Panic , Can't rent Townhome

[Joe Pitrolo]

I recently purchased a new home and renovated my 2 bed townhome in Morgantown WV, 5 minutes from the college. I added a 3rd bed and bath and the going rate is 1500 mo. This is close to the hospital and University. I have always rented properties for an average rent of $500 to $700 a month and renting such a high cost rental is new territory for me, so I placed the property with realtors to be on the MLS. In addition I have ran print adds and post on CL, even multiple adds. I've even placed fliers at the law and Med schools.The University has added a lot of new housing, so my understanding is the market is a bit saturated; however, I've seen houses close by rent out with no problem. The home was built in 2003 and is in excellent condition. I've tried lowering the rent to $1350. I almost had it rented for $1200 a month when it was a 2 bedroom.

At this point, it has been vacant for 8 month. I've also noticed that comparable homes on the MLS had an average listing of 150 days also. I'm paying 2 mortgages and losing big time, almost feel like I need to rent the place for $800 a month or try to sell.

  This is new territory for me and I've never had a unit vacant for more the 3 months.  Reading some old posts, I've even tried postlets.