A.D. Cantelmo Property Management
Our Business is Property Management in Orange County California
Why is my house not renting?
I get calls from people at least once a week who have put their investment property on the market but it is just sitting there. Some of the calls I get are from people who have Real Estate representation and some are trying to do it themselves. If they have representation, I tell them they need to have a talk with their Broker. Unfortunately, I can’t help someone who is under contract with another company, but If they read this article, they will be able to get some reasons that maybe holding their property back.
Is your asking Rent too high?
When you are trying to rent your property, you need to have a similar approach as you would if you were trying to sell a home. You need to do your homework and take a look at the area your property is in. Looking at the comps and looking at the trending rents will be a benchmark for where you price your home. My approach when I am renting a home depends quite a bit on the urgency of the owner of the property. If the owner is telling me he wants it rented yesterday, then I price the home where the market comps are, but if the owner is not in a big hurry, then I try and push the market higher. If your property is not renting, then the first thing you need to address is the asking price. If you are getting no activity on the property, then chances are you need to lower the price.
Does anyone know your property is for rent?
A big part of renting a home is making sure people know that the home is for rent. If your marketing consists of putting a sign out in the front yard, you are only going to attract people who drive by the home and word of mouth. Now, I have rented many homes from the sign and even sold a few, but whether you are selling banana’s at a fruit stand or trying to rent your home, the more people who know you are doing business the better.
Use the tools that you have at your disposal
Realtors have a great advantage to get the word out that a home is for rent and it is called the MLS. ( Multiple Listing Service) Realtors pay a fee to have access to it and it is the best way to get people to your property. If you are not a member of the MLS, then you can use free web sites to get the word out. If you are using a Realtor that does not use the MLS, you need to ask them why not.
I can tell you and I have written about this in the past the only reason that a Realtor does not put a property on the MLS, is that they don’t want to pay part of their commission to another Realtor. Renting a property for a Realtor, is not a huge money maker and if they have to share, then that hurts the bottom line. Some Realtors will put a property on the MLS with a very low commission and that is almost as bad as not putting it on at all. Realtors who see your property on the MLS will only show your property if there is some money in it for them. If you put $100 commission on the MLS, you will get few if any showing from Realtors and that means you are cutting out thousands of prospective Renters.
Remember, as I said, just like the banana salesman making sure people know your property is for rent is key. If you get 20 people come and look at your bananas you have a much better chance of selling them, then if only 5 people come to your fruit stand.
What commission should I pay to rent my home?
Paying a commission to a Realtor is no different then paying the banana salesman for his bananas. You are exchanging your money for what the Realtor has to offer. In a Realtors case they have potential renters to offer. A commission is actually paid to your Broker and your Broker is offering a commission as an incentive to other Realtors to show a property. There are actually two parts to the commission to rent or sell a home. One part is what you are willing to pay your broker for listing and marketing the property and handling the transaction. The other part is what you are willing to pay other Realtors to bring their clients to rent or buy your home. How much you pay is entirely up to you, but remember, The more money you are willing to pay for the bananas, the more bananas will be offered to you and the more bananas offered to you, the better choice you will have .
Does my home appeal to anyone?
In addressing the reason a home is not renting, we have looked at the price, the way the property is marketed, and the commission being offered, but there is one other reason your property may not be renting and that is appeal. Does your property appeal to anyone? Now it is my contention that every property appeals to someone at a certain price. But if your property is more appealing,
will it get a better price? The answer is probably, but there are many ways for a property to be appealing.
For example, if a property is in a desirable school district, you can get away with the property being less visually appealing, But if the property is in an area that offers few reasons for people to live there, then the property itself must have something that draws people to it. As a property owner, you need to make decisions based on what you are able to get out of the property. You don’t want to drop thousand of dollars into a property that will take you many years to recoup in rent.
Of course before you purchase the property is the best time to do research about the appeal of the property and what will draw people to it.
We have looked at a few reasons your property may not be renting. In my experience, addressing one or more of these issues should help with getting the home more activity. Every situation is different, but renting a home is not complicated and making sure you are using every advantage that is available to you is key.
A.D. Cantelmo Property
Management Specializes in Property Management in Orange County Ca.