Reducing vacancy during winter months

With snow on the ground (depending on where you live!) and holiday music in our ears — many investors face vacancy issues during this time of year.

Don’t sweat it. After more than a decade as an investor, I’ve learned 5 easy and manageable hacks to getting paid during cold winter months:

Determine A Fair Market Rental Rate

It’s a tricky balance, but decide on a rental rate that keeps you profitable and is in your prospect’s budget. Remember, you’ll lose money if you have a high rental rate, but your property is vacant for several months. In that case, it’s worth reducing rent every 10 days instead of holding out for a higher rent — over time, you’ll earn more this way.

Offer Move-In Incentives

During slower months, you want to entice people to move before winter “hibernation”. Offer $200 off the first month of rent. Allow 6-9 month leases which will also set a renewal in the spring or summer months removing this challenge next time! Or even allow pets to appeal to more tenants (make sure you set up a pet fee, of course!)

Take Professional Photographs

This is something you can use for years to come. Make sure to include a floor plan photo and or consider virtual staging if the weather is an issue in your area.

Have flexible and staggering times for showings

This gives tenants a sense of urgency to fill out their applications when more people are considering. Side note — Saturday open houses with 2-hour preview windows create urgency, too!

Make sure people know it’s available.

Seriously, you’ll want to take the extra mile to make sure it’s available on all major websites including apartments.com, Zumper, Zillow, Realtor.com, Facebook Marketplace, and the local MLS. But more importantly, make sure there’s a FOR RENT sign out front.

Happy house filling!

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