Tips on renting a higher end unit?[Canada]

[Christopher C]

Hello fellow landlords

I'm looking for some advice on renting out a higher end fully furnished unit and would like your honest feedback.

I currently own a condo in the heart of downtown Montreal. This is a 2br/1 bath unit and have had some trouble finding a tenant for the past 2-3 months. This is my first time as a landlord and wondering if im doing anything wrong - is my price too high? 

We did some research around our area and comparable rentals go for approximately 2500-3000$/month. We decided to put our rental on the market @ 2475$ to be competitive. We've currently reduced it to 2375$ after we havent had much luck.

We've had maybe 10 people interested in the past 2 months that connect by email and never return any emails and 3 showings. No call backs after following up.

I currently post to Kijiji and Craiglist almost every day and have posted then ad on local university websites(McGill university).

Is my target market not looking for high end rentals on Kijiji and Craigslist?

Here is my Craiglist/Kijiji postings for reference: 

http://montreal.craigslist.ca/apa/4832022288.html
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details.html?adId=1042...

Thank you for reading and any direction you can provide

Thanks
Chris

[Dane Osa]

You should consider listing with a RE agent to increase the pool of potential renters.  Listing with an agent should also bring corporate clients that usually solicit the help of big realtors to find accommodation for their employees on the move.
Good luck!

[Christopher C]

Hi Dane

I forgot to mention in the original post we also had an RE agent that also posted on MLS to increase visibility but unfortunately did not bring in any leads so far. Our contract with him just expired.

[Lynn McGeein]

Can you make it furnished/unfurnished?   Longer-term tenants might want their own furniture.   We rented one higher-end, unfurnished, and used a property manager as we were headed out of state at the time.  We vetted many managers and he seemed the most knowledgeable about our target market, told us going under market like we were planning was a mistake, that people who would want our home would view discount pricing as a defect, paid for most of his own fee by raising our target rent price to top end versus bottom ($150/month higher).  It leased in about a month, and the same tenant has been there over 4 years now. 

Also, on the smaller one we rented out furnished, we offered unfurnished option.  When asked if there was a reduction for unfurnished, we said, No, as we'd actually have to pay to store the furniture, and we were not going the short-term furnished route that brings in 2-3x the normal market rents.  It did rent furnished, but the applicants who actually rented it initially wanted it unfurnished.

[Roy N.]

@Christopher C 

If you are going after the short-term, executive market  {i.e. your furnishings and finishes say visiting executive}, then you should consider listing though a service like Executive Rentals or Corporate Stays. 

It's not a market we are pursuing at the moment  - we do lower end, furnished aimed at international students - but I do know a couple of local investors who have units which are rented out to MLAs (Fredericton, being the provincial capital) or visiting business persons here on short term (i.e. several weeks or months) assignments.   They need to maintain a higher level of finishings/furnishings, but they also garner 2-3 times the rent  they would for the same flat unfurnished.

[Christopher C]

@Lynn McGeein  Hi Lynn - Thanks for the response. Great points to consider 

@Roy N.  Hi Roy - Thanks for the link to Corporate Stays; I've been trying to find the best exec rental site available. I will definitely give this a shot !

[Philippe Laurin]

Hi Christopher,

I'm also in the Montreal area, and a couple of years ago I was trying to rent my house (nice house in a nice neighborhood). I tried using a RE agent to try and reach a larger market, but in 3 months period she only managed to get 2 visits. I decided to manage the posting myself and got 6 visits within 2 days, and signed within less than a week. Long story short, the agent was not putting any effort into our unit (we had conclusive proof of this when one of the visitor told us that they had called a couple of weeks earlier and didn't get a reply). 

This might be anecdotal, as we only have a sample of 1 agent. But when I took time to think about it, it occurred to me that agents make way less money on a rental than they do on sale, which would explain why they might not devote much time to helping rent a place.

All of this to say, unless the agent has a proven track record for renting similar places or a network of potential customers (read: international companies regularly relocating workers), I wouldn't bother with them.

[Dana R.]

Renting out a place in November and December can be tough so that might explain your problems. 

But, I also have a couple of other thoughts.

Are you also advertising and posting ads in French for a rental in Montreal, where the majority of the people speak French at home? 

If you're not also adverting to the French speakers, then you've already lost the chance to rent it to the majority of the renters before the battle even started. Can't you put the same information in French and then in English in the same ad? 

And, it seems like your Kiiji ad is already expired.

I wouldn't start off your ad by telling them to contact you via phone, email, or text. You should leave that information till the end after you've built up the desire in the reader to rent your place.

When you write the ad, you should start off with the best thing about your place- the reason why somebody should rent your place over another place. It sounds like the best thing is the location so why not start off the ad with that? When I read the ad, I wouldn't have known it was located in the heart of downtown Montreal. 

If those are real  wood floors in the picture, then I would write that you have wood floors in the ad. If I see those pictures but the owner doesn't mention there are wood floors, then I just assume that the floors are laminate or vinyl.

I wouldn't change it now, but the white appliances seem in-congruent with the downtown loft with exposed pipes vibe of your rental.

Finally, are you sure about your comps?

When you said comparable rents go for $2500-$3000, are you looking at 2 bedrooms or 1 bedroom comps? You're advertising your place as a 2 bedroom, but the open loft feel really makes your place seem more like a 1 bedroom and not a 2 bedroom.