First Duplex
I just purchased my first rental property/duplex. The previous owner had moved out of town and was an owner occupant of the duplex. It is currently vacant. I put a "for rent" sign in the yard and an ad in the paper for this weekend. Does anybody else know of good inexpensive and succesful ways to advertise or tips on filling it. How long does it typically take to fill vacancies? I'm sure it depends on the properties but am curious on an average... Thanks.
You pretty much have all the bases covered. And it DOES depend on your area. Additionally January is historically a poor month for new rentals.
[addsig]
Thanks. I can't say that would would like to move in January either!
Profile your prospective tenants.
Does your place have W/D hookups? If not, then put up a sign in the closest laundromat.
I put a directional "for rent" sign on the closest busy street.
Knock on a few doors in the neighborhood and find out if anyone knows anyone that would like to live where they do (offer a $50 cash reward)
Put up fliers in nearby grocery stores or by nearby Bus Stops.
January is hard, but you only need to find one or two people.
Be creative! Good luck.
Thanks, there is a grocery store nearby. I will definately try that one.
Hey,
Make up a nice flyer (on your computer). Includes a nice picture of the property and all the great details you can think of. At the top in BIG FONT is the address AND the price per month plus deposit. At the bottom in BIG FONT is your company number.
You do have company phone number with an answering machine????
Make the flyer nice, because you will use it every time you need to rent the house.
Tape the flyer to the front window of the house, so anyone looking at it can see it.
DO NOT put flyers outside. (Yes, I am sure. )
Again, DO NOT put flyers outside. (Yes, I know you think it is a great idea, but don't do it).
On the company phone leave a message about the house (basically you read off the flyer) AND that there is an Open House on Sunday between 1:00 and 4:00 (pick whatever time you want). Also, that there will be applications at the Open House. The application fee is $25 (pick a number).
I use to make a second flyer, which basically said the same thing, but at the top said "HELP PICK YOUR NEIGHBOR" and EARN $100. It detailed the finders fee. I would drive around and put this on mailboxes.
Go to all the neighbor's houses and say hello. Tell them who you are and hand them a business card and the flyer. Mention the finders fee.
Now all the neighbors are going to tell you they don't want any bad people living in their neighborhood (I am toning this down, in case any children are reading this). They are going to tell you horror story after horror story. You have to agree 100% and say you are going to get the best tenant you can get (that is when you mention the finders fee and that they can "HELP PICK YOUR NEIGHBOR" program). Be the sweetest, nicest person you have ever been in your life. If you screw this up, it will take you forever to rent the house.
While you are knocking on all the neighbor's doors, don't forget your other tenant in the duplex.
OK, sounds great. I'll also put a flyer in the window as well as at the grocery store. I don't, however, have a company yet. It's all under my own name. I'm not sure at what point I would need to do this? I can see benefits for liability reasons but is it beneficial for tax purposes with only one property? Thanks again for the advice.
we were having trouble getting the right people (we are very picky) to rent from us in late August (and time of year does have a lot to do with things) so we decided to try something. We had just rehabbed the entire unit and took some pics with a digital camera . We created a free website (most isp's provide) and then ran that url in the newspaper ad....suddenly we had to make a decision on who we wanted to be our renter.. we have kept that web site and plan on doing this on all of our rentals (we only have 5 so not to difficult) and as we acquire more we will do the same to them......we even had people calling from out of state wanting to move to the area and wanting to just do the transaction via mail just from what they had seen.........we didnt rent to them but you can see the possibility...most papers run a web site where your classified can be viewed and this opens up another door........
Good Luck
Brian
You might also post at the local community college or State University. There is always some 22 year old desperately trying to meet residency requirements.
-Eli
Rookie
I am very pick (hope that you will be also) and it takes me about 6 weeks to fill a vacancy. January stinks. Everybody just got their Xmas bills and are waiting for their IRS Refund checks. I make all my leases expire on July 31st.
More on being picky - have selection criteria. Mine is credit check (not great credit, just average, all medical is deregarded), income 3x the rent, and rental history. I check the rental application like a PI. MUST get a credit report. Do a reverse lookup on all the phone numbers at www.whitepages.com. Look up all the addresses at your property appraiser site. Get a copy of the Drivers License and cross check it with the Birthday on the credit check. Make sure they gave your their SSN. Have several loaded questions to ask the "landlords" - which most likelyl turn out to be friends or relatives. Look at the address on the driver's license and on the credit report and look for addresses not on the application. Go to public records and look for evictions.
Ask yourself "why is the phone number that I call to talk to the prospective tenant no associated with the current addresss", "why does the landlord not show as the owner on the PA site", "why is the address on the DL, which was issued 10 months ago, not on the applicaiton", "why is an adult living with his mother", "can they afford an increase more than 20% of their current rent", etc.
I deny more than 50% of my applications for falsifying information on their application.
Brenda
Thanks. I joined the local Lanlord Association which provides a screening service. Your ideas will be a great addition to that service. I have a fear of not being able to rent this at all since I've never done this before. I would rather have bought one that was already rented but I've been looking for one that looked like it "could" provide the best cashflow. It seems as though everyone selling asks such hefty prices. I got this one at what I think is a very fair price. I guess I'll find out and learn along the way.
Thanks for the suggestions!
I have experienced both rented and vacant properties after acquiring and I have to say I like them vacant.....couple of reasons....first almost always the seller is selling because they can make more money than what they are currently getting in rent....so right away you have to piss off the tenant by raising the rent to make the numbers work.....second and even more to my disliking is you have to accept the tenant instead of choosing them.....this isnt always a problem but it can be.....the previous owner probably didnt have the same standards as you will have......I have one now that I wish would just leave, they complain about things and then dont want to cooperate........when it comes to getting things fixed.........etc etc etc.......
Good Point! I haven't thought of it that way.
Thanks