In November, I will have a total of 5 vacancies. Never have I had so many at one time. Now, I need a real plan to get all of these SFH rented.

My first question is: should I advertise all 5 of them at the same time? This would seem logical but in practice it can get confusing since the rents, amenities and locations of each property is different. I will be putting some lock-boxes on these houses and hopefully that will reduce the time it takes to show houses in different parts of town.

I have one house that has been vacant for the last 30 days! I have given out 15 applications and not one of them has been returned. Now, I got 4 more vacancies coming down the pipe and I am trying not get stressed out over this.

I need to hear from LL's who have seen 1/3 of their rentals go vacant in a relatively short period of time. (I don't get 30 day written notices to vacate, my tenants just 'up and move' whenever they feel like it).

I have one empty, one going empty end of December and one that will be ready to rent (new unit) middle of November. All are advertised. I've shown the empty one four times, no takers. Almost no interest in the January one (not unusual I guess, it's too far out) and barely any for the soon-to-be-ready.

Well I get interest but not from people I am intersted in...

WMH,

Do you pay the utilities for your places while they are vacant or do you turn off everything,...power, water etc. ?

30 days?!?! Haha, I wish! I start my 3rd month on one today. This same one has sat 6 months before and that was throwing every incentive and special at it that I could. This is a totally remodeled and fresh smelling/looking unit. For my area it comes down to reducing price until it rents EVERY TIME, not fluff stuff.

For the houses with lock boxes, I print out specifics and lay them on the counter for folks to read at their leisure. It's the same stuff I tell every tenant verbatim anyway, but it's in writing.

I had a 3 unit go entirely vacant in a few days of each tenant moving out a couple years ago. I don't like vacancies at all, but I do fill them quicker when I can cross-sell (is that a thing?) several units for folks to choose from.

NE,

To use your terms,..I have done 'cross-selling' many times when I only had 2 vacancies. In the past, I have rented 3 houses all in the same day using the cross-sell thing.

"If you can't afford my Caddy here, I have a Chevy to show you also".

I have 4 vacancies and 2 more that I know are coming. It's not 1/3 of my inventory, so it's easier pill to swallow. However, I do understand the uneasiness. In my area, typically Nov is bad time to have a vacant. It'll sit until Jan because nobody wants to move around the holidays and it's getting cold. Those that do want to move are usually being forced to move. The only advice I can give you is don't lower your standards to get someone in there. Been there, done that. It never works out.

Roy, I also leave the utilities on. I keep them heated in the winter, some of them I cool in the summer. I'd like the prospective tenants to be comfortable when they go into the unit and not think that it's a colder unit or the unit is too hot. Kind of the same thing if you were going to a restaurant in the middle of summer and they didn't have the air conditioning on.

What I am probably going to start doing is taking my desired rent and reducing it right from the get go. For example if my average is six weeks vacant and my asking price on the unit is $600, then one and a half months rent is going to be $900. So if I divide that out over 12, that ends up being a $75 a month reduction. So instead of losing $900-$1800 waiting to rent it at the price I want, I'm gonna drop it to $525 and get overwhelmed with interest to increase my odds of finding that unicorn.

And realistically, mathematically, that is what is exactly happening with my current vacancy that's heading into its third month today. Asking for $600 a month and sitting empty, I have lost $1800. (It was rented for $619 over the last lease) Divide that out over a year, that is $150 a month lost and also $450 a month asking price for rent. Now if I advertise that for $450 my phone would ring off the hook and self-destruct. And it would be rented I guarantee it. I don't think I need to go that low upfront when reducing the rent, but seeing lately how long vacancies are sitting open for, I realistically think that I need to knock six weeks worth of rent off the asking price right up front. just to increase the likelihood of getting someone in there faster.

Certainly cross sell them. But I would do that in person. Yes, a lot of work to "show" in person, but you can talk to the people there and when they say, yes it is nice but xxx, you can then tell them you might have another unit to meet their needs. -- IF they seem like someone you want to rent to. If they are duds, let them go. I find out a lot in conversation with people. They say things they might not fill out on an application. Go into stories that give you a better insight into who they are and how they live. Are more willing to talk about the unit and why they might be passing on it.

When it comes down to it we can't predict the future with Robin Hood like accuracy.

I would tell your prospective teni "Great, when you come out I'll be able to show you not just one but two different rentals. It won't take long because they are close together".

If some of your places are farther off, have some old fashioned printed out piece of paper that can float around in their car. A nice picture or two included.

If there is no time for this, stop by a photo printer and zing off a few copies at .29 cents. Hand them a picture or two and stamp the back with your details. If stamp is unavailable, print it on paper, cut it..and clear tape it to the back of the picture.

You need this to float around their car.

(If you can work a deal with a mom & pop place where one of these pictures will give them a free milkshake or slice of pizza then you would keep the good teni's attention longer).

To add to this. We break our own rules all the time. We have to. If I saw you renting for less, sure, I could scrap out your AC unit but I would most likely lower my rent or upgrade my game to beat you back. (Maybe buy a few ceiling fans with the copper money you provided me).

If you have time on your hands, you can even take a chance with a so so application. However, I prefer empty units...let them sit. They sit quiet with no drama. Drama and lies really take their toll on landlords.

I do not heat them, I will sometimes keep the lights on because when we sit for over six months with no power the town requires an electrician to come out. I avoid that.

Paulie,

Can you define "solidly collectible" for me?

I had five vacancies in August, three of them in the same week. I started advertising based on when they were ready to show.

I only show on saturday and sunday afternoons, so for the days where three were ready for show, I would show one at 3, one at 3:30 and one at 4. Sometimes people were interested in more than one and they would just go with me to the next.

these three houses seemed to compete against each other as each week I would only get one rented out.

to add to what smokowa said, I print 10-20 copies of a google map showing how to get from house 1 to house 2 to house 3

Advertise the 5 separately. Now would be a great time to test new methods and tactics.

The day reality came to town.

Paulio,

80% of the jobs in my town are working class or hourly paid type jobs. If you are lucky enough to have a $25.00/hour union job (Goodyear or Honda here), those tenants are definitely garnishable. Everyone else here seems to be getting some type of 'government check' for some disability that does not exist.

Having 1/3 of your rentals vacant is a bummer. It could be a sign that the area is slow to recover economically.

- Do Ts tell you the real reasons for moving out?

- Do they move out from your rentals because they found another rental for $10 less per month?

- Are other LLs in the area having similar misfortune?

About utilities: Keep your lights on a timer, have a porch light on from dusk to dawn. You also need power for various chores, cleaning, maintenance, etc.

Fred,

We can only suspect why 15 prospects vanished after being so hot on renting.

I bet you that money is the number one reason. Stiff competition could be another one.

If it's money or competition, rent will have to come down a bit. Like the old saying: "Anything will sell, at the right price."

I hate to suggest lowering the rent, it's already low in your area, but what else can you do? wait longer? invest in upgrades? You need cash flow. In the dry Southwest and West coast, we say: Little rain is always better than no rain.

Remember, you are not lowering your standards, just making a temporary rent adjustment to fill vacancies with the tenants who will appreciate the opportunity you give them and stay.

We are entering the tough winter season to rent, but try it for a few weeks, what do you have to lose? Your other alternative is to wait for the spring, can you do that?

Roy, I feel your pain. Your Nov looks like mine did in 2017. first time I'd ever had 5 vacancies hit at once. Felt like I was never going to get them all filled.

Glad to see you're using lock box showings. This should help you save time validating and renting to good tenants rather than wasting time on looky-loos and the unqualified.

I leave utilities on. Folks want to see stuff works. I don't want systems to freeze up. Keep the heat nice and low: 55 degree, all cabinets with pipes behind them left open. I start to trickle/drip the faucets on nights when the temps go below 30 degrees. RV grade anti-freeze poured into all drain lines. Never have had a burst pipe. Your climate is somewhat milder than mine, I think. May not be an issue. But I want lights to come on when I flip a switch. I think tenants do too, to confirm "everything works."

Now it a great time to experiment with "low move-in cost".. It's almost the holiday. People will spend what little money they have on toys and gifts. Offer move-in for deposit + 2 weeks of rent only. Make it "afforable." Now you've got them on your bi-weekly plan and will get 13 months of rent (26 bi-weekly payments per year).

Go after the folks who are good that no one else rents to. Allow pets. Collect pet fees and pet rents.

Have a snappy lead-in line for your ads:

"WARM AND CLEAN! LOW $ to MOVE IN. PET FRIENDLY!"

I get tons of interest with that line alone. Works for all our houses.

Don't let the extra vacancies cause you to skimp on screening. Good applicants move this time of year: just need to weed thru all the bad ones quickly to find them.

Good luck and keep us posted.

That's a tough spot to be in. You may have to lower the rent to get a renter this time of year.

Five vacancies at once - was that just bad luck or did you happen to raise the rent on them?

When I had several Single Family Homes vacant at the same time, I used this to my benefit. I would advertise one or two of them in the local paper or online and have different days for the open house. Then as people showed up and I could see the house was too large or too small, or they wanted a pool or larger back yard for their children to play with, I would offer them a showing of one of my other several homes. Not telling them I had half a dozen vacant at the same time...

A quick story. My friend Ellen was in tears, she was about to have 7 vacant apartments, out of around 35 rentals. So as I was talking with her I saw another friend, Steven, across the street. I asked Steven to come on over and talk with us. I asked Steve, "How many vacancies do you have right now"? His reply, around 50.

Ellen almost died. How could Steven even smile and carry on his daily life with so many vacancies? Steven left for work, on foot and I told Ellen that Steven has over 750 rentals -- that I know of, probably more.

5 soon to be vacancies resulted from: 1 eviction plus 1 more pending eviction,...both for the typical reasons. Vacancy #3 is my single female who lost her disability check,..Vacancy #4 is where the two young shack-up tenants skipped out 30 days ago, and #5 is the Cute and Cozy Garage Apartment I am just now finishing with rehab.

Roy sorry your having problems right now. During the 2011 to 2015 rental season we had same issues. Many vacancies. We'd get one rented and 3 more would come up. With that said we are now-- just now seeing the fruits of our collection policies kick in. I know that doesn't help YOU right now but putting people with jobs they've had long time and don't quit is bringing us a big payday each month now through collections.

So I would advertise your mid range one as available NOW and one other as coming available. If you say you have 2 many -- then they are like sharks in the water. Keep your cool. Offer a refund of app fee if you are accepted as a rent credit the second month. When you talk to them that's when it's time to see where they work- what area they need and mention "you know I have this one I was saving but you would be the right person at this place". Be very cautious with this that you don't steer or have any racial ethnic or religious overton's to this-- it's strictly "I have to many empties" to show all at one time. It works and well.Offer a rent discount program-- my rent is 950.00 per month but if your payment is post marked on or before the 1st i'll give you 100.00 off. And each month is stand alone so if you miss the 1st on one month-- the program picks up the next month again. In case you have a tough time one month. Lastly-- with good paying and long term job-- lower the deposit-- yea you heard it right lower it.

R u willing to lose a house due to mortgage debt? heck no. rent coming in will get you through this rough spot.

Finally "schedule your vacancy's out of these months (Nov and DEC)

Roy, bingo. Vacancies aren't always controlled by when a lease ends. I get it that some folks use leases to stagger when vacancies happen, but in my experience it simply is a non-issue.

Most good tenants don't want to move over the holiday, or when the weather is bad, or mid-school year. That's one reason it's harder to find good renters in the Winter: they're staying put!

Not an easy thing to have 1/3 of your units vacant.

NE makes a great point about reducing the monthly rents.

November and December are not easy due to holidays and moving, especially if they have kids in the school system. And they don't want to change school systems until after Christmas.

HOWEVER that being said, if you reduce your qualifications THEN get a deadbeat or over look at Deadbeat Red flag. Then you just rented to a deadbeat YOU would have been better off to leave the unit vacant for 3 months or 6 months due to the rent loss, damages and cost associated with evicting the deadbeat.

Yes its no fun having vacancies: the hard costs continue to be paid: min water, electric, gas, sewage, and if theres a mortgage the bank will not forgive a month or so and insurances.

Consider checking the competition how many units are in the paper, on line being

advertised. What do they offer? What condition are the units? And maybe none of this matters. Its due to the time of year but it these are good things to consider. It may not matter and may factor is: Price? OR Pets permitted? Size of unit too small? "Lookie Loos" are the only ones out there HOWEVER if they find an attractive unit it may make them move.

Teni looking for lower rent?

Teni looking for no app fee?

Teni looking for a DESPERATE Landlord?

Teni not able to afford the unit?

Teni wants a larger unit?

Teni wants to have a PIT BULL or ROTI, or one of the top 10 insurance not permitted dogs?

Teni wants an incentive: Microwave, a large screen TV, something FREE?

Teni testing the Landlord to get the most for the least amount of rent?

Teni is being evicted from their present place and hopes to find a NEEDY Landlord?

Teni wants extra amenities and will not pay for the amenities.

NOW many of the above Teni wants; boils down to a deadbeat Teni and even if you cut your rent by 50% will not matter.

However, advertise your best units in the newspaper, on line, at several employers in the area, once you show the unit see what the tenants needs are and then maybe you can fill your lower price unit.

Sid and NE I'm not sure how many SFH's you all have or if you just have apts ect..

We have 63 SFH with Leases-- divide that by 12 and we're looking at 5 vacancy's per month-- possible. I know Nov and Dec are so slow and I like jun and july with no vacancy. So my math is 8 months with 63 homes is 8 vacancies a month. Do I have that many-- NO people renew or skip out during prime time but if I add possibilities to NOV and DEC for lease expiration -- I can't control those. There due and people will leave. Rents are also stagnant those 2 month--- because of the slim - slim pickins for new people.

You all will have to admit that there is certain degree of 'luck' involved in finding a reasonably good tenant. All I

I need is some luck right now,..it will happen,...it always has in the past. I will not lower my standards either,...I have worked too hard in this business to go down that road.

Roy sorry I can't agree on that. The past is just that. either change or-- well the OR is here now.

My last word is there ain't no money in "good tenants".

NE,

If there was no luck involved, I would not have to kiss 20 frogs to find one princess. In October, I kissed 20 frogs and they all peed on me.

Roy...

Yes, there is luck. I think what NE means is you have to be doing all the right things so that when opportunity (luck) knocks, you're ready to take advantage of it. I think you're ready to rock. Keep the ads fresh. Great pics. Lockbox tours. Get 'em in to look while others are fumbling around. Strike when the iron is hot!

I think myob likes tenants who pay late and/or end up getting evicted and getting judgments with high interest rates to collect. There is money to be gathered there....tis true.

I prefer tenants who pay on time. Stability / less hassle means more to me than late fees.

As NE said, its just a numbers game. Zillow shows how many people are interested in your ad for each day it is up. You can use that information along with previous statistics (100 for 1 for example) to guessimate how many weeks it will take to rent.

Roy,

I had 5 come vacant in September 2016. I listed them each separately and scheduled an open house at each one the same time on Saturday afternoon. I enlisted family and friends and we had each house covered. I had fliers for each one at each house and whoever was there either encouraged them to fill out the application on the spot (pushing the tag line that I consider apps in the order received) or to send them to another unit that more closely met what they were looking for. By the end of Sunday I had 2 leases signed and 2 holding fees to sign leases the next week. The 5th one took a couple more weeks to lease. I didn't lower my standards a bit, just had to get a little more creative on hooking potential candidates. It cost me steak dinners and a bar tab for the crew but it was well worth it.

Roy read the self collections posts Nov 1 at 12:06.

Roy it's to late at night to post it but I will. Surfice it to say think of the pyramid. With 60 property's. Most only consider this year or last year. Collections is multiple property's over multiple years. You could have 4 people paying you on the same property-- other than positive cash flow from the current tenant.

STOP thinking this: it's not worth it!!! STOP thinking It's OK for people to trash my property. STOP thinking it's OK for people to take money from my family and allow me the privilege of subsiding them not paying rent. STOP thinking I am the whipping boy of the local business community.

Several people here made very rude comments because I kept a deposit from an applicant who had me take my home off the market and then she didn't perform- no lease signed- no call nothing. Just never showed up.

Thanks Mike A (TX) -

I like your strategy for getting your 5 vacancies filled. Of my 5, only two are ready to show/rent right now. The other 3 will fall into place after clean-up and minor repairs are done. I will probably do an open house at my only 3/2 house and then have lock-boxes on the others which are either 3/1 or 2/1's.

In today's age, five empties is easy. Get the first one ready, start advertising. Zillow, fb, Craigslist, your website... On your website post pics, video, and an on line application. Go to the next easiest one to turn, repeat above. Go to the third, repeat.