Difficulty finding a tenant

[Victoria Hogan]

My husband and I recently bought our first rental home (in Fayetteville, AR) but have had very little interest in the 2 weeks it's been on the market so far. I'm wondering if it is priced too high or if our property manager is not marketing it aggressively enough? We found out our property manager only lists on Zillow so we are marketing it ourselves on other rental platforms to hopefully increase visibility. We have lowered the price as well but are wondering if there is something else we are missing or if it's just slow because of the time of year? We're really wanting to get someone in before the holidays but are not sure what else we could/should be doing.

Thanks!

[Simon W.]

There could be number of reasons. 

Not a lot of people buy around winter time. Think Holidays. No one wants to be moving around the holidays and in the cold. 

2 weeks is very short window to notice traffic

[Rick Albert]

It is slow across the board. I have vacancies where one has been on the market for months.

It's hard to give feedback without seeing the unit. How are the photos? Is it on Facebook Marketplace? How is the competition doing?

[Adam Bartomeo]

First, the marketing should be on at least 20 different websites. If your PM is only on Zillow than you selected the wrong PM, they are classified as a BOOB...

Shelter is a necessity of life and there for it will rent but it will often come down to price and/or condition. If you haven't had any showings in 2 weeks you are probably priced too high.

[Nathan Gesner]

Markets generally slow during the fall/winter season. On top of that, everything is expensive and people are less likely to move. Believe it or not, the election is also having an effect.

Be patient. Lower your price, but don't lower your standards. If you haven't rented after another week, drop the price 5%. Make sure you are priced below your competitors.

[Drew Sygit]

@Victoria Hogan you're panicking because you don't have enough data to understand what's going on!

1) What is the average Days On Market (DOM) for rentals in the area of your property?
- You can find this out by going to Zillow, selecting your Zip code or Neighborhood, and looking at current rental listings. They all have listed days.
- Where does your property rank in comparison?

2) What are the seasonal effects on real estate?
- You can Google this, but sales & rentals slow down once kids go back to school. ANother significant slow down after Halloween. Picks up again around March.

3) What are current DOM Trends?
- DOM are up over 37% the last 2 years:(

4) Where to advertise?
- Zillow is the #1 source of tenant leads, with it's other websites Trulia & Hotpads. 
- What is your PMC charging for Tenant Placement? Guessing under one-month of rent? How is going cheap on this working out for you?
- You may have to pay a higher Placement Fee for your PMC to list on MLS and other websites!

Recommend you actually READ your management to see what it states about this (and everything else!) and get any missing info sent to you in writing. 

If your current PMC can't explain all this well enough, it may be time to find a new PMC.

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Recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.

Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.

Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.

Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.

In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.

It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

Owners mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator – so, they often select the first PMC they call or that calls them back!

So, the first question they usually ask a PMC is about fees - instead of asking about services and HOW those services are executed.

EXAMPLE: PMC states they will handle tenant screening – what does that specifically mean? What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.? You’d be shocked by how little actual screening many PMC’s do!

This also leads owners to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.

The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!

A well written management contract should clearly spell out what is expected of both the PMC and the owner, to PROTECT both and avoid misunderstandings. Why do you think purchase contracts are so long and have such small print?

We recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

P.S. If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general. Take ownership of your mistake and learn to do the proper due diligence recommended above😊

[Victoria Hogan]

@Rick Albert here's the link to the posting our PM put on zillow: https://www.zillow.com/homes/4072-W-Song-Bird-Pl-Fayettevill...

There's not a ton of competition in this specific neighborhood and what is looks to be mostly all priced higher than ours with varying times on the market.

[Victoria Hogan]

@Drew Sygit thanks for the suggestions and tips! I appreciate it.

[Rick Albert]

Quote from @Victoria Hogan:

@Rick Albert here's the link to the posting our PM put on zillow: https://www.zillow.com/homes/4072-W-Song-Bird-Pl-Fayettevill...

There's not a ton of competition in this specific neighborhood and what is looks to be mostly all priced higher than ours with varying times on the market.

 At a high level there isn't anything glaring. Sure, a professional photography session would make it look nicer, but I don't think it would move the dial as much.

Your zip code at 19 rentals available for 3 bedroom properties. That's competition. I clicked on a few and the days on market are over 2 months.

I would post on apartments.com and Facebook Marketplace. I got my last tenant through apartments.com and historically FB has been a great lead source. Explore those options before dropping the price.

[Christopher Robert Noland]

It’s priced too high. 

Go onto Redfin and analyze the data as to who is moving there and advertise in those areas also for tenants who might be moving to that area. 

[Nathan Gesner]

The fact that your property manager only advertises on Zillow is worrisome. A licensed property manager should have access to the MLS which would put you on realtor.com, Zillow, and probably a dozen or more other websites.

You don't need professional photographs, but they should be improved. The rooms are too dark. Use a wide-angle lens to show more of each room. Your current pictures are dark, it looks like the photographer is standing in the middle of the room taking a picture of the corner, and the angles are not attractive. Here's an example of a home with balanced light, good angles, and a wide-angle lens that shows more of each room: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3057-N-Azure-Ave-Fayettev...

It would help to take some free lessons on how to shoot real estate. For example, you take horizontal photos of spaces that are tall and narrow, so you should have shot them vertically. Here's an example lesson: 

[Jake Knight]

It can be multiple factors.  You'll need to have them provide you a comparative market analysis.  Zillow is the biggest real estate website but it helps listing on other sites. If Fayetteville is a seasonal market, I would get very aggressive on price so you can get someone in before Winter.  Good luck!

[Akaash Nanda]

Hi Victoria,

I've also dealt with having to place tenants this time of year, albeit in Seattle and I had a few observations I thought I'd share that might help (or not, but perhaps they'll help someone else that reads this!):

- As others have noted, it's a slow time of year... if you and your husband are open to it, it might be worth listing as a 'mid term' rental for a few months (for traveling nurses, gov. contract workers, seasonal workers, etc.) to get you back into the prime renting months of Spring/Summer where you can resume looking for LT (12+ month)  tenants. This has worked for me, especially with rentals near hospitals, universities

- Anecdotal...I've noticed (and maybe this is just a Seattle thing) those looking for LT rentals this time of year tend not to want to leave the house to house shop. Quality photos and (best of all) virtual tours go a long, long way. If you can get a photographer to put one together for you, or if you're more DIY (and don't want to spend too much) and can use a tool like Matterport mobile, CloudPano, or (new one) Sphere.app to put one together yourself, you might be able to convert 'casual browsers' into serious prospects a bit easier.

I totally know the frustration you both must be feeling - hang in there (and don't rush into a unfavorable tenant situation)!

[Alfath Ahmed]

Quote from @Victoria Hogan:

My husband and I recently bought our first rental home (in Fayetteville, AR) but have had very little interest in the 2 weeks it's been on the market so far. I'm wondering if it is priced too high or if our property manager is not marketing it aggressively enough? We found out our property manager only lists on Zillow so we are marketing it ourselves on other rental platforms to hopefully increase visibility. We have lowered the price as well but are wondering if there is something else we are missing or if it's just slow because of the time of year? We're really wanting to get someone in before the holidays but are not sure what else we could/should be doing.

Thanks!

 Zillow is going to be the best platform to rent out properties. Make sure your PM gets zillow premium and lists it on Apartments.com and gets the premium there as well. 

It is a harder time to lists properties for rent since it is colder and not many people want to move. I would lower the price and eat the cost for a year. It is just the cost of doing business.

[Andrew Street]

Hi Victoria - First, the timing could be part of the issue—rentals often slow down before the holidays, especially in college towns like Fayetteville. Also, check if there are a lot of similar properties available; if there’s more competition, it could be harder to stand out.

 Expanding your marketing to platforms like Craigslist, Apartments.com, Facebook Marketplace, and even Instagram could help get more eyes on your listing. If you don’t have one already, try adding a video or virtual tour to attract more interest.

Make sure your photos are high-quality and show the best features of the home. If it’s empty, consider staging it with a few key pieces of furniture. Highlight any unique features like a backyard or updated kitchen. Offering incentives like one month free or waiving fees might also help speed things up.

I'd be happy to connect and share more! 

[Rick Albert]

It has been slow across the board. I have two vacancies in two different markets and it has been extremely slow despite the positive feedback and price. 

What our property manager in one of the markets is doing is offering a 6 month term. This way if they move out, it is a better time of year. 

The elections really threw things off and now we are into the holidays.