Oh pretty please pick me

[Mariel DeVito]

We have a very competitive rental market in our area and we priced our rental, not with the craziness of the market but with what we think is reasonable for a family to pay and still afford the other things we are asking as part of the property - all utilities and the upkeep of lawn. This said, when we listed our prior SFH, we had 100+ contacts and about 40 applications and it wasn't even in the best part of town. Now our rental IS in the highly coveted part of the city. This said, how do you respond to an applicant who asks - what will it take for you to rent this house to me today?!

[Nathan Gesner]

I think you are making a mistake by keeping the rent low. When you rent a $2,000 home for $1,500 a month, you get tenants that can only afford $1,500 a month and will treat your home like a $1,500 a month home instead of a $2,000 a month home. You also wasted an awful lot of time dealing with the hundred responses in 40 applications. If you had advertised it at market rate, you would have had fewer applicants and could have quickly found someone qualified and happy to pay market rate for the property.

People will often try to offer you a higher rate or quick cash or some other incentive to choose them over a more qualified applicant. Just stick to your processes and select the most qualified applicant.