SMARTERLANDLORDING

ADVICE FROM EXPERIENCE

Finding Tenants

Breaking Rule #1 – Update

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Remember how positive I was about our experience with renting to a friend? Well, the old proverb proved to be true after all.

Our tenant friend told us last week that he will need to move out before his lease is up. He’s in nursing school and would like to devote more time to study and less time to work. We shouldn’t worry; he will do us a favor by staying until January 1st.

Grrrr. Thanks—but no thanks.

So, let me recap for you. We have one vacant unit that is rent ready November 1 (later than expected), and now an impending vacancy after a 3-month occupancy. If I don’t get these units occupied ASAP, I could be footing the mortgage with $0 cash flow for a couple of months. No. no. no….

It makes me anxious.

So, I told our tenant friend that we would start marketing the property immediately. He seems flexible enough to move mid-month if I find a tenant with the desire to, but he would need a couple of weeks’ notice to move his things.

Oh, and we have to prep the apartment of course. Remember those custom colors he requested for his living room? What a mistake!

Needless to say, we won’t be renting to friends again. I’ve found that I can’t be blunt or forthright about how this is not acceptable. I’m so friendly that I will most likely refund him part of his security deposit, which of course would be out of the question for the average tenant.

Where is that silver lining you ask?

It could have been a lot worse. He did give us ample notice, and he has taken care of the place. I don’t think I would say that it worked out to our benefit though. Even though we were able to gain cash flow earlier than we would have, we reorganized our work schedule to get that unit rent-ready first. That was probably a mistake—along with buying custom paint.

 

Commence face palm:

  1. Know where your palms are.
  2. Take your palm and move them towards your face. (Speed of contact varies from situation)
  3. Take 10 seconds to breathe and recuperate your thoughts.
  4. Slowly slide your palms down your face.
  5. Give evil glare.

Does It Pay To Place “For Rent” Ads Anymore?

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There was a time not too long ago when it was a must to advertise your vacant properties in the “for rent” portion of the classified ads in the local daily newspaper.  While local daily newspapers are still around, today thanks to the internet there are many more choices out there that are available to us to get the word out about our rental properties.  Even with all of this competition, the local dailies are often the most expensive venue to advertise in.  Does is still pay to advertise “For Rent” in the local daily paper?

The answer to that question depends on one factor.

 

What is the demographic you are trying to reach?  Who is your typical renter?

Here is a list of your typical tenant types and ways to reach them.

The Young Hipster/Professional – These tenants are young, just going to college, in college or just starting out at their first job.  They want cool, safe places to live in the “hip” parts of town.  They are generally technologically savvy and their first source of information is the internet.  They never read the paper (I teach at a local community college and for many years none of my students say they read a daily print newspaper anymore).  To reach this demographic you need to have a web presence.

You may be big enough to have your own website.  If not, you at least need to be on Craigslist.org which is free.  Another good source to reach this demographic is your local alternative newspapers.  These newspapers are generally printed every week and are available throughout the city for free.  They often highlight the entertainment scene around town and have a classified section.  By placing an ad in this type of paper, you will reach your demographic as they look for things to do on the week end.  But the bigger plus is that the print ad will also get you an ad on the newspaper’s website, where most of this demographic goes to search.

This website feature may also be true of the daily newspaper.  A print ad may also get you on their website which may be good for people researching your area from out of town.  But it is going to cost you, and the first three alternatives, a website, Craigslist.org and the alternative newspaper are what I have found to be most effective in my area.

The Working Class Tenant/Family – This demographic is going to be looking for value.  They can’t afford more upscale places in the “hip” parts of town but want a clean safe place as well.  Often they will be looking in a particular part of town because of a school location or because they have family and friends near by.  These tenants are not going to be as savvy with technology or their access to it may be spotty at best.  Further they also will generally not read the local daily paper.  So how do you find these tenants?  Signs.  These tenants will generally drive a particular neighborhood makes calls from the car from the various signs in the yard.  Here are a few tips for this type of tenant:

    • Have professional “For Rent” signs made with the name of your company and phone number on them.  Do not use the red and white “For Rent” signs that you can get at the local hardware store.  Why?  A professional printed sign makes you look more professional and the dead beats will move on down the road because they figure you will actually check their credit, criminal and work history.  Trust me, these types of signs are not very expensive and will save you a lot of unnecessary phone calls.
    • You may even want to place a separate sign in the yard describing the unit and the rent, for example 3 BR / 1 Bath $750/Month.  This sign will also cut down on the number of phone calls asking about the size of and rent for your unit.
    • You need to have a system in place in working class neighborhoods so that if someone calls about your rental, you or someone else is able to go right away to show them.  If you make and appointment for a later time, 8 out of 10 times they will not keep it because they have driven down the road and called another one that was able to show up immediately.  I know it is hard, but that is the nature of the business.

The High End/Professional w/Family Tenant – These are professional high income people who are looking for higher end rentals in the nicer portions of town.  They maybe officers in the military who will only be around for a couple of years.  They maybe a business professional that has just transferred to the area and wants to rent for a year or so to get a feel for the area.  These folks are looking for safe, clean well maintained rental properties located in good school districts.

They are very technologically savvy and are often a little more old school and will read a newspaper.  So it may very well pay to place an ad in the local daily paper if you are trying to reach this type of tenant, especially if you also get an ad on their website as mentioned above.  However, they will also find you if you have the web presence that I described above.  A professional sign is also advantageous as these folks will also “explore” their new community.

So does it pay?  I think the answer is generally no.  Print is dying and there are just too many less expensive and father reaching alternatives out there.

Please let me know your thoughts and if you have any tools that you have used to find tenants by leaving a comment below.  Thanks for reading.