I think it was Plenty who mentioned she had upped some rents hoping to discourage the Riff-Raff but it didn't work. I actually did the same thing recently, too many unqualified inquiries and even though I have automated rejections for the most part it's still time spent. I upped my rents a lot and I think it's helped somewhat, I'm still getting multiple inquiries but fewer totally unqualified maybe?

I had to block a obviously unqualified person. They just kept pestering me, want to negotiate not only rent, but animal policy.

They actually offered me $375 LESS in rent and they have 2 dogs! Things are tough for the unqualified & it appears they are getting desperate.

I'll just leave it vacant if a well qualified tenant can't be found.

I'm also looking into to Air BnB. And getting out of LTR.

It doesn't matter how high the rent is if you have no intention of paying the rent.

You can raise rent so high it will discourage good renters. If they are good, almost any place they apply will take them. They can be bit picky.

I thought I raised the rent high enough to discourage the tire kickers....but I was wrong. When I checked the other listings it turned out mine was the lowest for the number of bedrooms and bathrooms I had.

And yes, I had a few that wanted to negotiate a lower rent. They just get deleted because I figure I'm too old to waste my time with them. Same with all the ones with sad stories on how they've managed to wreck their lives with poor choices and "just need a chance" (in the past EVERY TIME I've done that I've regretted it in the end).

We seem to have a shortage of rentals here too so some apply to all no matter what their qualifications are.

I increased the rent on a small 1br $50.it's an older starter apt. The few others with higher rent have new floors. If it doesn't rent soon I might commit to the floors and then relist. I'm not seeing qualified applicants now so I don't think new floors will change that. Quite the opposite, the entitled class demands 'new'.

I dislike the idea of advertising extremely high rents. I tend to agree with OR Woodsmoke in that it will tend to discourage the truly qualified, good prospects.

I've looked at a few postings on my local FB marketplace. Prices dont shock me as a landlord.

What shocks me are the comments on the post. You actually see people complaining about the rental prices. They are too high AND you have to pay for the UTILITIES!!!

Imagine the gall of some landlords charging rent that some lazy low life cant afford and wanting them to pay for the water that they use to wash their friends laundry!

I think the most important price you should raise is the application fee. If someone is planning to stiff you on rent, raising the rent won't mean anything to them. The security deposit may, but they have free legal to sue to get it back. But when they see a high application fee and a list of things they will automatically get disqualified for, that may discourage them since they know they'll be wasting their money. Also it may be profitable if you have lots of applicants that don't have a chance in passing screening.