their website, zillow, & a couple other avenues & I have posted on FB marketplace. I'm just not sure how to boost exposure, it seems to me the problem is finding tenants that pass screening. I feel the location is in a great part of town, but the problem is finding a reliable tenant that can pay for it (& my rent is comparable to other similar apartments & not over-priced for the area). I'm at my wits end.
What are the screening requirements and process?
What are the metrics:
Webviews
Inquiries
Showings Scheduled
Showings Completed
Applications
- average profile?
Logical Property Management4.9446 Reviews - Honolulu, HI · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes1mo
The link you provided, as well as the return for a search on the address and company name, were both rejected by my Bitdefender anti-virus, so that might be one issue. The search return did provide links to other sources, including apartments.com, zillow, and rent.com which showed the property along with screening cost and numerous criteria.
To be clear, I've never been east of the Missouri river, so have no clue to your local market. What I do see however, first of all, is a $75 application fee, presumably per adult, for a $950 per month rental. That's a big bite for a maybe! $10 - $20 app fee will get you many more applications, just track whatever the additional cost to you is for the tax deduction.
You go on to provide numerous criteria:
3X Rent (is this total household, or per individual?) You need to get complete info and perform full screening on every adult. Why would someone with a lot of Bad Habits offer any info on their past if you do not investigate them? What do you do if the Good Tenant moves out? It happens. Marriages split up, roommates argue and separate, young lovers find out living together is not so rosy. You need everyone's info.MUST NOT HAVE ANY PAST DUE PAYMENTS, CHARGE OFFS, OR FILED EVICTIONS AND NO CRIMINAL BACKGROUND.
I guarantee that alone is greatly reducing the interest in the unit, and you are missing out on some very good tenants. Someone with just one of any of those issues will usually just move on to the next property.
While the individual elements in your criteria are important factors, they are far too broad and will eliminate perfectly good tenants.
"Past due payments", there is a big difference between one or two or three late 30 DAY payments for credit cards, loans, cars, etc. vs. a history of 60 day and multiple lates for multiple years on multiple accounts, combined with high balances on those accounts.
Charge offs are not great, but if other factors are good, or if they total less than, and the charge off is old, or a small amount, or maybe for medical services, not a big deal. Criminal backgrounds...first, be sure you know local laws regarding using this as a criteria, some have limitations. Second, again, a couple inconsequential issues, particularly misdemeanors, or something that happened years ago, but all of their other areas including legal have been good for several years, then not a big deal. To be clear, axe murderers, drug dealers, violent crimes or a string of misdemeanors for a period of recent time is still a NO. You need to be realistic when looking at the total picture.
You can establish criteria that causes rejection if there are more than 3 collection items totaling $150; 3 or more misdemeanors within past 18 months, violent of felonious offenses within past 5 years, with completion of incarceration at least 3 years prior.
As long as recent 18 - 24 months of consumer accounts are acceptable, I ignore medical debts, foreclosures, bankruptcies, and aged auto repos. You do need to ask questions to see what changed to get them on the path of Good Habits. Life Happens, and some people actually get older AND wiser, so you need to consider that, but the most recent three years of activities is far more important than older issues.
I will make a comment on credit scores. I constantly advise that the score alone is not important, and should not be used as a criteria. It is more important to look at these more granular details yourself, and establish what you believe to be more, or less, important to show recent responsible behavior, and publish those criteria.
What are you showing in the photos? A laundry connection? Are inexperienced renters supposed to guess about that? Is it common for apartments in your locale to NOT have a washer/dryer included? Zero Features and Benefits are included in your ad.
You only show part of the bathroom...no idea if it is single or double sink, or what storage there might be in it. You show only a corner of a room, with blinds closed.I'm guessing it is a bedroom but where and how big is the closet? Eventually you show both sides of the kitchen, and location of the dining area, but again blinds are closed. Decent view of the building, but what about common/private yard areas are included? Is parking random or assigned, and how many stalls?
Yo do not need a professional photographer...ever! Unless you are working with executive or luxury homes. Most cellphones have great capabilities, but mostly it is a matter of taking intentional marketing shots. Using a wider lens option, you should be able to stand in the room entry and take one image that captures floor, ceiling, and most of all 4 walls. A lot of phones now also have a panoramic function (or lens) to enable great pics of yards or neighborhoods, or views from the home/property. You don't need to mess with a lot of settings, but just choosing the different zoom options dramatically changes the view. And turn on all interior lights day or night, and open the darned blinds. Just make sure the windows are clean!Your pics should tell a story...the same story you would tell if you were showing in person, flowing from the entry, into the main areas, then to the bedrooms, and out to the back yard, stopping for closer specific details where appropriate...but nothing stands out here. You cannot determine the type of countertops; if there are ceiling fans; is there AC; separate water heaters or one for the entire building (which affects util costs); the ceiling is pretty dirty around the ventilation duct, and the vertical blinds are in tatters. Does not say much for standards. Also, and it may well be just the angle of light and the pic, but it appears there could have been water damage causing some minor cupping of the flooring across the dining area from the refer. If that were the case, and it looks like that in person, that alone would spoil a chance at renting to any quality tenants.
I'm not trying to beat you up here. It IS a very fine looking building, but I've processed over 3000 applications, placing over 1000 tenants over more than 20 years, and that is just what I see. I hope it helps you.
- Member since 2026 · 5 posts · 3 votes1mo
Quote from @Richard F.:
The link you provided, as well as the return for a search on the address and company name, were both rejected by my Bitdefender anti-virus, so that might be one issue. The search return did provide links to other sources, including apartments.com, zillow, and rent.com which showed the property along with screening cost and numerous criteria.
To be clear, I've never been east of the Missouri river, so have no clue to your local market. What I do see however, first of all, is a $75 application fee, presumably per adult, for a $950 per month rental. That's a big bite for a maybe! $10 - $20 app fee will get you many more applications, just track whatever the additional cost to you is for the tax deduction.
You go on to provide numerous criteria:
3X Rent (is this total household, or per individual?) You need to get complete info and perform full screening on every adult. Why would someone with a lot of Bad Habits offer any info on their past if you do not investigate them? What do you do if the Good Tenant moves out? It happens. Marriages split up, roommates argue and separate, young lovers find out living together is not so rosy. You need everyone's info.MUST NOT HAVE ANY PAST DUE PAYMENTS, CHARGE OFFS, OR FILED EVICTIONS AND NO CRIMINAL BACKGROUND.
I guarantee that alone is greatly reducing the interest in the unit, and you are missing out on some very good tenants. Someone with just one of any of those issues will usually just move on to the next property.
While the individual elements in your criteria are important factors, they are far too broad and will eliminate perfectly good tenants.
"Past due payments", there is a big difference between one or two or three late 30 DAY payments for credit cards, loans, cars, etc. vs. a history of 60 day and multiple lates for multiple years on multiple accounts, combined with high balances on those accounts.
Charge offs are not great, but if other factors are good, or if they total less than, and the charge off is old, or a small amount, or maybe for medical services, not a big deal. Criminal backgrounds...first, be sure you know local laws regarding using this as a criteria, some have limitations. Second, again, a couple inconsequential issues, particularly misdemeanors, or something that happened years ago, but all of their other areas including legal have been good for several years, then not a big deal. To be clear, axe murderers, drug dealers, violent crimes or a string of misdemeanors for a period of recent time is still a NO. You need to be realistic when looking at the total picture.
You can establish criteria that causes rejection if there are more than 3 collection items totaling $150; 3 or more misdemeanors within past 18 months, violent of felonious offenses within past 5 years, with completion of incarceration at least 3 years prior.
As long as recent 18 - 24 months of consumer accounts are acceptable, I ignore medical debts, foreclosures, bankruptcies, and aged auto repos. You do need to ask questions to see what changed to get them on the path of Good Habits. Life Happens, and some people actually get older AND wiser, so you need to consider that, but the most recent three years of activities is far more important than older issues.
I will make a comment on credit scores. I constantly advise that the score alone is not important, and should not be used as a criteria. It is more important to look at these more granular details yourself, and establish what you believe to be more, or less, important to show recent responsible behavior, and publish those criteria.
What are you showing in the photos? A laundry connection? Are inexperienced renters supposed to guess about that? Is it common for apartments in your locale to NOT have a washer/dryer included? Zero Features and Benefits are included in your ad.
You only show part of the bathroom...no idea if it is single or double sink, or what storage there might be in it. You show only a corner of a room, with blinds closed.I'm guessing it is a bedroom but where and how big is the closet? Eventually you show both sides of the kitchen, and location of the dining area, but again blinds are closed. Decent view of the building, but what about common/private yard areas are included? Is parking random or assigned, and how many stalls?
Yo do not need a professional photographer...ever! Unless you are working with executive or luxury homes. Most cellphones have great capabilities, but mostly it is a matter of taking intentional marketing shots. Using a wider lens option, you should be able to stand in the room entry and take one image that captures floor, ceiling, and most of all 4 walls. A lot of phones now also have a panoramic function (or lens) to enable great pics of yards or neighborhoods, or views from the home/property. You don't need to mess with a lot of settings, but just choosing the different zoom options dramatically changes the view. And turn on all interior lights day or night, and open the darned blinds. Just make sure the windows are clean!Your pics should tell a story...the same story you would tell if you were showing in person, flowing from the entry, into the main areas, then to the bedrooms, and out to the back yard, stopping for closer specific details where appropriate...but nothing stands out here. You cannot determine the type of countertops; if there are ceiling fans; is there AC; separate water heaters or one for the entire building (which affects util costs); the ceiling is pretty dirty around the ventilation duct, and the vertical blinds are in tatters. Does not say much for standards. Also, and it may well be just the angle of light and the pic, but it appears there could have been water damage causing some minor cupping of the flooring across the dining area from the refer. If that were the case, and it looks like that in person, that alone would spoil a chance at renting to any quality tenants.
I'm not trying to beat you up here. It IS a very fine looking building, but I've processed over 3000 applications, placing over 1000 tenants over more than 20 years, and that is just what I see. I hope it helps you.
I'm not taking offense to this at all, I appreciate you pointing all of this out. This is my first experience with a larger multi-family & I'm learning pretty quickly it's a lot harder than I expected. I own & manage another business that takes a majority of my time & my family has always had singe family rental properties as a side hustle, but this is my first solo deal. We've always had property managers that I feel do the bare minimum & this is my first try with a new property management company. I was able to work out a good management percentage & it happens to also be the company I used to find/purchase this property so I wanted to give them a shot. Seeing their advertising & all of the hoops a prospective tenant has to go through to get approved is leaving me pretty salty to say the least. I hired them to take all of this responsibility off of my plate yet I feel like I'm going to have to step in. I am no expert on criteria needed for tenant screening, taking the best pictures for advertising, or even broadcasting the listing to get the most attraction. I don't even know how to get this method improved going forward or what to say to the property management company to get the ball rolling in the right direction. It's a bit stressful, but I know the location is great & this can be a homerun investment. I just hate feeling like I'm failing for not knowing how to immediately correct a situation. All of this advice is really eye-opening!
- 1moJimmy LieuBusiness MemberReal Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2019 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votesHappy to have you here! If you're getting inquiries but very few people are making it through screening, I'd start by tracking where applicants are getting denied. Is it income, credit, prior evictions, criminal history, or something else? Once you know the biggest issue, you can decide whether your criteria are filtering out too many otherwise solid tenants or if the marketing is attracting the wrong audience. I'd also make sure the listing has great photos, a video walkthrough, and highlights what's unique about the property since those can really improve the quality of leads. Sometimes offering a move-in special, like half off the first month's rent or reduced application fees for qualified applicants, can increase interest without lowering your long-term rent. Lastly, ask your PM for the numbers. How many views, inquiries, showings, applications, and approvals are you getting? That funnel usually points to where the real problem is. Happy to connect and answer any questions you have!
Quote from @Anna Wentzell:
I have a 16-unit apartment complex with 2 vacancies at the moment & 1 currently being evicted. I purchased the complex with the 2 vacancies not thinking it would be difficult to fill, but that has proven otherwise. My PM has it posted on their website, zillow, & a couple other avenues & I have posted on FB marketplace. I'm just not sure how to boost exposure, it seems to me the problem is finding tenants that pass screening. I feel the location is in a great part of town, but the problem is finding a reliable tenant that can pay for it (& my rent is comparable to other similar apartments & not over-priced for the area). I'm at my wits end.
Jimmy Lieu, Red 1 Realty4.9118 Reviews - 1moJoseph CacciapagliaBusiness MemberLender · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2020 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
You're probably having a hard time finding qualified tenants, because the only people attracted to this listing are people without other options. Here are a few things I noticed right away:
1. The link to the listing page you provided took a very long time to load. Most people will click away if a page doesn't fully load in just a couple seconds. They're also just using a wordpress template that looks like a DIY website.
2. The pictures are terrible. Sorry to be so blunt, but these look like what my PM did in 2005. They're dark, and capturing only a small portion of many of the rooms. AI can touch up and virtual stage pictures in no time these days, and I expect that from my PM.
3. The process to see the units is probably intimidating for some people. I don't want to have to just show up during office hours, hope someone is there, and hand them money so I can show myself an apartment. A good PM should have a way to schedule an appointment directly on the listing page.
- Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes1mo
Quote from @Anna Wentzell:
I have a 16-unit apartment complex with 2 vacancies at the moment & 1 currently being evicted. I purchased the complex with the 2 vacancies not thinking it would be difficult to fill, but that has proven otherwise. My PM has it posted on their website, zillow, & a couple other avenues & I have posted on FB marketplace. I'm just not sure how to boost exposure, it seems to me the problem is finding tenants that pass screening. I feel the location is in a great part of town, but the problem is finding a reliable tenant that can pay for it (& my rent is comparable to other similar apartments & not over-priced for the area). I'm at my wits end.
we run into similar issues, we get a lot of activity as the units are in great shape, but the issue is the tenant quality is subpar. 2 out of 16 is 88% occupancy which would be considered par for the course on a 16 unit property by the way so it is not bad.
These types of scenarios just take time unfortunately.
7e investments53 Reviews - 1moDrew SygitBusiness MemberProperty Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 8k+ votes
For those interested, here's the Zillow link:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/513-S-Coit-St-B-Florence-...
and here's the ad copy:
Unit located in Downtown Florence. Recently renovated. Shops & dining in the vicinity.
PROPERTIES ARE SHOWN BY FIRST COME BASIS.
TO VIEW A PROPERTY, COME TO OUR OFFICE AT:
THE BLANTON COMPANY
419 S. COIT ST.
FLORENCE SC 29501
OFFICE HOURS ARE:
MONDAY FRIDAY 9:00 5:00
BRING A KEY DEPOSIT OF $25 AND COPY OF YOUR DRIVERS LICENSE
KEYS HAVE TO BE RETURNED BEFORE 5:00 P.M.
APPLICATIONS CAN BE OBTAINED IN PERSON AT OUR OFFICE. THE APPLICATION FEE IS $75.00 NON-REFUNDABLE.
QUALIFICATIONS :
INCOME = 3 TIMES RENT AMOUNT
CREDIT HISTORY MUST NOT HAVE ANY PAST DUE PAYMENTS, CHARGE OFFS, OR FILED EVICTIONS AND NO CRIMINAL BACKGROUND
1 year - owner pays for water/garbage
_________________________________________________________________________1) Why isn't it on Apartments com?
2) Not much of a description!
No warmth or inviting data
Room sizes?
Amenities?3) Where is a floorplan?
4) 3D Tour?
5) Showing process is EASY for PMC, but what about prospects?
- #1 busiest industry time for showings: 10am - 2pm Saturdays.
- #2 is from 6pm-8pm weekdaysYour PMC needs to improve their Showings Procedure/Availability or find a new PMC!
Logical Property Management4.9446 Reviews - 1moRyan SpathBusiness MemberReal Estate Agent · Boise, ID · Member since 2017 · 543 posts · 368 votes
Quote from @Anna Wentzell:
I have a 16-unit apartment complex with 2 vacancies at the moment & 1 currently being evicted. I purchased the complex with the 2 vacancies not thinking it would be difficult to fill, but that has proven otherwise. My PM has it posted on their website, zillow, & a couple other avenues & I have posted on FB marketplace. I'm just not sure how to boost exposure, it seems to me the problem is finding tenants that pass screening. I feel the location is in a great part of town, but the problem is finding a reliable tenant that can pay for it (& my rent is comparable to other similar apartments & not over-priced for the area). I'm at my wits end.
Where is it that folks are getting denied? What part of the criteria? the 3x income to rent for this type of unit may be a bit steep, maybe 2.5 if the debt to income is in line. Also, the $75 application fee stands out. I'm not familiar with your market, but this seems a bit excessive epically for this type of product. Best of luck
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