One of the most frustrating things for a landlord is having a property that will not rent. If this happens to you, you need to do some serious thinking quickly to get the cash flowing again. Why is your property not renting? Two reasons, your market and your rent.
Are You Reaching Your Target Market?
The first thing any business owner must do is make their potential customers aware of the product they are trying to sell. If you are not reaching your potential customers you will not have customer traffic. No customer traffic means no sales. Reaching potential customers can be easier said than done. If your phone is not ringing and you are not having many showings then you should think about your advertising. Is a sign in the yard enough? Have you posted ads online? Have you made those ads look attractive? What about sites like nextdoor.com? Are you advertising in English in a Spanish speaking area? All these items and more should be considered in your marketing strategy if you do not have traffic coming your way.
Do You Know Your Market?
You cannot just ask whatever rent you want, the market is going to set those rates. You need to be very in tune with your market because you could very well be knocking yourself out of it. There are plenty of ways today that make it easy to see what is happening in your market. Rentometer.com is one way. Zillow.com is another. You can also pound the pavement and make phone calls to find out what other properties near you are renting for and even perhaps how long they are staying on the market. It might not be just you, everyone could be having a hard time.
Ultimately, It Is The Price
If you are effectively reaching your potential customers and you know what your market will support but are still not getting any takers then there is only one thing left, the price. The rent you are trying to get is just too high. The market has spoken and everyone who has looked at your property feels they can get a better value somewhere else.
Why?
Hard to say, but there is something that is turning people off. It could be something fixable such as an outdated kitchen or bath. It could be that purple paint in the bedrooms or the brown shag carpet. If your place is not renting take a good look around and try to determine which end of this scale you are on. What are your potential tenants remembering about your property? If you can fix it, then fix it. If not or you do not want to, then you are going to have to lower the price.
Your problem could also be out of your hands. You could be located next to a busy and noisy intersection. A lack of parking might be a concern or the Taco Bell drive thru next door may be trying to take their order late into the night. These problems cannot be fixed by you and are unfortunately going to cost you some money. You simply will have to lower the price to overcome the hassles of these nearby nuisances.
The Sum Up
Why is your property not renting? Maybe you are not reaching your target market or have misread it. Maybe you are in a declining market. Perhaps it is because you have not fixed your properties up. But it can also be because of items way beyond your control.
Whatever the reason a reduction in price will usually solve the problem. Yes, I know it is frustrating and perhaps even a bit infuriating. But letting a property sit vacant is expensive. Do not let your pride get in your way. Despite your efforts the market has spoken. Listen.
