OK Landlords - Help Me Out With A Vacancy!!!
Hey all you successful Landlords!!
I have a duplex in NJ that half of it is vacant and has been for 2 months... Now, this is not very long - HOWEVER - it doesn't cash flow when its vacant...
Here is the deal - its a 2 bedroom apartment, large bedrooms, hardwood floors, new kitchen, W/W carpet in the 2nd Bedroom (3rd Floor), new windows...
Now, it is in a very blue collar town, not in the nicest part of town. This town or part of town is by no means a "war zone"... It is, however, many row homes, many rentals, and many houses in a small area. I have it advertised and I am not getting many calls on it. About 8 months ago when I advertised the place for rent I was getting 20-30 calls on it per ad... Now I am getting 5-10 calls on it and the ones that call say they will come when I'm showing it but many of them don't come. The ones that do show up take an application and never send it back and I never hear from them again!
Any suggestions??
Thank you TheCreativeInvestor for the Website!!!
Matt K
Hmmmm?? Sounds cosmetic. Maybe give one of them a call back and ask some follow up questions as to why they didn't like it. It might be something small and cosmetic that can be fixed. Or have a friend do a walk through to give their opinion. ( when I was younger, I didn't pick a beautiful apartment well in my price range because it had a pink bathroom...go figure) Also check your local paper to make sure your rent is in line with the area. Sounds odd...good luck
Quote:
On 2004-03-10 09:22, smallinvestments wrote:
Hmmmm?? Sounds cosmetic. Maybe give one of them a call back and ask some follow up questions as to why they didn't like it. It might be something small and cosmetic that can be fixed. Or have a friend do a walk through to give their opinion. ( when I was younger, I didn't pick a beautiful apartment well in my price range because it had a pink bathroom...go figure) Also check your local paper to make sure your rent is in line with the area. Sounds odd...good luck
Smallinvestments Thanks for your reply!
I had my brother take a look through, as well as my girlfriend (both of which are brutally honest)... I got some feedback from them... But they think its a very nice place... But I am stumped about my ad not getting responses! Any ideas on how to get some more interest out of my advertisement?? My asking rent is well with in the going rent...
Thanks again for your reply - I'll try calling some of the people that took a look at the place... Maybe they will shed some light on the problem!!
Matt K
Think about offering an incentive. Free Microwave with annual lease, or, Free color TV with two year lease, or, First month rent free (security deposit only).
You get the idea.
check out the rental market and make sure you are competitive..........we try to sty at the bottom half of the price range and keep the place looking good......Truth is once someone is in there they are unlikely to leave if you increase rents a little........ look at all things like neighbors etc...There is a reason
Good Luck
I agree with the incentives....I've also seen ads for 1/2 price off 1st months rent for a signed 1 year lease.
I have 2 ads that I use in this type of situation. The 1st one reads FREE RENT 123 main st xxx-xxx-xxxx. Always get lots of calls on that one. That's the hook. the catch is, they get that if they pay 12 months... as agreed. Don't want to actually give a month away? $25.00 more per month than what you normally charge per month is an extra $300.00 per year... be creative. Besides, this time, you've already given 2 months away.
The second one is to place the ad "Owner will Finance" No Banks! 123 main st xxx-xxx-xxxx. I know, I know, you don't want to sell. But invariably, some of my best renters respond to these ads. They want to buy but don't have the money down... but they do have 1st and security. And they seem to be a better class of renter too.
Good Luck,
Shawn(OH)
BMan is absolutely right. Once the tenant is living in the apartment, and if you're taking care of the place, you can gradually raise the rent and still keep the tenant. I've raised rent by as much as $70 all at once, and the tenants stayed. Okay, they did have three giant aquariums in the apartment (one with ancient turtles, one with a lizard, and one with fish), but the point is that they and others have stayed.
What I would suggest that you do is pretend to be a potential tenant and go around your neighborhood. Take a look at other apartments that are available. See what condition they're in and what, if anything is being offered by other landlords. You may find that your apartment is nice, but those around you are even nicer. Of there's just something that you're missing. Before just lowering the rent or offering something for free, make sure to check out the competition. You may find that it's not price but something else that's preventing you from being successful with this property. Then again, maybe it's the price.
Good luck.
[addsig]
Dear Mattfish,
The market may be slow in general. That is really beyond your control. As the others have said, give incentives.
We have the a one bedroom condo we can't move. And we just re- did it. (It's our nicest one).
I think the problem is the rent cycle is beginning early in my area. It usually doesn't start until April-May. We're hoping the next month will make a difference. Maybe it will peak early and we'll be able to get everything rented. Meanwhile we're trying to ride out the wave. Most of our callers won't even get out of their cars to look. They all say they'll just drive by. The market is definately in their favor.
Cordially,
Alice
Thank you!!! Thank you!!!!!
I appreciate all the suggestions that I have received in this post!!
I have filled my vacancy extremely quickly...
I ended up advertising "First Month Half Rent" - I didn't decrease the rent I was asking for, just the first month. I got people calling me all and asking when they could move in almost immediately!!
I got a great turn out when I showed the apartment, and signed an agreement yesterday!!
Thanks everybody!!
I love this place!
Matt