All Forum Posts by: Neda Navidnia

@Neda Navidnia When you take new pictures, turn on all the lights in the home, and try to line up the sides of the camera frame with straight, vertical lines in the house. Also, take a TON of pictures. Our MLS allows 25 pictures, and I use up every space I can with multiple views of the same room, taken from different ends of the room.

@Neda Navidnia 

 is this the listing ? http://www.homes.com/property/6371-scothwood-dr-ka...

if so I don't see any pictures of bathrooms on the listing and your description of the property is not very enticing.  

@Neda Navidnia When real estate doesn't sell, or doesn't rent, it is almost always the price!  I have proven this to sellers and landlords many times in my career.  However, the better question to ask is this, "why do I need to lower my price when others haven't?"  It could be the bedrooms upstairs, but I doubt that is the only reason.  I would ask others, who are not your friends, to look at the home and give you their honest opinion.  I am guessing there is something you are missing, because you are involved in the deal. 

I get this all the time with sellers.  They call me and say, "I just don't get it, my house is really nice, it's in a great location, the price is right, but it's not selling or renting!" I then go over there and in less than 5 minutes I identify the problem. Usually it is something they are aware of, but to them it wasn't that big of a deal, but to others it is a deal breaker. In that situation, the easiest way to remedy the problem is a change in price.  Price will trump all issues and problems!  I have found if the price is right, people will buy or rent in almost any situation, no matter how much it bothers them. Good luck!

Believe it or not, some people will turn away from the number 13, especially times 100! Time to find the sweet spot at mid market and renegotiate with the owner to allow you to drop the rent so you will be competitive. Do a six month lease if you want to discourage a turnover during the holidays. Raise the rent a tad at lease renewal time. Many good points  made by others. Let us know what ends up working for you!

I will jump in with some suggestions:

You said it in MLS. Have any other agents shown the property ? If not, you are probably overpriced or not offering a large enough co-broker fee to entice them. Talk to the owner about a $250 bonus to the leasing agent on an 18 month lease

Craigslist in a large area like Houston is almost worthless posting once a day.  You would need to post 4-5 times at a minimum and at strategic times like 8am and 6-7 pm

Get on Facebook and find group pages from the neighborhood and post there.  Group members will know people looking for homes to move into.  This has been my most effective marketing in the last 6 months

Postlets is not really necessary as long as your company or you are not opting out of syndication within your mls

Good luck and be diligent with your marketing

Such wonderful advice on this thread!  I think lowering the price, taking quality pictures, and using postlets is your best bet!  Good luck!

I learned this saying along time ago in the business and it still rings true today.

Some phrases are timeless and there is a reason behind that.

" No amount of marketing or money in the world will SELL an overpriced listing."

What that means if that if you do 1,000 items marketing and it is still overpriced then you will not achieve the desired result.

The GREAT tenants that have a clean history and pay on time want a deal. They want the best place at the best rent. That is just the way it is. Just like a strong purchaser borrower for a house wants to feel like they got a great deal. If they do not feel that way they move on to other properties. 

The credit score is probably going to be the one disqualifying a bunch of people who would be OK as tenants; no criminal and no eviction is quite the norm. 

Let's say a tenant was hospitalized for a time and had no health insurance. The bills would kill the credit score, but that person would probably pay their rent and pay their utilities - despite the terrible credit score. 

Just one example of why the credit score itself is not as important as the list of creditors who are owed by the tenant applicant. 

Trying staging the common areas, like living room, kitchen and baths. Those areas rent houses, and even a lightly staged home shows better. It may be that prospective tenants cannot see themselves living in the space, so you have to show them how the space can work for them.

Also offer no application fee. Be sure you screen, screen, screen though, because some folks will apply just because there is no application fee. You still want a tenant that meets your criteria.

Maybe you should tell us what the landlord's criteria are. Sometimes they are a bit unrealistic, since tenants will likely have some flaws that experienced landlords know can be (almost) safely disregarded.