First Rental Unit...Still waiting for a tenant to sign a lease

[Matt Schaefer]

My fiance and I just bought a duplex in Highland Park, Los Angeles that came with a 600 sq. ft. bungalow.  The unit is completely separate from our front house and doesn't have any shared walls (2 house on a lot).  We renovated the entire kitchen, cleaned it up with paint and new fixtures and have it listed to rent on Zillow, Craigslist, Apartments.com, and several other sites.  It is listed as a 1 bedroom but has an additional bonus room that can be used as a bedroom as well.  We have had about 10 potential tenants come to view the unit, but no one has shown any interest in signing.

I am now on month 2 of paying the FULL mortgage and really want to get the unit filled so we can utilize that rent towards our mortgage.  

Some potential factors I see that may be effecting the situation are...

-Rent May be too high ($2395...on the higher end for a 1 bedroom (+Bonus room) in Highland Park)

-Street Parking (the street is a dead end with a school at the end of the block)

-The bathroom is in the kitchen (House built in 1920s...kinda weird)

-Sharing a lot with the owners (we have provided their own private walkway and secluded patio, so interaction with us would be minimal).

I would love any advice on things I may be over looking or potential strategies I can implement to get this thing filled.  This is our first investment and want to get it off the ground so we can continue to invest.

Thanks,

Matt

[Tracy Streich]

I have been doing this for over 20 years.   Layout, finish and location are all very important.   However, these are just factors in the price.    Once the price is right...everything rents.   If the rent should be $2000 you have lost $4,000 in the past 2 months. Price it right and you will rent it this weekend!