Imagine if you will, you have your rental property on the market listed at the price that your property manager recommended. You made routine repairs as advised to get your property ready for market, but it has been sitting vacant for longer than expected. Your property manager, who you like and trust, is now telling you to reduce the price. You’re not totally against reducing the price but you can’t help but wonder if there is anything else you can do to get that vacancy filled besides reducing the price. Maybe there is, I’ll explain.
First of all, there is nothing more important than price and condition when you are trying to fill a vacancy. We have other blog articles covering the basics of renting a home, and attracting long-term tenants, and even have one that addresses why your home may not be renting. Here, we are going to look at a couple of extra things you can do to reduce that vacancy time:
- Embrace pets – not being open to pets or being too restrictive about pets greatly reduces the number of potential applicants. According to the Humane Society, 72% of renters have a pet. Even if you don’t allow pets, there is still a chance you will end up with tenants who have emotional support or service animals. Sure, there may be valid reasons for not wanting pets. Just saying you may be paying a price with less demand and longer vacancy times. Plus, there may be new laws saying you have to take pets. So, might as well consider leaning into accepting pets and advertising as pet-friendly.
- Advertise Section 8 – you are not allowed to turn down a prospective tenant in California just because they are on Section 8. To do so is considered discrimination based on source of income. Of course, there are pros and cons of renting to someone in Section 8. We have started to see more rental property owners embrace the benefits. If you have a property that is likely to be a good fit for Section 8, then you might as well load it on the Section 8 website and cut down on that vacancy time.
- Consider free rent – We have all seen the signs that say “one-month free rent”. This practice is more common in larger apartment communities. If you look at the details, they often “amortize” it over the year. If this is something you are considering, you could also just reduce the rent by a couple of hundred dollars per month and advertise the lower rent. Either way, it is something to consider to get that vacancy filled.
- Offer early possession – if the start date was for the first of the month you could offer it early to tenants who commit, with full payment of the deposit payment and first month’s rent. Do this as an incentive for getting everything signed and paid so they can move in a week or two early. This little incentive may help you close the deal and get you your money sooner. This can also help your tenant potentially close a housing gap or at least make their move a little stressful.
- Offer lower security deposit– This may be the most practical of all “move-in specials”. Reducing the security deposit from one month’s rent to $1,000 or even $500 can make your property attractive to a prospective tenant, especially if you consider that most tenants have to wait for their old landlord to return their last deposit. If you think about it, a security deposit is the tenant’s money held in trust for the tenant, so you are not giving up much.
- Try long-term discounts – offering a discount to tenants who agree to terms longer than a year can be a win-win deal. Landlords can benefit by filling a vacancy sooner and knowing they will not have to fill it again in just one year. Tenants benefit from a better deal and can lock that rate in for a little longer. Both parties benefit.
These methods have been used for years and are not new to people who have been in the business throughout different economic cycles. However, they are merely little hacks to help you close the gap and get a vacancy filled. These attempts usually involve making something a little more appealing to prospective tenants without much, if any, economic cost to the rental property owner.
These tips and tricks don’t change the fundamentals and are in no way shortcuts. There are no shortcuts. If you are looking for a shortcut, the person you will end up cheating will be yourself. Stick to the basics and remember there is nothing more important than price and condition.
After that, you will want to make sure your property is properly advertised. Then you will want to make sure that prospects are promptly and professionally responded to. Once those basics are covered then you can investigate the tips and tricks we just discussed.
If you have been trying this yourself you may want to engage the services of a professional property management company. That way you can benefit from their advice and experience. We also find that most tenants prefer to deal with professional management companies.
Bottom Line
Sometimes you can be doing all the right things but still be having some trouble filling a stubborn vacancy. If you find yourself in that situation, there are a few tips and tricks you can try to get that stubborn vacancy filled which include: embracing pets, advertising Section 8, considering free rent, offering early possession, offering a lower security deposit, and trying long-term discounts.
These old-school hacks are just ways to help nudge prospective tenants over the edge. You still need to stick to the basics including proper pricing, condition, advertising, and good service. Of course, a professional property management company can help guide you.
For Real Estate Advice
If you are looking for a reliable property management company to help you handle a rental property or a real estate broker to guide you through the sales process in Long Beach, Los Angeles or Orange County, California; or you are just considering it and have a few questions about real estate contact the Mike Dunfee Group today! We are happy to help.
Dunfee Real Estate Services, Inc. DRE # 02026232
