Having a Hard Time Finding New Tenants

[Rob Bianco]

I have a 6-unit property in Midtown Kansas City that I bought in 2020 from a slumlord. The whole place has had modest renovation done to it and are all 3 bed / 1 bath units @ 1200 sq ft.

I have a couple vacancies that I've been trying to fill for about 2 months now with no luck and little interest. I started offering rents for $1200 (which is what I could get in 2021) and have since lowered it to about $1000 which is what a 2 bed unit is actually renting for.

My main concerns are that new construction is coming into the area with new units at like 900 sq ft for $1900/month and I'm not sure how that affects my rental. I'm also concerned that maybe the photos of the unit aren't doing it justice? My Property Manager took the photos of the unit and they don't look much different than whatever else you'd find online but they also don't stand out and look immaculate, but should they?

I have other units in the burbs that rent in like a week so this property has been a thorn in my side, but there's also a lot more competition for the area. Any ideas welcome!

https://ibb.co/C5cYDXV

https://ibb.co/7C9FKhQ

https://ibb.co/HTV3K7p

https://ibb.co/VqNhvG6

[Laura Williams]

@Rob Bianco I have seen that properties without laundry inside the unit are much more difficult to rent in KC. To someone in the midwest they consider it nasty to have to share laundry machines with other people & some would just never consider renting a place without laundry in unit. My ex-property manager had a property that didn't have laundry hook-ups and they had a very difficult time getting tenants for it..it took months and months...meanwhile every other property was renting like a hot cake with multiple applications. Even Airbnbs struggle with bookings here if they don't have laundry inside the property.

So might be something to look at adding in unit laundry and keeping the rent around $1200/month? I've added laundry to some of my properties and it's usually cost me around $1500 for plumbing and electrical and venting to add the hook-ups. And you can buy used stackable washer/dryers here for around $350-500 if you're short on space in the apartment. But you'd make that back in one year with increase rent plus more rental demand & shorter vacancies. So something to think about? Or you may want to test the idea and advertise without laundry for 1K a month or with laundry for 1200/month and see what kind of response you get and then if they want it with laundry just add it before they move in. 

The other thought that comes to my mind is have you seen these apartments in person? I notice you live in NYC so not sure if you've visted. Do you know that the units are clean and don't smell like cat pee or trash everywhere or a floating unflushed huge turd in the toilet or that they have the heat on & no homeless vagrant in the lobby etc or other things that might really turn someone off? Alot of times apartments really stink when they've been shut up & that's a huge turn off when showing. I always open windows before showings & add air fresheners. I've walked through some of my own properties and friend's properties who live out of town and been horrified at the condition some PMs were showing them for rent in & was no wonder they weren't renting.

My other question would be how is your PM with handling interested tenants? Are they calling them back? Are they nice and professional or are they rude and crusty and hard to get an appointment to show the place? One of my friends was having a hard time getting his place rented and found out his PM was telling tenants she only had one day of the week to show it & was a weekday. Another friend whose PM's leasing agent was on salary and hated work wasn't calling interested tenants back when they would call about properties & rude to them when she did answer her phone.

So just a few ideas that come to mind to me as to why it wouldn't be renting. 1K a month for a 3 bedroom is cheap here for midtown. I've seen studios in older buildings renting for that much...they did have laundry inside the apartment though.