Why is my unit still vacant?

[Victor Tofilski]

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3290-E-M-36-APT-2-Pinckne... had this unit listed over 2 months I started out too high at 1350. Its been vacant for 21 days now

I’ve had it down to 1200 for weeks and just added $500 off first months rent.

Does anyone have any other tips?

[James Hamling]

@Victor Tofilski I can't tell you exactly why it hasn't leased yet but I can pick it apart and give you detailed road map of every deficiency I notice and how to correct. 

Fair warning, it might hurt. I don't know your skin thickness but know I do it with love and care for your improvement, there is no insult meant by any of it but fact is we all gotta suck, learn and try again before we get great, right. 

First 2 big things that jump out to me is photos are done wrong. 

Your 1st photo is your Visual HOOK. It's arguably the #1 most important factor to a listing, be it for leasing or selling. It's gotta grab people, draw them in, stop them in there searching tracks. And most often it's the opening of the story. It speaks to the property. 

your 1st pic says "blah....". It speaks to "nothing special here", that's what it conveys. 

Next, your using limited visual range photos. You GOTTA use WIDE-angel photos. many phones have great features for this now, or there is app's for it, or lenses, lens adapters. get something, anything, or buy a new phone that does it. It's a MUST not a should. 

For example, the 2nd to last photo of a random wall and floor with part of open door; what is that supposed to be telling? Or the one before that of a close up of a corner of a white wall.... are you telling the viewer there in the corner? What is the point to that???? 

NEVER put in a photo without purpose. EVERY photo, every one has a specific reason and purpose. No random photos. 

Next BIG item, where is the video walk through????? 

Video is FREE today, so it's epic neglect of duty to not include one. When get unit all set, lights on, door ajar, you go outside to curb view, go to wide-side shot and you start video. You look at the house, look left around neighborhood, look right, and just tour at a normal human speed looking around exactly as any person coming to tour would. 

Make YT channel for rental listings, upload, put in some effort to do it right and add details, links etc, and than post a link to it in your listing. Simple and powerful. 

Lastly is your listing details; they read with all the story telling and excitement of a furnace repair manual. 

No, wordy-wordiness does NOT help but ya gotta have SOMETHING. Tease em with some of the pro's, whats good about this place, whats good about this area. Give em something to be interested in. 

Than, you need to make the details clear and simple. What it has, how much it is, what is minimums to qualify, AND most importantly how to do what you want them to do next, CALL TO ACTION. Give them direction. 

Now if you've followed things this far kudos, and I bet your feeling some lumps. Well, I'm not gonna beat you to leave you sitting there in pain. Here is an example listing to show you how it should be done. Now that I laid out the various details important to a listing, i bet you'll notice and pick em out as you view through this.  https://www.renterswarehouse.com/rental-listings/39331

Now on this listing an important feature to it is the size, not just of the property but the lot, the feeling of big, space, and of semi-secluded. So note that first pic, and yes i did some editing to lighten it etc all via the standard software in pc, nothing special. 

Same with interior pics, I lightened some, lighting is important. And notice the flow. A person get's a sense of walking through via the order and angels of the photos. And when the pic is showing a more limited visual range, notice it's for a reason, I am calling out something via the visual range. 

And I do have the photos at the end by design, because I want a person to end the experience with a specific feeling of "oh wow, look at that, it's got that too", which helps drive conversion. 

In the text notice I have headings for each section, because people HATE reading today so I make it ultra simple to find exactly what one is looking for in less than 3 seconds. And that's a metric I use, navigation in UNDER 3 seconds. I didn't invent this, it's the metrics of online media today. 

Links to video walk through, scheduling showings and to apply. 

And if someone clicks to schedule a showing it has a form to capture there information that goes into a crm that then starts a "prospect tenant" followup campaign including response text instantly to interrupt there search knowing we got there request and check there e-mail where we send followup information, links, directions etc etc. 

If you inquire from Zillow, apartments.com, any of the sites, our site doesnt matter, we capture there data and followup campaigns go into action backed with ai at work that I am ever evolving. 

Now, I share this all to make a point. If your in a market facing off against me as competition to lease a property..... good luck, your gonna need it. 

And I'm not the only one. I mean, some may call me the greatest who's ever been, lol, ok maybe not but a man can dream right. Point is, there is a new bar being set and if your not operating up to it, we are going to make your listing look like crap and perform like crap because were putting this out to the potential tenants and who'd you pursue and choose? The polished hyper responsive ai empowered texting, emailing, no waiting ones, or yours????? 

If you can't perform to the new standard were setting, I strongly suggest stepping back and hiring one of us who are setting this new standard.