Need help getting a tenant

[Lacey Burns]

Hello BP fam! I have just taken ownership of my first ever duplex! Whooop whoop! One side has tenants in place, the other side does not. Using the agent who helped us close to get renters in...but, it's been almost a month into owning and we haven't had much traffic. The duplex is in Dallas, nearby some medical stuff and only a few minutes from the popular street with eateries/bars for SMU students. Thus, a great area! It's a 2 bed, 1 bath unit. Our agent got it listed on the MLS (but didn't have a for rent sign out, didn't confirm on Zillow that the property is live, etc), doesn't seem to be being too proactive. This is challenging as apparently the typical protocol there is "first month's rent" that she'll take.

We had a thought about turning this into a short or mid-term rental due to the area (and the research we've done shows that's a good path, obviously with more up front cost for furnishing and a bit more work with securing cleaners, etc). But now it's sat vacant for a month (that did allow us to touch up the exterior and address a few items that needed enhancing, so looking at the positives, that's gotten done). Does anybody have suggestions for getting more traffic for a long term tenant and/or a real go-getter agent in the Dallas area that you trust could help get this done?!

Thanks so much,

Lacey

[Nathan Gesner]

If it's vacant for a month, then you are in a bad area of over-priced. I recommend you study the market more to really understand where your price should be to get it filled. It's usually cheaper to reduce the price and get a renter than it is to sit vacant for a month.