Is your rental market on fire?

[Nathan Gesner]

I have hardly been on BiggerPockets all summer because our market is on fire! I was busier than the proverbial one-legged man during COVID, had about two weeks of normalcy, and then the market exploded.

I manage 400 rentals and don't have any vacancies. I have to force vacancies to allow me time to inspect and clean/repair between renters. When I list a house for rent, I typically have it rented within a week and 3-6 weeks before it's even available. We're also experiencing a strong sales market with quick sales, all-cash purchases, and even competitive bidding. A large percentage of this is due to people moving from coastal cities to escape the craziness of 2020, high taxes, etc.

What are you seeing in your market?

[Bob Anthes]

@Nathan G. I live in Florida but invest in Wilmington NC. Market is also on fire, very similar to what you said. Had to rush my last rehab to get a tenant in. Rentals are scarce, as is the inventory for home sales

[Gary L Wallman]

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

and no collection issues other than maybe your normal stuff you would get with that size portfolio ? 

Out this way that seems to be the issue.. vacancy is close to 0  but collections now that's another matter.

in my years of doing business in the mid west rents have been pretty static and in areas of heavy section 8 that sets the bar and free market is usually less than section 8,

Either way its good to get data from actual owners  thank you.

 Jay,

Only one unpaid. That is from a C class property. I've been dealing with this one family since they moved in.

Gary

[Jay Hinrichs]

Originally posted by @Gary L Wallman:

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

and no collection issues other than maybe your normal stuff you would get with that size portfolio ? 

Out this way that seems to be the issue.. vacancy is close to 0  but collections now that's another matter.

in my years of doing business in the mid west rents have been pretty static and in areas of heavy section 8 that sets the bar and free market is usually less than section 8,

Either way its good to get data from actual owners  thank you.

 Jay,

Only one unpaid. That is from a C class property. I've been dealing with this one family since they moved in.

Gary

great thats amazing even in good times.. good job !

[Steve Vaughan]

Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

One thing I have been thinking is that these moratoriums on evictions we are facing on the west coast and other irent controls etc.. are really going to hurt the renter that is NOT fully qualified to rent.. I think you will see a gap get wider and wider.. the landlords with the decent rentals are going to be uber cautious going forward. 

Yup. I used to be flexible and offer a lot of hand-ups to renters in substance recovery, jail or new to area getting on their feet.  No more. Sad. Giving back that way was part of my mission statement. 

Eviction moratoriums and new rules (some I agree with, resulting from Kushner-style corporate landlord abuse) that came down the WA pipe last summer forced me to tighten screening criteria significantly. 

Nathan, our market is on fire also.  New builds make my 1960/70s communities seem dirt cheap. Same with my rural old brick apts.  Even at $1100/mo I only post for 1/2 day to receive 30 inquiries, 20 with my questions answered, 5 answered in a respectful manner with name and contact info.  I whittle from 30 to 5 in minutes.

As for sales, we are similar. I don't bother with the MLS and haven't for 6 years, but all my agent and title co's talk about low DOM and multiple offers.

Buys and sales for me are interrupting my nap schedule. Under contract for 28 units now, 8 more pending because they are in an IRA and more DD is required. Off-market 63 year-olds retiring (used to be 71, then 68, showing who up markets are benefitting) and 40 something's diversifying out of farming, begging for any heavy MF deal I come across.

Title here is slow and different.  Email only, wires only, (or drop boxed), mobile notaries only.  Same with recording. Drop box only, exact amount checks only.  

I saw you had a closing in your garage a little while back, Jay.  Still the same out west?  What are closings like that you're seeing? 

[Eric Bilderback]

We are pretty hot.  I do believe there are a lot of folks who want out of the cities they have created.  My guess is that most will bring the same mantality with them here that created all of the chaos the are fleeing.  But the extra demand is great for values if you owners and landlords such as myself.  

[Jay Hinrichs]

@Steve Vaughan

"I saw you had a closing in your garage a little while back, Jay. Still the same out west? What are closings like that you're seeing?"

I was able to go into the title company a few times and sign in July  but this week I had 4 sets of construction loans and we did it in my driveway on the title companies customer service reps portable table.. mask gloves fresh pen that gets thrown away etc. 

My thoughts exactly on helping those that you would deem a minor charity case rent from you.. With the laws now unless its just something that your OK not getting rent for an extended period of time and chalking it up to your humanitarian efforts. The risk is just not worth it.. And you know the BP folks are pretty up to speed this will catch a lot of mom and pops who just are not aware off guard.  It could also cause many to say this just aint worth it causing some burnt out landlord sales in markets that typically would not see those, like you get in the Mid West rust belt C D were burnt out landlord is one of the major inventory sources.. 

[Axel Meierhoefer]

My rentals are all 100% occupied and people pay on time. I think part of this media frenzy about evictions and recession make those 85+% of people who have kept their job much more aware of how valuable it is to live in a nice place. My properties are all single-family homes that were recently renovated, are kept up as much as we can and the rent is reasonable. I think my highest is $1250/month. I see it as a win-win. I am in a 1% scenario and the tenants couldn't find better deals unless they move to lower category neighborhoods. I would not call it "on fire" but it is stable, which si very comforting for me as an investors and allows me to look for new deals to add to the portfolio