Don’t fear vacancies. They are your chance to find a great renter!

Minimizing vacancies is one of the landlord’s top priorities. However, never settle for questionable applicants just to fill that rental property. In the end, it very well could cost you much more to evict a bad tenant that doesn’t pay rent and repair possible damage than it is to wait one more month for a great applicant. Be patient!

There’s no right way to advertise and show your rental property. Everyone has a different method and I believe the type of neighborhood also determines some methods. My company’s properties are all located in C or maybe C+ neighborhoods. These are typically working class. Many of the residents have no bank accounts or no credit cards. Some do though. It’s a mixed bunch. Many are on a tight budget. This is the type of area that is generally great, but can be dragged downwards a bit by landlords who allow just anyone to move in.

When people decide to apply for one of my company’s properties, I tell them there is no up-front application fee. They only pay the fee if they end up signing a lease. Many are (pleasantly) surprised by this tactic. I see it this way; I can usually tell just by looking at the application, doing free online searches, and calling references given if I will accept the applicant or not. None of that costs me money, but just a little bit of my time. If I get that far and am still interested, I’ll contact them to say that I’m wrapping up the application process and get a feel for if they are still interested. If they are, then I finalize it and order the online background and credit check. This has worked for me and my clients.

In my time as a landlord and property manager, I have learned that a lot of people are flaky. Because of this, I almost never show my company’s properties by appointment. There’s been too many times I drive out only to be stood up. I hold open house showings for a block of time on a Saturday or Sunday morning. If people show up, great! If not, I was planning to be there anyway and take advantage of the time by making sure everything is still okay at the property.

I currently do all my advertising for free as well. I simply post an ad on Craigslist and and also on Postlets (which sends out the ad to various sites such as Zillow). As always, great pictures sell.

Example of our vacancy ads.

Take the time to take plenty of quality photos! Put the most attention-grabbing photo up front so people see it first when browsing the ads. Do not be lazy and upload blurry photos. This does nothing for you and looks unprofessional.

I’ve found that I prefer to advertise online only because when I have a For Rent sign in the yard, my phone is overloaded with phone calls from people passing by…and many of these people tend to say things in the voicemail that does not entice me to call them back:

“I need to move tomorrow.”

“I’m taking my landlord to court and need to move out.”

“Hey. I’m calling about the apartment for rent I seen out here. I wanted to know [indiscernible] and if you require proof of income to move in. I also [indiscernible].”

“Hi. I was calling about the apartment….SHUT UP WHILE I’M ON THE PHONE YOU PIECE OF $*^%!….sorry, yes, about the apartment for rent… Have a blessed day.”

Advertising online seems to bring a slightly better pool of potential applicants than just random people walking down the street. Note that I didn’t say it eliminates it. I still get some interesting characters. At a recent open house, I had a lady stop by who was a “close talker”. She practically had me cornered in the kitchen talking so close that I could smell her not-so-fresh breath. She wasn’t catching my non-verbal cues either when I’d back away or blatantly walk away to another room. Very socially awkward!

Being a landlord is always an adventure and you don’t even need tenants to find that adventure!