You read all the books, watched all the TikToks, and have been listening to the Bigger Pockets podcast on repeat for the year. Finally, you scraped enough money together to buy your first rental and it's not renting. The following might not be what you want to hear, but after touring hundreds of prospective tenants, here are the top 4 reasons your property isn't renting.
Price
This is first because it's the most important. Tenants are highly price sensitive, as they should be. Dropping the price by as little as $100 a month can make the difference between months of vacancy or renting asap. Look at comparative rentals in your area and be honest about how your property stacks up. Need help analyzing comps? Reach out, I'm here to help.
If you're looking to DIY, analyze Zillow and Apartments.com are your best tools. Look at active listings within .5 mile of your property, approximately the same square footage and beds/baths/garage spots. Get an average price and then add or subtract for amenities that your property either offers or lacks. Once you've got your price, list your property. If you find your property has been on the market for a few weeks with little interest, drop the price! Repeat this process until you find an approved tenant.
Condition
The price on your rental might be good but are the walls dirty, paint chipping and the tub in need of a serious deep clean? If your property is up against a similar property in pristine condition, you can bet the tenants will pick the property that looks like it has an attentive landlord. You want prospective tenants to walk into your property and be able to envision themselves living there, not how much cleaning they'll need to do before they can move in. Invest either some sweat equity in cleaning/touching up your property yourself or hire out upgrades. You might need to do this in addition to dropping the price on your rental.
Amenities
What do tenants want most? Air conditioning, a dishwasher and at least 1 garage spot. If your rental is lacking one of these it could be a dealbreaker for many tenants. If you can fix your lacking amenity, do that first to maximize your rental income. If not, drop the price to account for it.
Some other sought-after amenities? In unit washer/dryer, a layout that accommodates a home office, private outdoor space and a fenced-in yard. These are not as high on the dealbreaker list for most, but can be a dealmaker.
The Season
For my Minnesota readers especially, trying to find a renter in the dead of winter is next to impossible even if your rental is the most pristine, expertly priced rental on the market. Get creative in the winter, offer rent discounts or other incentives to attract tenants. But never compromise on your tenant screening standards just to get a lease signed! 3 months of vacancy will be a lot easier to manage than an eviction. If you do manage to get a quality tenant in the off-season, consider offering them a non-standard 6-month lease to get the rental back on peak season timing.
As always, being a landlord isn't just posting a few pictures of your rental on the internet and then cashing checks. Being a landlord is an active stream of income, if your property isn't renting you might be a little too passive. Put some work into analyzing your property and fixing it up – then it should rent in no time!
Need help? I'm always here, reach out: [email protected]
