Vacant condo in Oahu, Hawaii - Difficulty filling during pandemic

[Kory Sheldahl]

Hello All,

Hoping someone may have some advice or at least be able to calm my concerns by sharing that others are going through similar difficulties.

I have a condo in Hawaii near Schofield Barracks and typically hasn't sat empty for more than a couple months. Unfortunately my last tenants got orders and had to move out early in December. I'm not an expert, but I find that the holidays are the worst time to fill a vacancy. I had expected it to be difficult to fill in Jan and even Feb, but had hopes that Mar wouldn't be an issue. Then the pandemic comes and my talks with my property manager haven't provided much relief. We have very little activity and less applications. I have lowered by asking rent 3 times and even offered 1st month half off. Sadly, I had apprx 3.5 months in cash reserves and am now out of pocket each month for the mortgage and HOA.

My property manager advertises through the MLS and I don't think much more. Are there any tips or other ideas to help fill the vacancy.

I like to think that my property manager is doing all they can to keep the unit filled.

1. Property Details:
2. Wahiawa, HI (Just outside of Schofield Barracks)
3. 2BD 1BA Condo - 1 Covered Parking (nicely remodeled with modern kitchen and bath)
4. Rent: Started $1795 (reduced from $1895 to $1845 then to $1795 (half off first month))

Side Note: Zillow/Trulia/Hotpads have failed to update price reductions still to this day. Conversations with there support have provided no help and I now see what agents never have anything positive to say about the brands. I find it almost offensive that they build there business from my data and have no care about how they handle my data. My price reductions could very well have stirred up business from the people browsing their sites, but none would know of the reductions since they are not good stewards of my data. sad.. .. .. 

Thank you all,

[Isi Nau]

Aloha @Kory Sheldahl

Sorry to hear!  Not sure why the unit didn't rent in December or January.  Those are slower months, but we rarely have a unit sit empty for more than several weeks.

As for the market now, it's pretty tough.  A few things we're seeing:

-a big impact has been the stop movement order by the DOD.  Basically very few new military personnel are moving here.  May through August is usually pretty heavy with military movement.  With none coming here right now, things are extremely slow.  The military members who are already here, waiting to PCS out of Hawaii, already have housing and aren't looking to move.

-The local people are sitting tight.  Many are wanting to wait and see.  This applies to buying and renting.  So there's very little movement with this group as well.

-We usually list our vacancies on Craigslist, FB, and MLS. FB is quickly becoming our best source for bringing in applicants. MLS is good because all the big real estate websites (Zillow, Realtor, etc.) are populated from the MLS.

-I did a quick search, and I don't think your listing on MLS mentions the first month rent discount (assuming I found the right listing). This may be why it isn't showing up on Zillow and other sites.

-$1795 is a pretty good price for the neighborhood, but it looks like things are changing.  You may need to come in at $1695.

-I would consider allowing Section 8, especially in the current economic conditions.  We have very good tenants who receive Section 8, and the rent is virtually guarantied.

Hope this helps!  Good luck!