New Landlord Having Trouble Finding Tenants In Boulder, CO

[Adam Knickelbein]

Hi everyone,

I'm a new landlord trying to rent my place for the very first time. First listed about 1.5 weeks ago on 1/30. I'm advertised on Craigslist, Zillow (982 views), and Facebook Marketplace (85 views). Link to the listing is below. I've had about a dozen inquiries, maybe 4-5 showings, and zero applications. My thoughts on why it's potentially so slow:

1. Terrible timing - no one is looking for rentals to start in February.

2. I'm too aggressive in my pre-screening. It's a 40 min drive to do a showing, so I ask when they want to move in (I need someone ASAP), how many adults (Boulder limits to 3 unrelateds), then I say min requirements are gross income > 3x rent, min credit score 650, no evictions, etc.

3. Application Fee is too high - $55 seems steep, but that the bundle charge from Avail for credit, criminal, and eviction reports.

4. Rent is too high. I set it at the median price for a 5-bed in my area, according to Rentometer. I also calibrated this against CL postings to make sure I wasn't too crazy. My house is on the smaller side for a 5-bed though at 1920 sf.

What do you think BP? I'm starting to feel a bit desperate! I really need someone in ASAP. What would you do in my position?

https://boulder.craigslist.org...

Thanks,

Adam