Today’s question is from Martha:
When I met my husband in 2007 he owned a house and I owned a condo. With the economy going down at the time and no way to sell the condo, we decided to rent it out. For the last four months we’ve been paying two mortgages because we can’t find a renter. Our savings is draining and we’re losing hope.
Any suggestions for finding a renter quickly? We don’t want to lose the place. -Martha
Do you have a question you’d like to ask Money Saving Mom® readers? Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
We just bought our third home for a primary residence. We’ve kept houses #1 and #2 as rentals. We’ve always listed on Craig’s List and with a sign in front of our house. This time around, my phone rang OFF THE HOOK for the first 48 hours. After I had 15 or so appointments set up, I took the ad off Craig’s List and stopped answering calls. I showed the house to 10 people/families and ended up with 5 applications. I was so happy to have a pool of people to choose from. I had 2 candidates that I thought were just great, but I ultimately ended up going with a young family of 3. They are in our area for a 3 year doctoral fellowship, and I truly believe they will be great renters. My best advice is to price as competitively as you can, so you have OPTIONS. You don’t want to be able to choose the safest bet!
Definatley check your potentials, we have had nightmares with some. A family who had hundreds of cockroaches crawling along the walls….a lady who knew how to work the system for almost a year(and worked in the city court building).
They seem so intelligent and pleasant when you meet them, and turn into “Mr. Hyde” when you want them to pay rent!
Make sure that you have everything in writing before letting your tenants in. And get a security deposit! We moved out of state due to job but were unable to sell before moving so chose to rent until the market improved. We made arrangements to rent to a couple we knew from our church–much of the agreement was verbal. Well, we learned the hard way when they moved just how much they had not done for upkeep in exchange for the lower rent we asked in order to have a “good” family in our home. Thankfully we have now sold that home and are down to one mortgage. If we had it to do again we would use a management company. Good luck.
Advertise for their first month of rent free. We have 4 rental houses and it is VERY hard sometimes to overlook a loss but when you factor in that you can usually draw in more people and rent it very fast it is worth it. We’ve done this before when the market was a bit tougher.
Is the condo in NW ohio?
A little off topic, but I’d like to pass on a suggestion. Once you do get a renter, keep in touch with the neighbors around your rental property. I live in a nice area with some rentals and we generally have no problems, but recently had a big one — a drug dealer. When the “nosy neighbor network” noticed some oddities (too much traffic, people who just looked “wrong”), they contacted the owner who took care of the problem before it became a big police issue. Just letting the neighbors know how to contact you may give you a way to know that your renters are a good fit.
In our area here, the Louisville area, there are several groups on facebook for just that thing, like “louisville rental property, etc” You can join those free and post your listing once a day there – also the University idea is great – we have several colleges here who have postings. You could also try Craigslist – there is a whole separate page for rentals. Try your church board and facebook as well! Good luck!
Coming from a renter, don’t make them responsible for things that go wrong with the condo nor make them bring appliances, except maybe a microwave. Moving is hard enough and I won’t even look at a place without a washer and dryer. Also we have learned not to trust people that do not go through a realtor or management company. Just our personnal experiences.
You’ve already received lots of great suggestions! I have six units in another state, and advertise exclusively on Craigslist. It’s free, and I’ve received an overwhelming response to my Craigslist ads, compared to spending hundreds a month to get 1 or 2 calls per newspaper ad. Make sure your ads are clear and concise, yet contain all the pertinent details. Your contact information and good photos of your property are very important. If your place is near hospitals, colleges, or other notable facilities, it’s a good idea to note this in your ad, and include the distance from that facility to your rental. Do not respond to prospective tenants who are moving to the US from foreign countries. These are scams. My Dad now shows my vacant units to prospective tenants, following a disastrous experience with a rental manager. If you have to resort to using a management company, be selective. Interview several, ask for references, and talk with the references. By all means, run credit AND criminal background checks on ALL prospective tenants. It is better to wait for the right tenant, than take the first person that comes along and have to evict them in 3 months later for non-payment, or worse yet, have them empty your building by irritating the other tenants! This being said, the idea of having a local Realtor assist you with renting or selling your property is a great one! Perhaps you could find someone who would like to rent until your property sells?! A good idea unless you get a tenant who is going to sabotage your marketing efforts, but something you may wish to consider to cover most or all of your mortgage expenses until the market in your area turns around. Hope this helps!
From a seven year property manager that rents homes daily: contact several real estate agents. Offer an incentive for helping you find a renter. Some of their clients need homes short term while building. (and their clients will have already received screening for credit) You can charge a premium depending on their length of stay. Have them put down 1-2 months deposit. And if they have a pet, that’s extra.
As for Craigslist: it must be concise, it must include pictures, and there must be good followup. Renters that use the internet expect a reply within 24-48 hours. The sooner the better.
Regarding loss on the rental. If you view a rental as a cash flow, it will not be a good investment. But if you rent with the mindset to sell out later and cash in on your years of investment (some years making less than others) -then it’s a win. Property rarely loses value in the long term.
I would advertise on Craigslist (free) and schedule an open house for potential renters. Great pictures and descriptions of your places on the ad helps. I wouldn’t look at an ad without pictures for a rental. If you live near a city, that is the way to go.
If you live near a military base, air force base or national guards anything like that. Contact them, they have a placement program for the families & are always looking for homes to rent. bonus: Most military have their service people sign contracts & if you have any issues, they have to answer to the military as well! So, most likely you will get very good renters.
The military definitely takes care of their own. And they do not like to have a service person make them look bad 🙂 Great suggestion.
If the maths work out right, it might be worth renting some furniture for a month or two and seeing about renting it as a weekly/nightly vacation alternative to a hotel.
Here in southern California you can pay $1000+ for a week in a privately owned condo depending on amenities and location, where that same property may go for $1100-1200 a month if it was rented as a residence.
Call local churchs. They have probably know of a decent hardworking family who needs a decent landlord as much as you need a decent renter.
We tried to rent out our home ourselves for a few months (Craigslist and local classifieds). It wasn’t successful, so we ended up hiring a realtor to list it for us after we moved out. It was rented in less than a month with good tenants. She charged one month’s rent as a listing fee (so the renters’ deposit), which was worth it for us at that point since we had already moved. I’ve heard that sometimes you can find a way to list it on the MLS without hiring a realtor (or paying their full fee), but I couldn’t figure that out. The listing agent also did all the background checks and paperwork.
Tell your neighbors, and by “neighbor” I mean anyone within a square mile of your house. Many of them probably have friends or family who want to move into the area.
My husband and I are blessed to own three rental properties. Here is what we do:
1. A yard sign is a must, plus sometimes a sign on the nearest busy cross street placed out during the weekend has proven beneficial.
2. Craigslist! It’s perfect for those moving in from out-of-state, or just out of the area where you are.
3. Offer to split the deposit up over two to three months. We find this helps the majority of potential renters to know they don’t have to come up with such a huge chunk.
4. Last, but definitely not the least (maybe I should have put it as No. 1), pray for God’s guidance on who to choose – He always comes through!
http://www.ThriftyTexan.com
As an owner of two rentals (which utilize two different methods to find renters) I hope I can answer your question.
First, let me caution you. Looking for someone quickly may (if you are not careful) lead to getting a bad tenant. It is better to lose an extra months worth of mortgage payment to make sure your tenant will pay every month and on time, than it is to jump at the first person who stops by (I know this from experience, having had to evict a tenant 6 months ago and then clean up the damage to the property). So, first, make sure your desperation does not cloud your judgement.
Now, there are two ways you can find tenants. First is to hire a leasing/managing company. I do this with one of my properties (and it is based upon a similar situation as yours… it was a house I owned that I could not sell when I moved). The house is also 2,000 miles away, so I needed to make sure someone was local and able to address concerns, as well as keeping an eye on the property for me. The place to find such managing companies is your local real estate companies. They typically will charge you 10% of rent as well as advertising fees.
The benefit of this way is that once you tell the company what you are looking for, they will do the leg work. Also, they will know the market and will be able to tell you a good rental price (if you go too high you will scare people away, if you go to low, people will wonder what is wrong with the property) so, they can put you on the low side of the market rate, making your property interesting to potential tenants.
If you do not wish to do this, or can not afford the fees, the other option is to do it yourself. I suggest you go to postlets.com and establish ad for your property (it is free). Once you put in all the info, the pictures, etc, it will automatically list your property on 8-10 different websites directed towards renters. Additionally, it will give you a hyper link or embedded text so you can advertise yourself.
I would then start advertising on craigslist…. every two days. Change your wording slightly. One time emphasis the location, another the amenities, a third the price. While each add will have all that information, if you emphasis it in the title, it will attract different renters attention.
Finally, I would print out your fliers and put them at local universities, grocery stores, coffee shops, or anywhere locally you can hang them. Have the cut off phone number type (so someone can take it for more information later, but not destroy the whole ad).
Once you have people who are interested (and it often takes multiple inquiries before someone is willing to rent it out) be prepared to show it to them. Then, if they are interested, you will need to screen the tenants. I use National Tenant Network (NTNonline.com) which, if you get the tenants information (financial, previous addresses, SSN) you can screen to see their credit, whether they have ever been sued and or evicted. NTN costs I believe $30 for each screening, so I make the potential tenants pay this as an application fee (This is common in my area, and I think in most of the country). If I approve them, I tell them the application fee becomes part of their deposit (this makes them feel like they are not losing money). When screening tenants, I think it is also vital to MEET them. Go with your gut on this… if they appear shady, don’t rent it to them, no matter how badly you want the money. The one time I did not meet the tenants was the tenants I had to evict (If you want to talk to me more, feel free to ask, but I do not think this is the place to air that information).
In the end, renting it quickly really depends on you doing your research… You MUST know what the going rate is (not just what people are asking, but what people are PAYING). And, be prepared for out of pocket expenses once you get tenants… things break, pipes leak… things that, if you lived there you could fix yourself, the tenants will be calling you to fix. So either you will have to go over and fix it, or hire someone (My distant property, I had a tenant call me because a batter stopped working… she didn’t know that was the problem… I didn’t know that was the problem and I had to pay someone $50 to go and tell me this)
If I can be of any more help, feel free to e-mail me. Please put MoneyMakingMom:Rental in the subject so I know it is not junk.
Depending on your location this company is great: http://renterswarehouse.com/
They have a monthly fee but it makes your job a little easier!
I’d start out by going to the biggest employers in your area and see if you can post an ad on their bulletin board or employee newsletter.
We own a home in small community that we are renting out after moving to another state. One day when we called our city utilities company, they stated that they often get calls from people looking to rent houses in the community. They put us in touch with a great family who is now living in our home. It may be worth a try!
What about real estate agents? A number of our friends are building houses and need places to stay for 6-12 months while they finish them. They asked their agents to help them find housing until they’re homes are built.
Couple thoughts:
*Don’t totally knock the newspaper, depending where you live. We currently rent a condo in a very rural area (where “Craig’s List” gets a funny look!) and we found this condo in the local paper last summer.
We have a smokin’ deal on this condo too – the assoc. is half seasonal/half full-time (some owners, some buyers), so it’s very quiet. We get free access to the pool too (landlord pays all the condo fees). He allowed our 10 lb. dog for just an extra $50 deposit (plus we have to get the carpets cleaned when we leave, which is a nice thing to do anyways!). We just signed our new lease for another year here.
*My dad rents two homes in STL/Southern IL. He found one renter through word-of-mouth at church. The other renter we found through Concordia Seminary there. Now we found a replacement for that one – on Facebook, of all places! It’s actually one of the pastors at my dad’s church, and I just happened to see on FB that he wanted to rent a home.
I do advise requiring a security deposit (my dad will tell you that one!). And I would run a background check and credit check, too, for your protection.
I hope you can find someone! I think this is definitely a market for renters…you just have to get the word out! 🙂
We were blessed with the best renter that was actually moving from out of state and we used craigslist. Make sure the pictures are good and that you leave multiple ways to contact you-email, phone, text. Lots of prayers too!!
A move in special may be the way to go (like move in for $100 the first month or something like that). You can add the deposit in portions in addition to the rent like if the rent is 700 a month and the deposit is $1000, the renter could pay $83.33 extra per month. It can be difficult to come up with the initial big chunk of $1,000.
We have a rental and we have never had it unrented, but that is not to say we haven’t been screwed (and by family even). In twenty-five more years we will be mortgage free and I will be one happy lady.
I haven’t read through all the prior posts, so I will apologize if I’m saying anything that’s already been said, but my one and only experience renting out my condo didn’t go very well, so I would tell you to exercise caution. I was trying to sell my condo right when 9/11 hit and even though I’m not in New York City, I think that it had a nationwide impact on a lot of things, so I went the rental route and just put ads in free papers, on university campuses, etc. Found a couple right away and they seemed very nice and passed the condo associations requirements so I rented it out to them for a year and it started out fine. Then they got behind on rent, no big deal I thought. Then they wanted a 1/2 year rental extension. Still no big deal. Then they were still behind on rent, with a promise that a father was going to pay the 1/2 year rental up front. Great. Except I never got it. Spent $50 bucks to get a private investigator to track them down (thank goodness the condo association required a back ground check so I knew where he was originally from), got the man’s mom who immediately apologized and paid me in full. I had also started a claim against them in small claims court. As I said, everything worked out in the end, and they left my condo in great shape, but as the person before me said, you want quality people, not just a body in there that may or may not pay you.
1. descriptive advertisement with pictures – go for free or cheap ones first – craigslist, local colleges including junior colleges, newspaper, local housing authority (the government will pay for part of their rent), military base, post an advertisement at the condo mailbox or other area of congregation nearby
2. add features in the condo – for example, get free working washer/dryer off craigslist and include it and then say in the lease that these are provided but if they break down, the repair or replacement is on the tenant. And then include that the tenant can take them with them when they move out if they were the ones that purchased it.
3. lower the price – our rental condo has a mortage of $900/mo and an HOA fee of $400/mo. We charge $895 for rent per mo. and eat the $405 but at least we are not eating the $905 (and we are in better shape with hour other rentals.) I was on the HOA board for a while to try to get a lower fee but that didn’t work because the other board members wanted to raise the fee even more!
4. Hire a property manager or real estate agency – local ones – to just rent the place.
Hi Emi, I know you’re not here to ask a question, but I just had to put in 2 cents. It makes NO sense for you to still own your condo and renting it for a loss! Sell it and be done with it. Yes, I realize you’re probably going to sell for a loss too. I’ve been watching Suze Orman every week and that’s what she would say.
I understand that speed is of great importance, but remember, you also want quality. It’s very hard to get rid of somebody once they move in. Be sure to do your homework, check references, speak with previous landlord, do a background and tenant check. We had a renter once that would never let the realtor in to show the property.
Make sure your renter signs off on all the condo assoc rules, too. If they break them, you will be the one to pay the fines.
I don’t have a rental but my brother does and I’ve seen him struggle with these issues. Plus I’ve been on the renting side many times. I agree with everyone else who says a good description in an ad is essential. Use lots of good quality pictures in the ad–if you don’t know how to take them, see if any friends do. When apartment hunting, I never followed up with apartments that had no pics! Make sure everything in the apartment works and looks clean. If it doesn’t, you may have to put in a little sweat or cash to get it to a decent condition. Be willing to negotiate a tiny bit on the rent if you have a great prospective tenant. Losing out on another month’s rent (or more) may not be cost effective if coming down a little bit would have gotten you a renter immediately. Be available FAST if people are inquiring about your rental. If you take even 24 hours to get back to someone, they might have gone out and viewed several other places already. Set up viewings ASAP, and convey that you are a responsible, professional landlord. That can help you attract better tenants.
We are renting our home in another state. Because we would be so far away (with no family in or near the town we left) and because we had no experience and didn’t want to have to handle any possible legal issues, we chose to go with property manager. We negotiated the amount of commission they received for finding a renter and the amount they receive per month. The house was rented 3 weeks after we left. It has been the least stressful solution for us.
I also know what this is like. I resorted to using a management company to find a renter. It has taken me up to a year to find someone in the past and this past December (Christmas time) the company found a renter within ONE WEEK. Wow. It was worth the charge. I had the option of either just using them for finding a renter or for taking care of collecting rent, repairs…. It has been well worth the cost.
Advertise your heart out on Craigslist and even in the newspaper. But don’t bite at the first person to answer the ad. Do a background search and credit check on them. When we had our rental, it cost about $10. I can’t remember if that was total or each, but we ran several before finding the right renter. Better to have it empty than go through the eviction process. When you find the right renter, make it worth their while to stay after the lease is up. As you know, it is tough to find a renter. Keep the ones you can. Perhaps you help them move in, let them paint it whatever colors they want, provide them with basic cable? That can be as low as $10 a month, and if it keeps them there another year, money well spent. Good luck!
If you live near a university, contact their International Office. Many new professors from abroad will be coming this summer to prep for their new jobs in the Fall. Usually professors don’t want to live near students but have problems renting apartments because they haven’t established a credit rating while living in the US.
If you go to church, I would also advertise there.
We own a rental property on the other side of the country from our current home. We decided to hire a rental management company and it was the best decision we could have made. The rental company handles all advertising, showings, issues with late/ non payment, etc. They can also give you comparable properties in your area to be sure your asking rent is fair. Our home was only vacant for 2 weeks between the last tenants and our current ones. If you happen to be in Charleston, SC I can reccommend a wonderful rental management company, we have been very pleased!
If you are located near a military base check out arhn.com I know many military families who use this site when relocating.
My neighbor moved 2 hours away and was trying to rent his place. He put an ad on craigslist for Saturday open house to view about renting. He rented the place that day and the person has been here 3 years. I thought it was a great idea.
Hi: I have owned rentals and lived in rentals. Here are a few thoughts …
1. Take a hard look at your rent. Is it a good deal for the renters ? Or, is it based on the amount of your monthly payment ? Those numbers may not be the same.
2. Can you take payments on the security deposit ? Always get money up front. This is why I chose the place I am currently renting. I think I paid 1/3 at signing and 1/3 at move in and 1/3 after 30 days ???
3. Referal Fee : Put flyers up all around the condo building. $50 for referring a renter that moves in.
4. Professional Property Manager.
We’ve always has success advertising on craigslist.com.
Hospitals often rely on short term staffing relief such as travelling nurses or locum doctors. Their housing is usually provided by the facility. You could contact the personnel department (they usually negotiate the contracts) and see if they would be interested in renting your place. The contracts for these staff can be as short as 3 months but some are repeatedly renewed for years.
We are currently renting one of our homes; if we could sell it we would. Consider using a Realtor. For the cost of one month’s rent, ours handled all the advertising, arranging all the showings, preparing the lease, etc. She even attended the local-ordinence housing inspection for us, since we had already moved out of town. While I would love to have put that money straight into our bank account, not having to deal with all those stresses while also moving my own family was worth it.
We used a property management company. For a reasonable fee they do everything including back ground checks and collection of rent. It gave us piece of mind being 14 hours from our condo. We even had a dollar amount stated in our contract for repairs. If the repair cost less than that amount we weren’t even contacted about. It really made the process worry-free. They even handled the recent sale – it was only listed for one day too. We felt like they had a better handle on the market than we did.
Allow pets. Especially large fish tanks, big dogs, and typically banned breeds. When we were looking to rent, digs more than 25+ were frequently disallowed. That’s a very small dog! We campaigned hard to get our 120 pounds of dog allowed in a rental not advertised as dog-friendly, and we’re good people to begin with. But knowing it would be near to impossible to find another place for our dog kept us super motivated to keep the landlord happy with us!
We currently rent out a place to a pit bull owner. I’m a dog trainer, so I know pits are not automatically of the devil. When he knew we were open to pit bull tenants, he practically beat down our door to give us money. We are able to be pretty confident he’s not going anywhere soon; and he knows he won’t find much else, so he’s also motivated to keep us happy with him.
Get references from trainers, insist on a CGC certificate for the dog, ask to talk to friends who know the animals. Get a reference from the previous landlord. Interview rhe tenant with the dog present. Responsible dog owners are *happy* to provide this stuff.
I wouldn’t even advertise as “pet-friendly” on craigslist or some public spot at first. Word of mouth about a pet-friendly home works fast. Let it be known at church or school and on your facebook, and someone will probably know a pet owner looking for a home. That’s another layer of protection against irresponsible pet owners that you might find somewhere like craigslist.
Before doing this, check the condo association rules. Some condo complexes do not allow large dogs at all.
Check with your Homeowners/Business policy. I am with American Family and there are 3 types of dogs that are not covered, Pit Bull being one of the 3.
Not all companies use such lowest common denominator thinking as to ban breeds, and I wouldn’t work with one that did.
The reason the company has the 3 breeds of dogs elimated from the policy is due to the dogs “locking jaw.”
All am a saying is if you do rent to people with dogs, just make sure your insurance company covers the dogs or anything else that could happen so you are not setting yourself up for a liablity. It would be horrible for something to happen and not be covered. Hence the reason for ins in the first place!
I think it’s fairly obvious that anyone who rents something should do his or her due diligence to stay within the regulations of the city, homeowner’s association, or insurance company. So obvious that it goes without saying.
As for your insurance company, they have bought into one of the most ludicrous myths surrounding pit bulls. I’d “LOL” at that but it’s a disgrace that myths are are allowed to be used as “reason” when creating regulations that affect people’s lives.
There is no such thing as a locking jaw. Do your own research on it if you like, but I wanted to give you something more than the word of an anonymous poster on a blog without going into all the books, articles, and research that I know about, so here’s what I found with a quick google search:
“No type of dog has been found to have a mechanism that enables them to “lock” their top and bottom jaws together. When addressing pit bulls specifically, researcher I. Lehr Brisbin, Ph.D. from the University of Georgia says, “The few studies that have been conducted of the structure of the skulls, mandibles and teeth of pit bulls show that, in proportion to their size, their jaw structure and thus its inferred functional morphology, is no different than that of any breed of dog. There is absolutely no evidence for the existence of any kind of ‘locking mechanism’ unique to the structure of the jaw or teeth of the American Pit Bull Terrier.”
http://blog.sfgate.com/pets/2010/09/10/pet-myths-do-certain-dog-breeds-have-locking-jaws/
And, trust me, I know all about “breed specific legislation” and insurance policies and rental policies, and *all of it* is based on myth and fear mongering.
That’s part of why I choose to rent to a responsible pit bull owner. It’s discrimination, plain and simple, not to.
Hmmm, apparently my original reply didn’t go through.
It is obvious that one should check with city regulations, homeowner’s associations, insurance policies, and the like before doing anything. So obvious it goes without saying, so I didn’t.
As for your insurance company, they are basing policy on a MYTH. I’d LOL at it, but it’s a disgrace that they (and far too many insurance companies, city councils, homeowner’s associations, etc.) have fallen prey to it and are discriminating against people and animals for NO REAL REASON.
There is no such thing as “locking jaw.” I am well aware of all the myths surrounding pit bulls, and this is one of the most ludicrous ones out there. I could give you a ton of research about pit bulls, but I’m just going to link this article because it is easy to read:
http://blog.sfgate.com/pets/2010/09/10/pet-myths-do-certain-dog-breeds-have-locking-jaws/
“No type of dog has been found to have a mechanism that enables them to “lock” their top and bottom jaws together. When addressing pit bulls specifically, researcher I. Lehr Brisbin, Ph.D. from the University of Georgia says, “The few studies that have been conducted of the structure of the skulls, mandibles and teeth of pit bulls show that, in proportion to their size, their jaw structure and thus its inferred functional morphology, is no different than that of any breed of dog. There is absolutely no evidence for the existence of any kind of ‘locking mechanism’ unique to the structure of the jaw or teeth of the American Pit Bull Terrier.”
On the question of measuring the overall “biting power” of different breeds, Dr. Brisbin says, “To the best of our knowledge, there are no published scientific studies that would allow any meaningful comparison to be made of the biting power of various breeds of dogs. There are, moreover, compelling technical reasons why such data describing biting power in terms of ‘pounds per square inch’ can never be collected in a meaningful way. All figures describing biting power in such terms can be traced to either unfounded rumor or, in some cases, to newspaper articles with no foundation in factual data.”
Here is a list of pit bull myths:
http://www.realpitbull.com/myths.html
We decided not to renew our lease with our current renter for the next year, and so we are looking for new renters. I didn’t want to advertise right away, so I texted just about everyone in my cell phone that we were looking for good renters and if they knew of anyone, to please give them my phone number. I sent a breif description of the place – bedrooms, sq footage, vaulted ceilings and the price. This was last week. We had two showings and one application tomorrow that we will go with as long as their references check out. We had several inquiries. Otherwise, in the past we just put that same info I texted to everyone on our facebook statues and we’ve always gotten responses and good renters – up until the last few months of our current renters, but they are going thru a divorce otherwise I think they would have rented from us forever 😀
A couple helpful hints. When my husband and I were looking to rent we were looking for an apt that accepted cats. We didn’t have one at the time but we knew that we were going to adopt one in the future. Pictures also help. Try to get pictures w/sun light for example. I prefer dark rooms over lit rooms but I like to have the option of sun light and a lit picture always helps. Also add things that might make someones choice easy. Example: transportation is ? blocks away, supermarket is ? blocks away, plenty of family friendly parks with in distance. Anything that will catch someones eye. Hope that helps in some way. Good Luck!
We found the house we rent on Hotpads.com.
Is the problem that you aren’t getting any traffic to see the place, or you are getting people to see it and no one seems interested in renting once they have seen it? Those are two different problems.
I have found my last two rentals on Craigslist, and now that I’m planning to move again I’m starting my search there. (Martha, you don’t live in central NJ by any chance, do you?) I can tell you what draws me to certain ads over others, which should increase the number of calls you get.
I expect to see photos in the ad, interior as well as exterior. If there are no interior photos, I assume the place is a dive and probably won’t waste my time calling about it. I want to see what the kitchen and bathroom look like to make sure they will meet my needs and expectations. I think the more photos the better.
A street address (or at least the community name) is helpful, rather than just the town, so I can get an idea of where it is, what’s around, and what kind of neighborhood it is, how easy it’s going to be to commute to work from there, etc. For families, school districts and nearby playgrounds may be important.
The ad should be well written – use proper capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and formatting. I assume that if the landlord can’t be bothered to write a decent ad, they’re not going to bother fixing what needs to be fixed if I have any problems. Also, proper writing style is easier to read – I get turned off and can’t be bothered with too many capital letters and that kind of stuff. If I can’t read through the ad, I’m not going to call.
Give plenty of info about the apartment – how many bedrooms, bathrooms, are any utilites included, is there a dishwasher, washer and dryer, cable/internet ready? Any great features? Does it get lots of sunlight or is it walking distance from the train? Ideally, the ad should be a couple paragraphs long to tell a potential tenant everything they need to know. If the add just says “2 BR apt for rent in Anytown, $1000/month, call so-and-so for info” I’m not going to call.
Make sure your pricing makes sense. Check other ads to see what similar stuff nearby is going for – Craigslist is a good source. Other condos in the complex are probably being rented – can you find out what people are paying for those? You don’t want to be an outlier on price in either direction – too expensive is an obvious problem; if it’s too cheap I assume there is something wrong with it.
I think you should mention in the ad that the unit is privately owned, not owned by a management company – actual people tend to be better landlords than the generic “maintenence office.” I have always rented from individual people and been very happy.
If there is a college nearby, see about advertising with them – they probably have an off-campus housing database or something. If the condo is really nice you may want to think twice about renting to undergrads, but grad students and visiting professors could be a good option.
Now, if you are getting lots of traffic but no one is interested once they see the house, that is a different problem. You need to take a critical look at the place and see what the problem is. Maybe your pricing is out of whack for what the apartment offers, or there is something off-putting about the apartment that is chasing people away and needs to be addressed.
Martha, I’m so glad you asked this question as I feel that I’m able to give you a unique perspective- one of a renter 🙂 My husband and I have two young children. He is an educator and I stay home with our kids and currently homeschool my oldest. We are saving to buy a home and in the past 9 years we have lived 5 places!!! He’res what would attract us to a prospective rental:
-CRAIGSLIST!!!! Craigslist allows renters to see up to 4 photos (more if you can splice 2 together in a photo editing program!), link to Google maps via the property address (make sure the link works correctly!), and plenty of room to give a VERY DETAILED description. It is free for both prospective renters and tenants.
We no longer look at large, professionally managed complexes or property management websites because we have found such great values and landlords through Craigslist.
-DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS Here are some of things I love to read in an ad (keep in mind you never know what types of things might resonate with people so don’t be shy in disclosing even the most mundane things)
1. Bedroom sizes (I want to make sure our current furniture will fit, a floor plan is awesome if you can make one!)
2. Smoke free/ pet free unit (allergies)
3. type of flooring (allergies)
4. Private Landlord (we are so blessed by our current landlord who allows us to paint and make our rental more like home 🙂
5. Washer & Dryer inside (are they gas or electric)
6. Parking situation (spaces, carport, garage, etc.)
7. Utilities paid or not paid
8. Income qualifications/credit qualifications
9. Storage features (adjustable shelving in kitchen, linen closets, walk-in closets, etc.)
10. Has anything been recently updated?
11. Information about the surrounding area and the unit in relation to the rest of the complex (how many walls are shared?, are there balconies or patios?, is the unit near the pool?, is there a tot playground, recreational activities?, parks, school districts, shopping, entertainment, mass transportation, pertinent HOA rules)
12. do you offer a monthly discount for signing a long term lease?
Finally, here are a few things that just kill my interest in a place immediately:
-signs of mold or rust in bathrooms, outdated items that may be difficult to keep clean (cracked porcelain, old grout, stained linoleum)
-cramped/outdated kitchen that have no windows or are closed off from the rest of the floor plan (this can be helped some by simple fixes such as removing some upper cabinets and installing open shelving, proper lighting to aid in food prep, painting dark wood cabinetry and walls in light, neutral colors)
-really old carpet and/or carpet that is a strange color (like royal blue)
-wallpaper (Most people these days aren’t into fruits and florals from the 80’s 🙂
I hope this helps you!!! Good luck on finding a quality renter.
I just want you to remember that evicting bad tenants is far, far more expensive than having no tenants. Even though you feel desperate, be sure to choose your tenant wisely and spend the money to check their references.
I manage rental homes and here are my thoughts:
1. CRAIGSLIST has brought me more potential renters than any other method. It is free to post. Be sure to download 4 pictures with the best features. I always include an email address and a phone number in the body of the post. Some people will not call but will email you about the property. List the neighborhood or general location but not the actual address so they will contact you.
***Be sure to repost about every 4 days to keep your listing at the top!
2. Make sure the place is clean and that it looks clean. Sometimes a gallon of paint is all it takes to make a place look fresh and clean. Clean carpet is a must as well. Many times I will purposely use a good smelling cleaner right before I show the house so that it smells clean and “new.”
3. Lower your rent by $50. Better to get $50 less a month and have it rented. Also consider reducing the required deposit.
4. Allow pets but with restrictions. I will accept dogs under 40 pounds or a cat. Then I ask for a pet fee of $20 per month rather than a non refundable pet deposit. You get the extra money for the pet, but the tenant can pay it a little at a time instead of a big deposit.
Good Luck!
If you are near a university you might try listing on sabbaticalhomes.com. It will be easier to rent a place that has a certain amount of furnishings but you might find renters with furniture that need a temporary place while they are searching for a long-term home.
My husband and I had a similar situation. We sat on it for almost 3 yrs and paid both mortgages but we were bleeding financially and it was really depressing. My DH didn’t want to rent one house b/c he was afraid of someone tearing it up. We finally decided it wasn’t worth the agony, and we listed it with a property management company–a real one, not just a realtor that happens to be licensed to do it — and they had a great tenant, no smoking, no pets, good job, pays on time–in there within a week. They should only take 10% of gross COLLECTED rents for their monthly fee, plus initial signing commission and an escrow account for repairs. Totally worth it… we never have to deal with it.
Jamie
We posted an ad on Craigslist – looking for a place to rent- It was my husbands idea. So you might try that search. We had a couple people contact us but they weren’t good fits. You might also send out fliers to local churches etc. I use to work in a church and we would definitely have people inquire about whether we knew of someone renting a house. I called a couple when we were looking for a bigger place too.
We just rented out our home last month. We used AHRN which is a military site. We are not military, but anyone can list on there. It is free to list. We also listed on Militarybyowner. com, which had a fee. Then we put it on Craigslist and Hotpads. We actually got the most response from Craigslist, and ultimately that is where we found our renter.
Advertising that you’ll accept pets will open it to a larger market. After a few weeks of not finding the right tenant, we decided to allow dogs and got a much bigger response. Ulitmately, our tenant did not have pets.
Post as many places as you can think and tell as many people as you know. I had a few leads from Facebook and neighbors, too. Good luck!
Always post with pictures!!
If you’re anywhere near a military community, I highly recommend http://www.militarybyowner.com to list your home. It’s how we’ve rented our past 2 homes and is well known in the military community.
You could try hiring a property management company that will rent out the property for you as their advertising scope would be larger (there would be a fee but if it meant not losing the property it would be worth it).
Or offer a move-in special “reduced rent” special. Even if you lose a couple hundred bucks on the first three months rent, over the long term if you get a steady tenant it would work out!
We own several rental properties and have found a variety of strategies that work depending upon the property type.
Craigslist – you may end up with a few unqualified applicants this way but we usually end up with several good options.
http://www.michiganhousinglocator.com – our homes get posted to several different sites from this singular (free) service. Ifyou are not in MI, contact a local housing commission to find the site they recommend for your area.
Sign out front or in window – this is not our favorite and tends to generate several bad leads for every decent one but it has worked.
We have not found newspaper ads (printed or electronic) to be effective in recent years.
Finally, if you have been getting some interest in the unit but have been unable to sign a good renter on, then perhaps you should consider a short term lease. There will be more turnover to manage but you will open yourselves to another market of renters that don’t want to commit to a year. This is not always a less desirable tenant – they could be looking to purchase a home or just feeling unsettled.
Best of luck to you!
We have gone through the same thing. We now currently own 2 homes that we rent out .
Here are a few of my own suggestions:
1. Accept pets (WE HATED TO DO THIS!!!). We never had pets and it took about several vacany’s to give into the demand but since than we have not had any large gaps.
2. Call real estate offices and tell them you will pay a % of the first months rent (or a couple hundred bucks) to a referral that endorses and execued a lease.
3. Craigslist, Craiglist, Craigslist! We were using a local site and skipping Craigslist but the “New to the area” do not know about the local website. We cut our exposure down by quit a bit.
4. Make a blog about your house. Here is an example of ours.
http://foxboronorth.blogspot.com
The Blog is NOT finished (application and mtnc) because I started this after we rented out our house but this will give you an example. I am removing my contact info since the house is currently rented but
IF ANYONE IS INTERSTED, THIS HOME MAYBE AVAILABLE SEPTEMBER 1ST.
NO AGENTS!!!!! NOT LISTING HOME. NOT USING A PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY. (I hold a Utah real estate license)
Wow. That is an awesome looking blog you did! If we ever become landlords I will have to remember this idea of yours.
Thank you.
Suzy,
Your rental home is beautiful! I checked out your blog as my parents are trying to rent a property out at the moment and I thought a blog was a great idea. I love the views and the fire pit in the garden! 🙂
Thank you. This was originally our home, but we moved across the country after a job loss. The picture of the fire pit was the very first fire we had after putting it in. The sand and such hadn’t settled yet. The pit got much better looking. (Oh the memories. hehe). The red rocks are from Moab, Utah and the black rocks are from The Black Hills of South Dakota. We collects all of the rocks and drove 100’s of miles with them. (yes people, we had permits).
I was in the same situation. My husband and I both owned townhomes and didn’t want to sell at a loss. We used a realtor and had my husband’s place rented out within 24 hours. Yes you do have to pay the first month’s rent to the realtor as a fee, but having the realtor take care of all the contracts and disclosures really simplified and sped up the process. He also ran all the background and credit checks and was the contact person to show the house so we didn’t have to disrupt our work schedules.
We too use Craigslist & “FOR RENT” sign. We have had some great renters & some not so great renters. Do your homework first & that helps.We also have had it set for a few months, but its ok especially after some of our renters. Good luck
A free resources are local universities/colleges have many, many listservs for faculty/students. Also use facebook (post and ask if anyone knows anyone looking). I’d ask neighbors – in fact, I’d put together a flyer and pass it out to those within a few block radius. I know realtors do this when trying to sell a home because those already in the neighborhood are advocates for the area. Good luck!
What businesses are nearby that you go to often? You could make a flyer and photocopy it . . . and ask you hairdresser (or your husband’s hair dresser) if you could leave some in his/her booth . . . you could talk it up among PTA members before or after the meeting . . . mention it in your Sunday School class and ask anyone if they want a flyer . . . post it on the bulletin board at your child’s preschool (with permission) . . . make it a grassroots effort — remember that it only takes one person to rent your place! Best wishes.
You could try posting an ad on craigslist.org. I would try that if you haven’t already so people know it is available. you can offer to have a deal on rent, (one month free broken up by month) it might not cover the full cost but anything would help.
I worked managing apartment complexes for a while. There are always, always units to rent. Even big Apt complexes now advertise on Craig’s List. Also try local businesses, hospitals, colleges, etc. and see if they have local papers and/or newsletters. Make sure that after you have found your potential renter that you do your background checks, credit checks, and rental history. It’s much, much more expensive and time consuming to have trouble with a renter after a lease has been signed and they have moved in than to realize that they aren’t what you are looking for before hand.
Do you live near a hospital? July 1 folks are change programs, so if you want someone in asap it may be worthwhile to try advertising to the fellows and residents.
We had the most luck with Craigslist and a plain old for rent sign. We just went through this last month. I was seriously suprised at the response. We received 14 calls from Craigslist and 12 from the sign. We also used AHRN, which if you are/were military you can get access to. We got 4 calls from AHRN. Good luck, being a landlord is hard work.
We had our real estate agency list our apartment. The cost was one months rent but it’s better to have it rented all year round and pay that cost than to have it sit vacant for 4 months. Plus our tenants are on their 3rd year now so once you spread the cost out over several years it’s not much at all.
We went with a property management company. Our old place was empty for less than two months and we were looking during the holiday season. I did go by the old place once a week and made sure everything was clean. I’m glad I did because one time I saw that the fridge door had been left open with it running! They charge us 10% a month along with an assortment of fees from the first month’s rent but at least it didn’t sit empty and I’m happy with the tenants that they found.
My husband and I are renting our home right now. It is the 2nd time we have done this.
The first time we had a sign out, posted an ad in the local paper and had a flyer we put together that we e-mailed out to everyone we could think of. We had a lot of responses from the ad, but you just want to be sure of their ability to pay the rent and their history of payments.
This second time, we went with a property management company. They helped find a renter and are managing it for us since we live 4.5 hours away. The big downside to this is that they are not the best in keeping us involved. We have to keep pushing that. Many times these property management companies are willing to help you find a renter for a fee and that is all. They can also help manage it going forward if you want. Usually you can just get their help to find someone. Again, you will want to be really specific with them about what you expect and keep on them about it.
Hope this helps. Renting our homes each time has been a huge help to us financially. If you can get a great renter in there, it is so worth it.
Couple things to think about…..How does the rent amount you are asking for match up with other homes for rent similar to yours? What type of renter are you looking for and does the price asked match up with that? You may want to increase or decrease your amount based on that.
You want to be sure you get a good renter in there and not just anyone just so you have someone. If you get someone who won’t pay or causes damage to your home it won’t be worth it. It’s better to wait for the better renter.
Sorry for the book, but I have been there and wanted to let you know what we’ve done. Good luck!
We recently rented our old house out with a Craigslist ad. We had a ton of interest and a renter in about two weeks. It sounds like you had experience renting out, but make sure you do a credit/background/eviction check on your prospective tenant, since they will likely be unknown to you prior to your tenant relationship with them. I also highly recommend the book The Accidental Landlord by Danielle Babb. We got our copy first from the library. 🙂
It seems to be a good market for renting! Craigslist is a great option, as well as word of mouth. Make sure your price is fair, it’s in good shape, and that your ad is appealing.
We have 2 rentals, I have had great luck renting them out using Craigslist. I never post the actual address but I do include 4 photos of the best aspect of the interior of the home. Plus details such as master bedroom easily fits a king size bed. Or, within walking distance to great park for kids. Make sure you are being realistic with what you want for rent as well. Don’t give the place away, but at the same time be within average range for your area.
Always provide pictures! I don’t have alot of experience with renting but I can say as a previous renter I skipped over a lot of ads because they didn’t have pictures.
I am relocating and I will tell you that I skipped posts that dont include an address. With google maps and such I can get an idea what the area is like before calling. This saves me and the rentor time.
I agree that pictures are a must. I rarely call on a home without pics. I also rarely call on a home without an address. I always look the address up on Zillow first to get a better idea of the home, what it looks like from the street, and an ariel view of the property.
As someone looking for a place to rent, I definitely want to see as many large pictures as possible. You can actually open a free photobucket account and upload all the photos you would like to post onto craigslist and the photos will be LARGE instead of those 4 small ones you get with craigslist. There are tutorials on youtube if you search for “how to post large pictures on craigslist”. I also want to know the address of where the place is since my husband and I do not want to live in a questionable area, especially with 2 small children. If you don’t want to list the actual address, what about the general location (i.e. 700 block of Ashbury Street). Having a garage or extra storage is especially nice. Listing nearby stores are a plus also!
I definitely put the street, and the area, just not the actual address more out of courtesy to the neighbors. Both of your rentals are stand alone homes, and potential renters have been known to peak through every window and even open the back gate and explore the whole yard without us present. Since my homes are in good areas this cause the neighbors to start calling me with concerns about the safety of our empty unit. So that is why I don’t leave the specific address just the street and area description (such as home is 2 block from …..)This allows me to make sure I am present for the viewing or can at least alert the kind neighbors that someone may be driving by to look at it as soon as I receive a call from a potential renter.
it should say “our” rentals not “your” sorry!
I agree Victoria,
I have 3 rentals and I always post on Craigslist with great sucess, but I NEVER put the exact address (for the safety of the neighbors). I will put something like 2 blocks off of (main street) so the people looking at the ad know what area. Another thing that I do (which I haven’t seen yet in the discussion) is check out my competition on Craigslist. How can I make my pictures look better? How can I describe it to make it more appealing than my competition. Do I need to lower my price? Can I offer a better incentive than my competition? ALWAYS, ALWAYS supply pictures and if you can get pictures with nice furnishings, even better. I have asked some of my previous renters that have nice furniture if I can take pictures and so far they have always said “yes”, just make sure to do it before boxes are all over the place. One more thing, make sure you are there for the showing, period. You can learn A LOT while they are walking around looking at the place. Go with your gut.
Oh ya, one more thing. When I talk to them on the phone or via email to set up a showing, I always let them know that I do background checks (which I do). That usually scares off the bad seeds.
I think in large cities, people are more willing to forgoe having an actual address. I rarely see them, in part because realtors are afraid people will poach listings, and in part due to security. Cross-streets were good enough for me to check out the vicinity.
If you live near a college or university check their website to see if they have an off campus housing association. You may be able to post free listings on their website or in their office.
If there’s a smaller college in the area, their Human Resources department might also keep a list of rentals from trustworthy people to help out newly-hired faculty and staff. That’s how I found my rental, anyway!
This is just a thought for maybe a short term solution if you live in a town that gets tourists. I saw on Graigslist under vacation rentals where people rent out their furnished condos/apts by the night- $100ish. People seem to like having a kitchen when they travel. It might be a little bit of work, but it could bring in some money to help with the mortgage.
List it with a REALTOR…they know everybody:)
First, I am sorry to hear that you have had the burden of carrying to mortgages…I can empathize. My husband and I did the same for 3 years. Needless to say my tips for finding a renter are: do it yourself (craigslist, Facebook, signage, newspaper). By doing this you are able to keep a good an extra month rent and you also know who you are renting to; stage your home, bake cookies, have coffee, fix the small repairs, be willing to negotiate, keep open houses often. Best of luck!
My parents have a bunch of rentals and lately they have got their best response from craigslist. Nice pictures and lots of details regarding the place. People are starting to look right now because school just got out, they could move and be settled before their kids start up again. Make sure to list the school district (if it’s a desirable school district then make it prominent on the listing). Also if you are in an area where craigslist moves quickly then re-post daily so you are on the 1st or 2nd page.
There’s always advertising. Here we have the Thrifty Nickel. I think you have to pay to place an ad, but it has to be considerably less than a week’s mortgage payment. Also, we recently advertised our garage sale on Craigslist for free. I don’t know if prospective landlords can advertise on there for free, or not. If you live near a college/university, you could put up advertisements in student unions, etc. We live near a military base, and one of my coworker’s husbands (military) is being sent overseas for three years. They are renting to a military family. If you live near a base, you could check with some of their housing agents.
If all else fails, you can always look into listing it with a real estate agent.
If there are any military bases nearby, check with their Housing Office to see if you can get on a list of available rentals. Sometimes you have to agree to inspections and/or certain rules, but it can be a great way to find a renter who has a guaranteed income and a lot of accountability if they don’t pay their rent or trash your property.
Be careful, my sister had issues with military couple attempting to break their lease early by claiming they were sent overseas. Our dad was military, so she requested a copy of their change in orders…which they never provided, they were just looking for an excuse to get out without paying a fee. They still ended up trashing the place on the way out. The military did not aid them at all, they were on their own. Maybe your experience was different, but people are people with good apples and bad ones in my experience.
You can always include a military clause in your lease which specifies that they will not be released from the lease until orders are provided, then the termination has to be within a certain number of days of their report date to their new locations (which is consistent with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act). We are both military, however, we also maintain a rental home in a military area and are familiar with the policies. Most housing offices on base can provide the basic details. Additionally, if you are in a military area, you can advertise on “Militarybyowner.com” which also caters to military members.
Absolutely, and I believe (though admittedly, I’m not fully privy to their financial dealings) they had one in there. We always had one when we were moving around, although we luckily never had to use it.
I more just meant my comment to respond to the accountability part of the prior poster. While there are many good people in the military, and I fully support it (my dad served 30 years in the Coast Guard and my brothers is currently inactive), I wanted to caution that just because you rent to military, it shouldn’t be assumed it’ll be smooth sailing. Other posters may have had the experience of extra accountability due to assistance from the military, but unfortunately, my sister and brother-in-law received no such support. So, it’s just a caution to the original poster, as with many things, to research and do your homework!
There are different laws that apply to military personnel then to the average tenant. Not horrible or anything , just something important to be aware of especially if you are going to try to advertize on base.
I would definitely list the property for rent online…
-Facebook Swapbook/Online Yard Sale Groups
-Newspaper Classifieds
-Craigslist
And then put up fliers perhaps at community centers and other places where local people will see them.
Wishing you all the best!
Be sure and list the best feature(s) of the condo (close to….?, quiet area, clean, any amenities it might have that a renter would seek. Rental places that are spotless are tough to locate! Best to you.
Good luck, Martha! I wish I could offer some advice, but I have no experience when it comes to that.
Have you tried postings ads on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist? Both are free, and any time I’ve posted classifieds there, I’ve always had good luck!
My husband and I own 10 rental homes and you cannot advertise enough! raise the deposit a bit and then advertise “first month free”