All Forum Posts by: Josh L.

What are these third party sites?

Appfolio seems like one, but its only worth it if you have enough units to justify the cost. 

I found that earlier thread and I found some limited success in improving the format of the text to make it more readable for Zillow. 

But, then checked it out on a Zillow app and realized it was all for naught because it all became a unreadable mess if you're looking for a place on mobile.

After all these years, it finally looks there's a serious challenger in Zillow to Craigslist domination. There's just too many spammy scams on Craigslist now and enough people have started to use Zillow that I think the tide has turned with most of my responses are coming from Zillow now. 

By now, I think I've figured out how to market a rental on Craigslist. But, if Zillow has become this important, then its necessary to write killer ads on Zillow too. 

But, I'm running into a couple of issues that I wonder if anybody here has figured out yet:

1) How do you make the Zillow description more readable?

On Craigslist, I could add enough html so that there would be blank lines between sentences and bullet points.

But, even though I transferred over the Craigslist code to Zillow, the Zillow description is just 1 big blob of unreadable text. 

It looks like most Zillow listings share this same fate, but then I also saw one ad that was able to keep spaces in between sentences and used graphic icons to tell you about parking, pets, etc..

2) How do you refresh a Zillow listing so that it appears higher on new listings?

If your Zillow listing is old enough to fall back on the 2nd page, the response drop significantly. On Craigslist, you could just delete the listing and repost the ad.

3) Can you write two separate ads, one for Zillow and one for Trulia?

Right now, Zillow owns Trulia and it will automatically send your Zillow ad and post it onto Trulia.

But, Zillow and Trulia ads are different. Trulia retains the html code I used for Craigslist so that the Trulia ad was more readable with space in between sentences and with bullet points. That same ad was just 1 big block of text on Zillow. 

Since more people are using Zillow than Trulia, I had to write the ad so that it was geared more towards Zillow readers by shortening the ad and deleting a lot of text. At the same time, I had to keep references to lease terms, pets, and security deposit in the text even though there's a separate section for that on Zillow because there's not that same section on Trulia. 

How do you respond directly to their personal email? I'm looking at the email responses, and it seems like Zillow is hiding the person's email. 

This is probably a big issue that I need to address because I've noticed that sometimes these zillow inquires get sent to my spam box and I have to assume that some of my responses are lost in the person's spam box too.

It looks like when people respond via Trulia, then you might see the actual email although Trulia says that his email address may be annonymized to protect the privacy of our users.

And, aren't these requests for a viewing already pre-screened to a certain extent via Trulia and Zillow when the request also comes with information about the person's income, credit score, etc..

I guess the best way to respond to the person is by their phone number for something like Zillow to make sure your response doesn't get lost. But, it might be a bit awkward to make those calls when you're at work at non-landlord job.

But, even when you do respond by phone, I end up reaching the person's voicemail and leave a message. I'll have to experiment to see if a response by phone minutes after the initial request makes any difference.

I started seriously posting to zillow and trulia and I keep getting the same message which I'm assuming is a automated request by people interested in the rental:

"I am interested in this rental and would like to schedule a viewing. Please let me know when this would be possible."

So I reply to this request with something along the lines like:

"Hi (their name),

I can schedule a viewing tomorrow. Will 6PM on Thursday work for you?"

Am I doing something wrong?

I throw out this time because I'm trying to set up a time so that I can bunch up all the viewings around the same time so I don't have to drive back and forth and to let the applicants see that there are other applicants interested too. 

And, I'm responding to the email within a few hours after the request and try to set a viewing for either tomorrow or that day if I have already have set up a viewing for that day. 

But, after I respond, most of the time I don't get a response back. Maybe, 1 in 4 will confirm that they would still like to schedule a viewing. 

Should I be responding in a different manner or something to get more people to follow through after their initial request? When they respond, their telephone is also given. Would calling them to schedule an appointment rather than replying via email make a difference?

I'm a Southern California boy.

I find the phrase 'hella' very grating and annoying.

And, I always say the word, "the", before the freeway number as in "you take the 405".

But, I tell people moving to California without any ties to move North to the Bay Area and not LA because there are more opportunities up north. And, that I would argue means that it would be better to invest in Northern California Bay Area than Southern California.  

The average household income  in the Bay Area is about a third higher than the average household income in LA. For the exact same job, you'll be making more in the Bay Area than in LA and still be ahead even after factoring in the higher living costs in the Bay Area. And, the higher the income, the more you can pay for housing. 

How much higher can these home prices and rents continue to rise in Southern California as incomes in Southern California have plateaued or fallen?

There's a really interesting book by a UCLA professor, The Rise and Fall of Urban Economies, that compares the economies of the Bay Area vs LA region. If you look back to the 70s, LA and SF economies weren't that far apart.

But, there was a divergence where SF is #1 on today's income scale and LA, which was #4 in the 70s, is now ranked #25 despite all the positives you listed for LA and the Southern California region. 

While the Bay Area focused on the 'new economy' and technology and high wage jobs, LA was focused on the old economy, ie light manufacturing. The book writes:

“Los Angeles leadership persisted in believing they could turn back the clock and become cheaper, and by traveling this low road they could hence compete with Texas, Alabama, and Mexico.They did some of this in the name of social justice, calling for jobs for low-skill workers. But these noble intentions emerged from belief structures about economic development that were antiquated and inappropriate to the high-cost club of regions to which Greater Los Angeles belongs by virtue of its size and density and the irreversibly high land, labor, and consumer prices that this status brings with it.”

How do you market and advertise rentals to non-english speakers? Would non-English speakers still go to a Craigslist or Padmapper or is there a Spanish, Chinese, etc.. version of Craigslist that they would go to instead?

I'm trying to help find my friend a place in LA  and downtown LA would have been too expensive so I figured something in LA's Chinatown would work- something close to downtown but not as expensive to live as downtown. 

But, its surprising to me that there aren't a lot of rentals available online for the Chinatown area beyond a couple of newer apartment buildings that are not targeted towards Asian renters. 

Is there some type of secondary, shadow market for rentals geared towards Chinese renters interested in Chinatown that wouldn't show up on Padmapper or Craigslist? Otherwise, how would you find those rentals?

Or, is there some other reason for the lack of rentals for Chinatown? 

1) How do you remove the old caulk from the bathtub?

I tried the red plastic Hyde Caulk removal tool that Home Depot was selling for $5, but it doesn't work that great out when its edge is still sharp. As the edge gets duller with use, I can't see its performance getting any better.

There's a similar tool in DAP Pro Caulk Tool Kit but I want to make sure it works any better before I open up the package.

Or, do you try those chemical solvents that you lay on the caulk? When I read the directions, I notice that it says to try to remove the caulk first before using it. But, if I do that, then what's the point of getting the chemical solvent in the first place?

2) Once you get the old caulk, what type of caulk do you put in? Silicone caulk or latex caulk for around the bathtub?

Silicone's double the cost, but still pretty cheap even at that price. Silicone seems like it should last longer, but its also harder to remove when its time to take it out and I'm having enough problems trying to remove latex caulk.

For rentals, do you notice a difference with silicone caulk? Or, do you have to replace the caulk with every tenant anyways so you'd want the caulk like latex that's easier to replace?

3 bedroom is definitely a better choice than a 2 bedroom. 

Families will want a 3 bedroom. And, even roommates will want a 3 bedroom because it'll be cheaper for them to split the rent among 3 people than 2 people.

I have a 2 bedroom that's the same square footage as a 3 bedroom in the same track so everything is pretty much the same except for the difference in number of rooms. And, those 3 bedrooms can charge $400-$500 more in rent because of that. 

The only time somebody might prefer a 2 bedroom to a 3 bedroom is if its only one person who'll live there and doesn't want to pay for that extra room. But, then that single person is just as likely to want a studio rather than a 2 bedroom. 

Is there any way I can save this bathtub?

Several applicants have commented about this bathtub, mainly about the leaf shaped things on the bathtub. It just looks dirty, irregardless of how clean it actually is.

I've tried scrubbing and scrubbing it, but it won't come off. What else can I do to get rid of those things?

If I can't do get rid of them, then it seems like I'll either need to get a new bathtub or re-surface it. 

But, from what I've read, re-surfacing seems like a bad idea for a rental because that process leaves the bathtub more vulnerable to damage and it starts looking bad after a number of years.

I'd really like to save and keep this bathtub, but I have no idea how I can clean it and get rid of those things. 

 Why would your answer be different if its in California?