1st Rental Property Closes Escrow on 9/26 -- When Can I Begin Marketing?

Question

Hi everyone.  I'm a newbie investor and have some questions.  This week I just purchased my first rental property (a SFH).  Closing date is scheduled for 9/26/12.  I'm unsure as to when I can begin marketing this property to prospective tenants.  I'd like to start at least a couple of weeks prior to closing date by putting up Postlets on Craigslist and Zillow, and announcing a couple of open houses for prospective tenants on 9/29 and 9/30 (I plan to do showings primarily through open houses).  I know I couldn't put up a For Rent sign up until the house is mine, unless the sellers consent to doing that earlier (I haven't asked yet and not sure whether I should even bother).

Since I won't officially own the house until 9/26 (assuming all goes well), I know I can't start showing the house until then. However, is there anything to prevent me from marketing in advance, as long as I am clear as to the availability for showing/move in?  Obviously I want to rent out this property as soon as possible, but don't want to violate any laws/protocol by doing this.  I also think I have a good handle on what the fair market rent is for this property, but by advertising early I think I could better gauge the interest level at the rate I'll be asking (and if there is little interest, maybe that means I need to lower the rent).

Speaking of which, I do have another question.  How accurate is Zillow for establishing fair market rents?  Zillow says this property should rent at $1225/month while my realtor estimated $1125 - $1150/mo.  I was planning to market it at $1195 and if there's not a lot of interest, to lower it to $1150.

Moody York · Answer

Hey i new here too but I would use mapliv.com to check rent around your house. its pretty much a Craigslist aggregate of posts that you can see on a map

Kristann Montague · Answer

Joshua, thank you!

Joshua Dorkin · Answer

Kristann Montague - Here's our Ultimate Guide to Fair Market Rents with info and links to a variety of valuable resources.

Kristann Montague · Answer

Hi, thanks for the feedback!

@Raymond -- Rentometer says a fair range is $1100 - $1400/mo for a 3 bedroom.  The house is 2 bedrooms + a bonus room (no closet in the 3rd room -- I'm thinking seriously of hiring a contractor to build in a closet but haven't decided yet; I don't think it would cost much but could help me get a higher price and the time to recoup the investment would hopefully be a year or less).

My realtor is not active with rentals but talked to the resident agent in his office who handles rentals and got the estimate from her, based on market comps, and that's where he got the range of $1125 - $1150.  There's not a whole lot of similar SFH rentals in the area so it's a little difficult to pinpoint what the optimal price should be (the only other listing right now on Craigslist for a similar type home in the vicinity is much higher, $1400/mo. -- they have about 80 sf more and an extra 1/2 bathroom, but the house/property is not nearly as nice as mine).  My realtor indicated the price in the $1125 - $1150 range would result in a quick rental.  Like everyone else, I want to get the best rental price I can get while also minimizing the vacancy time.

@ Lynn, I'm aware that in WA there is usually a gap between the closing date and the date of possession ... when we bought our primary residence there was a 2 day gap, and I was giving myself a little cushion (closing is on a Wednesday so I was counting on getting the keys by Friday night).  But I definitely will keep this in mind and be checking on the status of closing as we get closer to the big day.  I might need to wait until the following weekend for the open houses just to be on the safe side.  Fortunately, the house is already move-in ready; the current owners have done a great job of prepping it for sale and I really don't need to do anything as far as maintenance is concerned.  The owners had their elderly parents living there until recently and the house has been extremely well cared for -- a major reason I bought it.

Thanks for your help, I am super excited and nervous all at the same time.

BP is such a great resource to newbies like me!

Lynn McGeein · Answer

Kristann, Congratulations on your first rental!  I'm always excited to close on a new property.   It's one of the biggest investments you'll make in your life, so you definitely should enjoy the process.  Just wanted to say that maybe Vancouver, WA, is different than Auburn, WA, but when we purchased our home there, closing was not the official turnover date.  We had to close, then wait until everything was official, no issues left, so 4-5 days later (holiday weekend in between), they called and said, Okay, now you own it, you can come get the keys.   Not the same as any other state we purchased property in.   Just not sure you're aware of that if you're planning open houses already, as I think if there are any issues, it can delay your possession date.  Also, closing delays are fairly standard.  I don't market anything until I own it.  I'll put a sign in the yard while I'm fixing it up, maybe an ad on craigslist if I know it doesn't need much work, but tenants want to see it in move-in condition.    I only use Zillow to look up any current for rent homes in the area.  I drive around and call on signs, and my real estate agent usually gives me a list of current rentals in the area, what they actually are currently rented for, sqft comparison, etc., before I make an offer.

Raymond B. · Answer

Kristann Montague,
First, welcome to the Best Real Estate Forum, on the net.

Have you checked:www.rentometer.com to use as a guide?

How active is your Realtor with Rental Properties?

Raymond

1st Rental Property Closes Escrow on 9/26 -- When Can I Begin Marketing?

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