All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I have my first appointment to turn in an application! I don't remember who this person was out of the large number of people who saw the property, but I'm excited nonetheless.

Joel, I'm really not following you here.

How am I making it hard on them? What gave you the idea that I have a bad rental in a bad area with a bad rate? I have a rental that is slightly better than my competition, in a good area, and a good rate.

I'm kind of ambivalent about what philosophy the tenant has about whether they want to enjoy the space or just crash, as long as they follow my lease agreement and don't damage my property.

If my living there eliminates renters, that's okay. Again, I've not had any negative feedback about this and I'm upfront about living in the same duplex. Some people like this. Others could care less.

I'm not out to watch or be watched by my prospective tenants. Since I'm not moving out of the house anytime soon, it's not like there is a solution to this aside from careful screening. As a n00b, buying a duplex that I can live in makes sense while saving for more investment opportunities down the line. For people with established investments, obviously there is no desire to mix personal with business.

Based on my comparison of what is available in the area, I'm slightly above the low rate but slightly below the middle rate. I am at that "icing on the cake" pricing. I have studied my market and my competitors.

I am upfront about my price and fees so there shouldn't be any sticker shock as people are scheduling showings knowing the rent, security deposit, app fee, and pet deposit. It's in my ad and my voice message. Some have tried to negotiate with me on the price, the deposits, the fees, and they hit a wall. It is what it is and if they can't pay for it, they aren't going to be my tenants.

I don't think I implied that I don't have an emergency fund for expenses. I am not desperate to rent out because I have zero money -- I bought this place because I could afford it, with or without tenants. Because of this, I could sit out and wait for the right tenant for a long time. But I'd certainly rather not kick up my feet and do nothing.

As for your second point, I have already spent thousands of dollars fixing the plumbing, electrical, and updating the finishes like paint because it was all deferred by the previous owner. Which is why I have a slightly better rental for my area. It's not over-improved but it is freshened up and comfortable.

If you are implying that I am a bad owner/manager, I find that pretty offensive. I don't think I've said anything that would imply that I was. However, I bought the property from a bad owner/manager and turned it around.

There are 3 major colleges very close by and a culinary institute. 2 more colleges are less than a 10 minute drive away. The rental is also very close to downtown businesses and a thriving medical center. The neighborhood is a popular area, voted #2 up-and-coming neighborhood by the local newspaper. About half the prospective tenants have been part-time college students, half have been full-time professionals. All of them love the area and comment about the easy access to school/work.

I don't particularly care if they are students or not.

I don't really want to rudely dismiss your advice, as I'm sure you had the best intentions. But it's not particularly relevant to my current situation. Thanks for taking the time to reply, though.

Thanks so much for the responses.

Some answers to the questions:

I have not done any follow up calls yet, which is why I was inquiring about the practice. It is also my concern that I would look desperate, which I am currently not (2 weeks of duds isn't long enough for me to start changing my terms. Now, if it was 2 months...) It was also my concern that I could potentially be stepping across some sort of line, but I didn't know if there was a hypothetical line to be stepping across. It sounds like there isn't any ethical/legal reason not to call back but that it is probably bad for business.

I do charge an application fee of $30, which I'm finding doesn't quite cover a complete background+credit+criminal check service, but I am willing to eat the additional cost should someone, oh, actually turn in an application.

About the no shows issue -- I've so far had very good luck with the Craigslist folks actually showing up on time, but absolutely no luck from the people who saw my for rent sign while driving by. I don't know exactly what this means, except that I assume the drive-by folks had less compulsion to see the rental because of the sign and were merely curious.

Per y'all's suggestions:

1. I'm going to remove the bank account info. I didn't particularly see it as too important for me personally, though I can understand that the supposed purpose was to check against overwhelming debt and if they had some savings to float them across emergencies. I think removing it would also remove a significant road block for prospective tenants.

2. I'm going to try to get the application closer to 1 page so I don't overwhelm people with questions.

3. For those saying they are serious about the apartment, I will actually schedule a follow up time to meet and collect the application, fee, ID and paystubs. I feel almost certain that mailing it in will lose people, but I will offer that option to people who might have limited availability. I don't have a fax machine and I find that many average joes don't have easy access to them anymore either.

4. I don't think I'll try to immediately have them fill out the app on the spot because I don't think most people carry that info with them, and not to mention copies of their pay stubs. But I'll consider that more seriously after a couple more weeks along with Christine's suggestion to "to fill out the application with as much info as they can, they can call in the rest."

I have a few more appointments this week to show the rental and I'm hoping for better success. Thanks for the advice guys!

The application is altogether 2 pages long, both front and back. But that is because I use large fonts and spacing. Then there is a separate consent to a background check form that is 1 page.

I compared the questions to my state's apartment association application that is used by just about every large apartment complex and it is briefer and easier to fill out and has much, much less legalese thrown in.

I think the lack of getting a commitment before they leave is legitimate, but as a previous renter, I've never been coerced to complete an application onsite before. If I was serious about a rental, I usually completed the application within a day or two, maximum.

No one has been particularly uncomfortable with me living onsite and considering the fact that I *do* live onsite as their unavoidable neighbor, I want to be sure they know it before they get too far through the process and end up running away because of it at the last minute. Not to mention that I think them knowing that I am onsite will happily discourage the less than decent tenants from applying (drug dealers, scam artists, extreme messies). Meeting me also means they can size me up and decide if they are comfortable conducting business with me (approval is a two way street here).

Actually, the couple who had been to the apartment twice and measured for their furniture and had questions about the bank account info were VERY sold on the idea of me living onsite because their previous landlord was a supposed slumlord who refused to do any type of repairs or maintenance to the falling apart property. They felt that the fact that I owned this property and lived in this property and showed a rental in good condition, that would mean that I was less likely to have their previous landlord's issues. To them, me living onsite was a selling point. But they still have not turned in an application.

So, all of these prospective tenants are made aware that I live onsite, and a handful of people STILL loved it, wanted it, and made promises that they would be right back with applications and still did not return them.

I'm pretty frustrated... would it be a bad idea if I start calling back a few of the people who said they would return an application just to confirm that they are no longer interested? And perhaps ask how I could improve the process to make them interested (not that I'm willing to start making steep negotiations at this stage, but I'm wanting to figure out if there is a pattern and remove the roadblock for future potential tenants.)

Hi. This is the first time I've formally tried to rent out my duplex (I bought it with tenants and a friend moved in after that). I live in one side.

I have shown my rental to about 20 people within a couple of weeks, practically one on top of the other.

A few people could obviously care less about it after seeing it, but a handful have made quite a verbal deal about 1)loving the rental, and 2)needing to move soon, and 3)will definitely return the application tonight!

And not a single one of them has returned the application since I began showing. Not even the ones who have come by more than once, measured for their furniture, or brought their extended family to see their supposed future home.

Am I doing something wrong here? I give the application out to everyone before they leave and I let them know they can drop it off in the mailbox at anytime or make arrangements to meet with me after 5pm or weekends. It shouldn't be an availability issue.

Is there something unusual about my rental application that frightens people? It is basically a form template that I bought from NOLO. I have had a few questions about "how does this application process work" which I have answered in full. One couple wanting to move in did tell me that they were uncomfortable with giving me bank account information (what if the account info was stolen?), but they were willing to provide multiple copies of their pay stubs and were fine with providing all the other information (including SSN for a credit check, etc). They were supposed to turn in the application last night and, of course, did not. :roll:

So I'm just confused. What is going on here?