Tough to find Tenant (by GKARL [PA]) May 20, 2019 7:58 PM
Tough to find Tenant (by AllyM [NJ]) May 20, 2019 8:27 PM
Tough to find Tenant (by Still Learning [NH]) May 20, 2019 8:48 PM
Tough to find Tenant (by GKARL [PA]) May 20, 2019 9:04 PM
Tough to find Tenant (by Mickie [OH]) May 20, 2019 9:59 PM
Tough to find Tenant (by GKARL [PA]) May 20, 2019 11:45 PM
Tough to find Tenant (by Steve [MA]) May 21, 2019 5:58 AM
Tough to find Tenant (by Still Learning [NH]) May 21, 2019 8:20 AM
Tough to find Tenant (by S i d [MO]) May 21, 2019 9:21 AM
Tough to find Tenant (by GKARL [PA]) May 21, 2019 1:08 PM
Tough to find Tenant (by Libi [NY]) May 21, 2019 1:24 PM
Tough to find Tenant (by JKJ [MA]) May 21, 2019 1:58 PM
Tough to find Tenant (by Robert,OntarioCanada [ON]) May 21, 2019 2:07 PM
Tough to find Tenant (by Robert J [CA]) May 23, 2019 1:18 AM
Tough to find Tenant (by Busy [WI]) May 23, 2019 9:15 AM
Tough to find Tenant (by GKARL [PA]) Posted on: May 20, 2019 7:58 PM Message:
It's summer and it's still very difficult to fill my vacant apartment. At this point, I'm questioning whether I'll even have it rented by June 1. The last batch of people all want to move ASAP; an automatic red flag. Most have evictions. I have a far easier time renting rooms than I do this particular apartment and believe it or not, the tenant quality is better. --172.58.xxx.xx |
Tough to find Tenant (by AllyM [NJ]) Posted on: May 20, 2019 8:27 PM Message:
Do you have AC units there? Or what kind of AC? It seems like if you include window units or mention the AC that's there you will get the kind of tenant you want. People who look for good AC are a different crowd. Nice cool AC means a lot to some people. --173.61.xxx.xx |
Tough to find Tenant (by Still Learning [NH]) Posted on: May 20, 2019 8:48 PM Message:
What is the main difference between the apt and the rooms? Cost, location, increased screening requirements, year lease? --24.61.xxx.xx |
Tough to find Tenant (by GKARL [PA]) Posted on: May 20, 2019 9:04 PM Message:
The main difference seems to be its easier to qualify people based on income. For example, there are more people making $ 12-13 per hour which is fine for the rooming house than those who are making 30,000 + per year which is what I need for the apartment. What I'm effectively getting is people who I'd have no problem renting a room to applying for an apartment. Also, they are worst because of evictions, criminal records and spotty employment history. There seems to be a far higher incidence of this than I get with my rooming house applicants. This particular building is in a C+ area. --209.122.xx.xxx |
Tough to find Tenant (by Mickie [OH]) Posted on: May 20, 2019 9:59 PM Message:
I don't know what your normal rent is for that apartment but would it work as a rooming apartment? --71.213.x.xxx |
Tough to find Tenant (by GKARL [PA]) Posted on: May 20, 2019 11:45 PM Message:
I could break it up into rooms. I thought about doing that at one point. It would only be two people sharing a kitchen and bath. One room would be fairly small though. I'd probably get $ 1000 renting it by the room versus 800 for entire apartment.
I actually did this with one apartment in this building and I get 1800 a month vs 900 if I rented it as an apartment. I converted a two bedroom apartment into 3 rooms and wound up with some very good roomers in that unit. The difference between doing it here in this building versus the rooming house is that I have to take them to court to evict vs lockout in the rooming house, so I have to be fairly tight on the screening, but more people would qualify. --209.122.xx.xxx |
Tough to find Tenant (by Steve [MA]) Posted on: May 21, 2019 5:58 AM Message:
Is there something unusual about this particular apartment, property or location that is turning people off?
Have you had one of your LL friends take look at it with a fresh set of eyes?
Could it be the better tenants don't want to move so close to the end of the school year?
In my area the problem is lack of rentals not lack of OK tenants. I wonder if it's just the overall economy in your market. Are other local LLs having similar issues?
When I'm tempted to take a marginal tenant to fill a long term vacancy, I always try to remember how difficult, time consuming & expensive it is to remove a tenant & how even if I have to pay for the utilities, it's better to keep it empty.
--96.237.xx.xx |
Tough to find Tenant (by Still Learning [NH]) Posted on: May 21, 2019 8:20 AM Message:
I’m a pen and paper person so when I have a vacancy, I track similar apts on Craigslist and Zillow with a notation of when listed, price, #baths, tenant vs LL utilities, w/d, parking, smoking, pets, amenities, address(getting harder since many are hiding it). This helps me initially see what is on the market, prices, and set my price. If mine isn’t showing much I am also able to check back and see what is still listed and what has disappeared and been rented. Have the cheap ones been rented so we all are similarly priced or did a whole bunch of lower priced units hit the market making mine less desirable. I’ve noticed that a lot more have w/d included now. Our county vacancy rate is back to 5% with additional units being built so we are more likely to be open for a month vs the 2-3 days a few years ago.
If you don’t take pets, could you. I don’t want pets, but the day I’m not able to rent in a reasonable amount of time, taking pets will solve that. --24.61.xxx.xx |
Tough to find Tenant (by S i d [MO]) Posted on: May 21, 2019 9:21 AM Message:
I hear you GKARL. I've got a vacancy now and TONS of poorly qualified applicants. I got 3 apps yesterday, all of which had terrible credit, 2 of which had evictions (unpaid), and one of which is "looking for a job".
DQ and move on to the next! Stay strong. The right candidate is out there. Better a short vacancy to get the right tenant than an eviction in 3-6 months. --173.20.xxx.xxx |
Tough to find Tenant (by GKARL [PA]) Posted on: May 21, 2019 1:08 PM Message:
This evening I have a showing at the rooming house. I have three applicants vying for one room. Although each of them has a income under 25k, they're better quality than I'm getting for the apartment. No criminal, no evictions and no entitlement attitude.
I determined to not rent to anyone who's going to be problematic, so I'm going to double down on the marketing and find the right person.
--172.58.xxx.xx |
Tough to find Tenant (by Libi [NY]) Posted on: May 21, 2019 1:24 PM Message:
I understand that the more interest you will have - the bigger chance that someone decent will come.
We increase the interest by lowering the price, but take move-in fee in addition to the security deposit.
Do lower your standards! --174.242.x.xx |
Tough to find Tenant (by JKJ [MA]) Posted on: May 21, 2019 1:58 PM Message:
I had a particularly hard time filling my apartment this last time, (about 2 months ago) it took 5 months to find a qualified tenant, it seemed as though all I was getting was unqualified, or marginal at best applicants. I seem to remember others posting on the site about the same issues. --174.192.xx.xxx |
Tough to find Tenant (by Robert,OntarioCanada [ON]) Posted on: May 21, 2019 2:07 PM Message:
Separating out all the utilities makes the rent lower which increases the demand. A high efficiency heat pump can used all year round for cooling and heating. Improving the energy efficiency tenants will have lower costs. People with unpaid utilities are immediately disqualified as utilities and rent go hand in hand together. Look at what other rental units are offering. People with higher incomes and decent credit ratings are going to qualify for a mortgage. Most older rental buildings have higher operating costs as there is poor insulation, inefficient heating hot water generation, incandescent lighting, high water use toilets, high water use faucets where changing out aerators reduces consumption. Operating costs should be never ending as there always ways to reduce consumption. --147.194.xxx.xx |
Tough to find Tenant (by Robert J [CA]) Posted on: May 23, 2019 1:18 AM Message:
During the dips in our economy and an abundance or rentals on the market, I had to "think" hard to compete. While price of your rental is an issue, also is your amenities.
People want to get "value" when looking for a rental. So as a Licensed Contractor, Builder and Designer, I first came up with my TOP 10 List of what renters want. Then I did a cost over value comparison. So I added two, three, four and up to seven things to my rentals to get them rented quickly and attract a better class of people.
Examples:
a) Remove carpeting and re-finish the old hardwood flooring.
b) Include appliances - Refrigerator, Stove, Dishwasher,
microwave and vented hood.
c) Window air conditioner's - Living room and bedrooms
d) Ceiling Fans
e) New Kitchen Counters
f) Window mini-blinds
g) Extra parking spot with a 2 bedroom
h) Up-graded electrical (breaker and more outlets)
i) Create a small area in the yard for outside entertainment -
table and chairs.
Of course I'd try only a few at a time to see the reaction and keep on adding until I got my units rented. --47.156.xx.xx |
Tough to find Tenant (by Busy [WI]) Posted on: May 23, 2019 9:15 AM Message:
I would think there will be more demand for rooming houses in the future. People aren’t getting married, nobody cooks much anymore, a microwave in the room will do. And, if they don’t have kids, ESAs ( isn’t that the new term for a pet?) and bags of drama, then a nice room with a shared bath would be perfect. As long as they can get internet, ac, and keep a fridge and microwave, then it’s like they didn’t even move out of mom and dads.
Might as well go with what works well for you already, the trend is there to support increased demand for this type of housing in the future. --172.58.xxx.xx |
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