All Forum Posts by: Nick Stageberg

I really like the idea of the open house.  I've never heard of that before and I'm definitely going to give it a try.  I try to stack up my showings, staggering them 15-30 minute apart.  Close enough that they see the person to try to create a competitive energy, but not so close together that it gets weird with multiple people wandering around together.  

Jessica, thanks for directing my attention to the real estate group meeting, I'm definitely going to check that out.  Crazy coincidence, but I've decided to pick up my license, and I'm actually meeting with Zach at KW today to talk about a broker relationship.  I'll see if I can make it to the next meeting!

It also sounds like it's possible that I managed to own rental properties across the country from one another both in down markets while everything else is at a peak.  What can I say, I know how to pick winners! :)

Great questions, Ray.  I've been hammering on those exact topics.  

-My local showings in Rochester seem to go extremely well, and I conduct them exactly as I did when I lived in Oklahoma City.  For some reason though, people praise the unit and say things like "I can't believe how nice you've made this place" and then for whatever reason never submit an application.  If they do submit an application, it's awful, riddled with red flags.  The application I got back today is the worst one I have ever seen with at least a dozen criminal offenses, including assault which resulted in Jail time.  They said their background check would be clean, of course :)  I don't know what factors are at play here in terms of the different market.  

-Remotely, I've tried a few different things.  I had an amazing tenant in the property and let him conduct showings while he was there.  Several seemed promising, but never materialized.  After he vacated, I conducted them myself over the phone with a lockbox on the property.  These were okay, a little awkward, and I definitely didn't have my usual mojo.  I'd love to hear any suggestions on showing the home remotely.  Managing my properties remotely has been no problem at all, but I feel like showing remotely has been a nightmare.  I don't really want to hire a realtor to do this because more than anything I'm screening the tenant during the showing.  I could hire a property manager, but again I really don't need help with the management, just the showings.  

-Applications: previously I would always have people submit paper applications, or email them a word doc immediately on my phone if they wanted to submit it electronically.  I would definitely pressure people to fill out an application on the spot for me to review and be able to offer them a preliminary approval pending payment for and results of the background check.  Many of my vacancies were filled this way.  To cope with being remote and try to improve this, I have set up a mobile-friendly dedicated website for people to apply online and encourage them to do so immediately.  I feel like this is a big improvement, but I also wonder if it's intimidating.  My paper application is very deliberately designed to look friendly and easy to complete, and I often do need to coach people on filling it out.  I lose this opportunity being remote, and I lose it with the electronic application.  How does the community feel about paper vs electronic applications?  

Hello everyone!  Long-time lurker, first time poster :-)  

I'm curious how many calls, showings, and applications you see before having a signed lease.  Also, how may days on market and days of vacancy?

For myself, I would say I get about 20 calls, 7 showings and three applications with 45 days on market and 0 days of vacancy. 

A little background, in case you are interested:  I have been slowly growing my rental portfolio for the last 5 years and currently have three single family homes and one duplex.  I've always been very aggressive about showing a property, processing applications, and getting a lease signed as quickly as possible. Until last month I literally have never had a single day of an vacancy ever.  Now I have had one month of vacancy in one home and I only rented it after coming down on rent 10%, and both units in my duplex are vacant.  The home is in Oklahoma City, OK and the duplex is in Rochester, MN.  There are a lot of factors in play, such as the OKC market declining, and after recently moving I am managing remotely.  But ultimately I had at least 50 calls, 20 showings, and processed 3 applications before getting it rented.   This seems crazy to me.  I'm not sure what's wrong; I suspect I'm just priced too high, but I wonder if I have just been lucky up until now and what other landlords typically see. 

Thanks in advance for your feedback!