Rental Property taking too long to rent

[Jaime Ramirez]

Hello All - Bought a two-family home and closed at the end of April 2024. Renovated bathrooms, kitchens, added washer dryer to each unit and new lighting throughout. The units look nice, the apartments are spacious and located in a nice town, close to the NYC train (50 mins from NYC). It's a busy enough area. However, it has taken a lot time to rent. I like my agent, she is very active and has been in the industry for over 20 years. We have had may leads but people keep losing interest. We reduced price as well.

The units are still empty and I'm starting to get really tight with mortgage payments and rent (I live in NYC). Any advise?

[Greg M.]

Your listing has many issues. I'm actually confused reading it. Is it a duplex? Am I renting the entire place since it says two-family home? 

The outside color of the house does not match my expectations for the inside design. Very much lacks curb appeal.

Sqft is not listed. If I search for a place, one of the filters is min/max sqft. Your listing will not come up with these searches.

You mention a large fenced in backyard and not a single picture of it!

The kitchen looks extremely small from the pictures. It's also set up incorrectly. The dishwasher should be to the right of the sink as a large majority of people are right handed.

There is a picture of a second fridge in the kitchen, but no mention of it in the listing.

You'd have been better off putting the stove where the second fridge is and giving the renter more countertop space. 

Your fridge and stove, while new, still has shipping material on them. Tacky.

Your power outlets and switch don't have covers in the pics. Dangerous. 

The kitchen cabinets, they are two different colors. Did the close out store not have enough of a single color? Never make bold design decisions when renting the unit. Bold is for your personal home. Bland is for renting. 

The dark gray flooring is out of favor (I personally like it). 

The orange-color wood floor looks beat up and the color is definitely out of favor.

What is the design plan? What room am I looking at in the pictures? What rooms are on the first vs second floors? 

Your last picture is of a towel bar. Why?

Renter will likely have a child. What are the schools like? 

No pets? You just lost 52% of potential renters.