Just rented this beast. 111 days on the market, including pre-advertising before vacant a month. 32 people made it through pre-screen to showings.

This unit ran the gamut of advertising that I could give it. It was previously rented for $619. Average competition rentals were much higher. I started the pre advertising at $675, the unit in the back of the same building is slightly larger and an little better layout and rented for $675.

I dropped the price a few times and it finally went at $575 with a $99 move in special. Roughly $1,800 in rent lost. Advertised on every website possible. Referrals offered to existing tenants, sign in the yard (which I have not had to do in years!) and ads in the local paper. No advertising rock left unturned (that I could think of).

The $99 special started about a week and a half to 2 weeks ago. 2 recent listings have that on them from the get go.

I should add that this particular unit actually caused me to reevaluate and lower my minimum screening requirements about a week ago.

We had been spoiled over the past few years: high rents, lots of interest, being able to pick from the best of the bunch.

We are in a new reality now. Or maybe the good times we have just seen over the past few years are over for many of us and things are getting back to normal again.

It is hard to stomach. We had six of 15 units come available just this year. Each one being harder to re-rent than the one before.

NE,

How many were fully approved?

How may actually toured the property?

What feedback did you get from the folks who toured?

There had to be something not right or awkward about this home, like Dusty Rose carpet maybe:)

Why did your new res take this home?

.

I was at a recent forum for high rollers and expressed my concern about canaries in the mine - having trouble getting some perfect homes rented.

MANY said they were full.

I realized this was EXACTLY the same response I got when the recession started - the people who were full were not trying to fill vacancies in the current market. They were not talking to today's prospects and reviewing today's apps.

Those who did have vacancies came up to me quietly in the hall and said "Yeah, I'm seeing the same thing - fewer decent apps and slower turnovers on nice properties." Perhaps canaries in rural areas are even more sensitive.

In the Great Recession those "I'm always full" LLs started getting vacancies and posting "What's going on? Where did the good people go?"

BRAD

Brad, I had 97 pre-qualified. 41 schedule showings and 32 actually view it. I'll email you the stats. I may have received 12-15 apps the whole time. Fully approved, I would say just the 2 tonight that rented it.

Ken,

Maybe the canary is chirping BUY BUY BUY!

House sales have been going strong in my city for the past year, right thru winter, and have not let up.

The economy is good. Tenants are buying.

I have had five good tenants buy houses this year. One of them bought one of mine and just got a text last night asking if I'd sell them the house.

NE, I also like analyzing numbers. 41 scheduled showings from 97 pre qualified seems like okay numbers. 32 of 41 actual views also seems to be good as well. 12 to 15 apps from 32 views is not that bad either. I'm happy when 50% of those who view my rental, do an application, and if I am following your numbers, you got one third to fill out the application which is good.

Let me back up for a moment, so others will better understand my thinking about how I seek to fill vacancies effectively. When looking at numbers and when trying to improve my procedures or process I FIRST try to decide which step(s) in the process to focus on for possible improvement. And I'm not talking about what I would do at this point. I'm really just talking about what steps I would FOCUS on based on the numbers. To me that is the first thing I do in working to increase my effectiveness.

When trying to determine what steps in the process I would focus on in your scenario, I would need to make sure I am using the right assumptions.

Correct me however if I am wrong on any of my assumptions. I'm not quite clear if I understand your numbers fully. When I am an analyzing numbers, I count each "set" of applicants as a different number. In other words, I count a couple applying as ONE applicant. I count three roommates applying together as ONE applicant. So when you say 97 pre-qualified are you talking about 97 "sets" of applicants are 97 total people which in reality may have only been about 40 to 50 sets of people.

Assuming we are indeed talking about 97 "sets" of pre-qualified applicants, I would therefore assume that you had at least 2 or 3 times that in overall leads who inquired. Yes or no? And that 97 sets of them took the time to actually go through your pre-screening process and passed that step in the process. Am I still making the right assumptions? I would be curious to know how many total inquiries you received before ending up with the 97 pre-qualified. That number is important for me, because I want to know approximately how many total leads (the first measurable number in the process) I need in order to end up with a qualified applicant at the end of the process. So as I plan my marketing I have a target for the number of total inquiries I need to generate.

Before I go further in identifying the steps in the process I would focus on in your scenario, let me know if I'm okay with my assumptions. Also I hope you don't mind me using your numbers and your scenario to share some thoughts and concepts that may be of help to a few others. And please others feel free to continue to jump into the discussion.

Before I leave the discussion for now. Here's where I am going with this. When looking at the numbers and steps in the process, here are the different steps.

1) First goal is to generate a certain number (set) of total leads or inquiries.

2) Of those, how many inquiries am I able to determine are pre-qualified (what percentage)?

3) Of those, how many schedule to view the rental?

4) Of those, how many actually apply?

5) Of those, how many are approved?

I had 180 leads. A lead in this case could be an individual, a couple, or 2 or 3 friends. I had 97 fill out the pre-screen. Not all pass that pre-screen. 41 scheduled and 32 showed up. Then the 12-15 apps.

That is probably average for that length of time, as I do filter out a large amount of unqualified leads typically.

Glad you see where I am going. Doing this analysis has helped me a lot. I have certain objectives (specific number or percentage) for each STEP in the process.

When I do not reach specific objectives for one or more of the steps, then I know THAT is where I have to strengthen my procedures. Because under each step I have and continually modify and implement several procedures.

Over the past year, I put in the best qualified applicants I've ever had in my fourplex. I will have 4 newly renovated apartments available by the summer (3 studios and one large one bedroom) and I'll to see how it goes at that point. I've never had droves of qualified applicants anyway;it's always only been a few and even during the spring/summer months, it's takes at least a month to fill a unit; a winter vacancy requires 2-3 months. I generally always run the $ 99 special. That creates buzz only as I've only actually given it out once.

Jeffrey, my weakest link here seems to be that there are no qualified renters who currently need a new place to live. I'd love to have a solution to that one.

I'm getting very few inquiries. About half are people currently going through a bankruptcy. The other half have sold their house, escrow is about to close, and they need a place for a month or two while they buy something else.

Although I did just have a helicopter mom looking for a place to get her abused daughter away from her abusive husband ( gee, no thanks)

Oregon, here's what I have noticed with most landlords (not necessarily you) is the problem is NOT that there are no qualified renters. The problem is that many landlords simply hope that qualified renters will find them from their limited or non-effective advertising.

In any area there are almost always numerous segments of the population who are qualified renters. While there may not be in abundance, there are always some. The problems I discover when talking with landlords are usually twofold:

1) Landlords have not taken the extra effort to identify different renter niches who would be interested in renting your property. Without any clear target niche markets in mind, the average landlord instead often just starts doing the least effective, shotgun type of advertising (craigslist for example) hoping to hit anyone. And when no qualified renters apply, they mistakenly deduct that there are not any qualified renters to be found.

2) Landlords do not target various different niches of potential renters by reaching out to them with their advertising (marketing to where they work, shop, socialize - online AND off, or where they get support or associate).

I have found when taking the time to have a long discussion with landlords or brainstorming at my training events. almost without fail, we can identify at least a dozen potential niches of qualified renters that you could proactively reach out to. And often the different niches are being under-served by other landlords in the area. I guess my point is that it is very rarely the case that there are no qualified renters.

This may not be what you were looking to hear, but my BIG suggestion to you (and to all landlords): Never word a landlording problem in a way that is simply blaming exterior circumstances as you have done by saying there are no qualified renters.

Instead put the challenge squarely on yourself. "What can YOU do to better identify and market to the qualified renters who are out there?" And yes, that does take extra mental effort, perhaps even thinking outside the box. However, once you do so, it is well worth the effort, because you will most likely be able to be far more effective filling your vacancies moving forward.

By the way, I was intrigued by your own words partly describing the situation: "The other half have sold their house, escrow is about to close, and they need a place for a month or two while they buy something else."

If that is truly the case, how about thinking outside the box and start with that. Why not market directly to that niche and rent "short-term" to those sellers needing a place for a couple of months. You can probably rent to them for at least two times normal market rent. And if you get good at specializing in renting to that market niche you may have a continual flow of prospective residents that is not being served by others.

And yes, this would require extra effort in various ways on your part that you may not want to do. My bigger point however is that there are all kinds of potential niches of prospective renters with a need that you can fill. If landlords REALLY want to get their places rented, and not have their property sit empty for months at a time, you may need to consider new and different approaches and markets to fill your vacancies. My name is Jeffrey and I'm your friend:)

NE, your post brings to mind that every purchase begins with a g oogle search.

"What can YOU do to better identify and market to the qualified renters who are out there?" And yes, that does take extra mental effort, perhaps even thinking outside the box. However, once you do so, it is well worth the effort, because you will most likely be able to be far more effective filling your vacancies moving forward."

That's a good catch WMH. I see the same thing here.

Is the CL housing wanted pages a good gauge of need though? What I see there seems to be low life's and desperate tenants.

Sisco, being I post online through sites that syndicate to many different pages and apps, I would think I'm available from anywhere in the world. I wouldn't know how else to get found that way.

"they are looking for ROOMS they can afford! It's a huge change from even last year"

I agree that all (most) searches start on google. A few start on bing and other engines, but mostly google.

NE, you state: "I hear seeking these niches talked about often, but I'm not sure what they would be here where I live."

I am going to go out on a limb and say something at the risk of offending you. Knowing you, I don't think I will, because I believe you know my goal is to challenge you to greater success. So I hope you take my next statement in the right way. NE, your statement above makes me think you are being mentally lazy and not really challenging yourself.

It was great to see GKARL above starting to brainstorm the possibilities in his area. The number of rental niches in any area, including his or yours, has MANY possibilities. To help you begin to brainstorm the possibilities, I encourage you to do the following exercise by considering the various 9 major renter niche “categories” below. In each of these following categories there are dozens of renter niches that may or not be adequately served by other landlords in your area.

Come on NE (and others), as you read the following 10 categories, begin to think out loud of what type of renters in your area may fit that category. If you take this exercise or challenge seriously, I would really be surprised if the categories below do not trigger any niche ideas.

Those in a specific Occupation, Job Type, Employer or Trade

Those who have a very strong desire for unique amenity or home feature that you can provide.

Those who can not only use the property but, if applicable, can also use the amount of "land" or space which comes with it

Those with a distinct Hobby or Special Interest

Those participating in a formal or informal schooling or training or have family members wanting to attend a particular school in the area.

Those only needing Housing for a Limited Time Period

Those Owning Animal(s). This category includes far more than just the traditional dog and cat owners

Those who recently Experienced a Major Life Changes

Those looking to buy a house or make another major change sometime in the relatively near future

Those with Special Needs (more than just physical)

Others reading this discussion, let’s brainstorm for NE. Please share other possible categories of renter niches (or the actual renter niches) that could be found even in a rural area.

Niches we have used successfully in the past include:

Section 8

Fully furnished units

Units that include all utilities

Welcome smokers and animals

People starting out or starting over

Those with criminal records.

(I have a friend who rents rooms out to sexual offenders. Really creepy people to look at them).

me, I rent to

And remember, the goal is not to just identify possible renter niches. You or others probably have previously thought of some of the different niches that would be most applicable in your area.

A few specific niches to help get the creative juices flowing...

Tourism AirBnb/VRBO. Anything interesting within 20 miles of your town: parks, fishing streams/lakes, monuments, world's largest bottle of syrup, etc.?

Amateur/hobby farmers. The "farm to table" movement in my area thrives on folks having 0.5-2 acres to grow produce or raise chickens. Some folks mow hay or have small cattle/swine herds too, on small acreage (3-5 acres).

Be a housing provider for local insurance agents to call when their clients have a loss that requires 1 - 6 months of repair/rebuild.

Again with land and if you have a large barn: party rental. Weddings, graduations, family reunions, football watch parties, etc. Places can rent out at $1000 / weekend and the renters are responsible for cleanup or can pay an extra cleaning fee. $1000 deposit required as well as having a credit card on file in case they do something dumb. Special insurance needed.

My niches

Foreign students

Short term business employee

Chinese

Hospital employees

I used to think my sm 1brs would always be easy to rent, but then they were not. There is a shortage of 3 br by me and I have those but there is more wear n tear from large families.

I agree the trend is towards rooms and while people are buying they are coming from elsewhere just because prices dropped so low. Also see more income people moving toward me because surrounding communities are increasing in price. Yet they are unqualified. If I were to change it up I'd take smokers. But I can't stand cigarettes and cigarettes caused a fire in my 3 family. I sometimes consider cats and small dogs but would rather not since I've also dealt w urine soaked subfloor.

Here's another outside-the-box niche: lots of students come from overseas to learn English well enough to attend college here. They often want to live with a host family to improve their opportunities to practice English.

My apologies, NE. I had it all written out and my computer went on the blink.