All Forum Posts by: Brad E.

Hey BP - I am having some trouble getting my first property rented and I would love to have some feedback from the community to see what I should be doing differently.

Property details:

2 Bd/ 1 bath duplex

Light rehab performed - floor paint and various other cosmetic improvements

C+ neighborhood

Listed since 11/1/17

Price: $695/month, includes yard maintenance and trash pickup

1 side is occupied at $525; needs a rehab

I have it listed on craigslist and syndicated through Zillow.

Minimum qualifying standards:

620 credit score

3x monthly rent income

No pets

No smoking

I've set up a screening process that requires prospects to fill out a questionnaire before I will schedule a time to show it to the tenant. When they contact me through the listing site I send them a link to the questionnaire via the email address they provide.

Once a questionnaire is submitted I review it and if it looks good I will set up a time to view the unit.

At the showing I give them a property handout with a link to my online rental application and my contact info. I

To date I've had 180 inquiries from the various listing sites and 37 questionnaires submitted, with only 1 actual application submitted.

My funnel is definitely narrowing down the field but it's too narrow because hardly anybody is finishing the process.

On the surface it seems like the problem is occurring at the application process. However, I am not sure of that.

My application is through cozy.co and it runs $39 which covers the credit and background check. I can't control this cost unless I change providers, which I am open to doing.

I've started experimenting with the price by lowering in down to $675 where its been for about 2 weeks. I am planning to lower it again this week down to 650. I've also lowered my credit requirement down to $600.

I don't think I'm comfortable going any lower on the credit score, but I may have to continue dropping the price. I do think the price is already competitive because there are other units in the same neighborhood around that price.

I am questioning if the application fee is creating too much of a barrier to entry.

During November and December I chalked it up to the holidays making it hard to rent. Now that we are more than half way through January, I'm not really sure what the problem is or what I am doing wrong. I’ve recently implemented an exit survey which I send to folks after they have viewed the unit. I’ve only sent it 1 time and had 0 response rate so far.

I would love to hear any suggestions you might have to help getting this thing rented!

Thanks in advance.

@Hannah Guild I am using Cozy for my rental app and as part of it they run a credit and background check.  It's $39 for the tenant and free for landlords.  You can specify if you want to require credit, background or both checked during the application.  I think it is $25 if you do them individually.  It been working great for me so far with no overhead for me.  Plus you don't assume any risk associated with collecting personal information.

@Josh Huber I really liked "ABCs of Real Estate Investing" by Ken McElroy.  Ive referred back to it several times and its really the book that convinced me multi fam is the way to go.

Hopefully others can suggest more as I am also looking for more books on this topic.

@Account Closed

Finding a deal.

Hello!  Im in the process of screening some applicants, one of whom is moving from out of state.  They are currently employed but when they move here they will be leaving their employer.  I spoke with the current employer and the applicant received positive feedback.

So my question is how do you guys deal with a situation where an applicant looks good on all aspects of the application, but they are moving to a new area and haven't yet established employment?  

TIA.

@Wayne Bodley

My gut says yes but because I am new to this, I don't trust myself yet.

@Bj Johnson

Yes, the fact that they not married is the part that makes me nervous. Breakups happen. It does appear that this will be their first time renting together.

@Llewelyn A.

I think those are high credit scores for the area. Most people are telling me (haven't run checks) that their credit will be in the 550-650 range.

@Linda S.

I hadn't considered a M2M that is an interesting thought.

Thanks every one for the input. I feel pretty good about these applicants but this feedback is very helpful.

Hey BP - I'm looking for some advice on potential tenants I am screening. I have a couple applying. They are not married.

One of them meets all income and credit requirments having a 729 credit score. So by themself, I would move forward with leasing to this person.

The other meets the credit requirement with a 709 credit score but doesnt meet the income requirement. So I would probably not move foward to leasing to this person alone.

So if they are both going on the same lease, would you be concerned about the one person not meeting the income requirement?  I was considering requiring a double security deposit to mitigate the risk some.

Everything else looks good. One has 7 yr marine corps and the other just graduated college. Seems like solid people getting on their feet.

Thanks for your opinions.

@Lakshay G.

I have just done exactly what you have described. You can 'quit claim deed' the property to the LLC. My closing attorneys handled that for me (I think for free) about a month after close date. I would just let the attorney know that is what you want to do prior to or at the closing table.

In terms of ownership I am the property manager for reasons mentioned here and elsewhere.  

The one thing I discovered and have still not figured out how to solve is snail mail.

Marketing mail is being sent to both units of the property I purchased, addressed to my name, at the property address.  So that pretty much kills the anonymity play.

I spoke with the mail carrier and she said there is not really a way to stop it.  You can request mail forwarding but that will only forward first class mail, which most of the marketing garbage is not.  

I was hoping to find the equivalent of a 'do not call' list for mail but it doesn't seem there is anything like that.  

If somebody has tips on a solution for this I would love to hear.

Thanks everyone!  This is really great feedback!

@Deborah Burian that is interesting.  What are your thoughts on folks without rental history?  

My unit seems to be attracting quite a few folks that are highly interested but they are moving out of the nest for the first time and don't have prior rental history.

This will be my first tenant of my choosing so I am really trying to get a good one.