any LANDLORDS out there. need some advice?

Question

i've recently bought an apartment unit which i am trying to rent out. I've listed the apartment in the local newspaper, craigslist.com and apartments.com. I've gotten some responses from the ads and couple of people came to see the apartment to "windowshop" but i haven't yet been able to find a serious tenant. Its been a couple of weeks since I've been putting ads out there, so I am a little worried. Is there a more effective way to find tenants? am i better off using a real estate agent? any suggestions??

thanks very much

Answer 1

Check that you are not asking to much rent for your area. Renting should be fairly easy now with all the foreclosures and folks looking for housing.

Answer 2

You are doing the right thing. Sometimes it takes weeks, even months to find a good tenant. That is the number one reason to do your best to keep a good tenant once you find one. Treat them fairly and keep them happy as long as they pay their rent on time, do not trash your apartment, do not annoy the neighbors, do not call you about every little thing.
You could try a gimmick such as offering a month of free rent to whomever signs a years lease and stays the entire year.
Look at the other ads and see how many available, similar apartments there are in the area. There may be many apartments available so you will need to be creative to find a tenant.
Make sure that you show the apartment to it's full potential. Is it clean? Is the yard kept up? Does it need repairs? Are the appliances up to date? Put a for rent sign in the window and on the front lawn. Put as much info as possible such as number of rooms, rent, what utilities you cover, whether or not you allow animals. The more info you throw out there the more people will want to see your apartment. Is it priced right? Return calls promptly if someone calls about the apartment and leaves a message.
Are you the best person to show the apartment? Are you too pushy? Too laid back? Too attached to the apartment?
Lastly, read over your lease. Would you sign it if you were the tenant? Some landlords put the most foolish stuff in their leases. If you won't bother to enforce it don't put it in the lease.

Answer 3

Dear Tom,

When we had an apartment for lease, I advertised in the local newspaper and actually did an open house for tenants. Some folks came by, but no lease! I also listed it on the newspaper's website with a picture and a link to my real estate website with lots of pictures. I secured a tenant directly from that. He was a professor moving here from Chicago. He leased it sight unseen. The department head at his college did look at him for him.

I also put a sign in the yard, but didn't specify the amount of rent--bad idea! I was inundated with calls from unqualified renters. If I do this again, I will include a flyer with the price and more details about the apartment.

Make sure that your ads are specific enough about policies like pets. Do not include anything in your ad that could be considered to be discriminatory under Fair Housing Laws.

Good Luck!!!

Answer 4

Many cities have these little booklets that list all the apartments in town. Sometimes they are in racks at the grocery store. And there might be web sites that list all the apartments. Are you in these two marketing tools?

Answer 5

where is the apartment, city? state? if it is cold weather, people are more apt to wait until spring to move..... move in specials are always a draw. also, see what the going rate is for the neighborhood. Sometimes people want to see whats out there. If they say they need to move in by a certain date, then there is something out there more appealing, such as free month, deferred or no security deposit .

Answer 6

with no trouble spell it out to the LL with a letter in writing with a 72hr observe to exterminate the mice or you are going to go away and vacate your hire. in addition, touch the county well being dept to your subject and cc the county of your movements. This observe to the LL will have to be licensed and a signed receipt lower back to you. once more, take images or the particles and mice, plus date each factor so whilst and should you cross to court docket in small claims, you could have evidence of your claims.