How long should you expect your property to be vacant between tenants? Not long! At Locklear Management, we don’t think a rental listing should be active for longer than five days. Here are some reasons why you may not be getting any bites.
You’re Asking for Too Much Rent
Even if your property is in great shape, it might not be priced right for the area. Homeowners commonly overestimate the worth of their properties and ask too high of rent prices.
Functional obsolescence is another factor to consider when deciding on pricing. This is a decrease in value or desirability due to outdated designs that are difficult to update or change. Examples include homes located on busy roads or those with inappropriate bedroom to bathroom ratios, especially considering their square footage.
The constant sound of traffic, difficulty pulling out of a driveway, one bathroom to four bedrooms, or three tiny bedrooms in a 900-square-foot house are all the types of factors that can decrease a property’s rent value.
Have your leasing manager or property manager run a market analysis before you list your house for rent. If you decide to ask for slightly higher rent than the report lists, plan to drop the price if you haven’t received any interest in the first four days.
Unmaintained Property
A well-maintained property will attract renters, especially those who are willing to pay more for a good quality home. A property with outdated and underperforming appliances, dirty and worn carpets and floors, and poor conditions like mold and mildew has a much lower value than one that’s well-kept and updated.
If your property isn’t in great shape, consider either putting some work and money into it or dropping your listing price. People want good living conditions – this means clean and mold-free, with functioning air conditioning and updated paint, carpets, and appliances.
Landlords are considered real estate investors, and with that role comes the responsibility of replacing items once they reach their life expectancy. Replace linoleum flooring every five years, repaint every three to five years, and install a new hot water heater every ten years.
As a property management company that cares about investment and quality, we don’t do business with landlords who are unwilling to adequately maintain their properties. Real estate is an investment – you must put money into it to get money out of it.
Problems with Showings
Issues with showings of a property are usually the fault of the property managers.
Most often, people interested in looking at a rental property face a lack of availability. Many prospective renters find listings on websites like Realtor.com, Trulia, or Zillow, where they submit a showing request. These requests go to the property management company, and unfortunately, they often sit for days or are never addressed.
One reason for this is that property managers expect to get prospects from real estate agents, who themselves tend to work only with buyers and sellers to earn more from commission. Prospective renters can sometimes fall through the cracks and have a harder time locating rental homes and connecting with someone who will show them the property.
Syndication errors are also to blame for issues with showings. If a listing isn’t posted correctly in MLS, the sites that prospective renters are browsing may not even publish it.
Our advice? Do a test run before selecting a property manager. Head to their website and pick one of the rental listings, then request a showing through Zillow. See how long it takes to hear from them and what the communication is like. This will give you a good idea of what people will experience when they show interest in your rental property.
Managing a rental property requires a lot of time and attention. If you don’t want the hassle of vacancies, managing listings, and finding new tenants, contact Locklear Management.
We’ll manage your property for you! Call (904) 431-0204.
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