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September 1, 2009
Question for Landlords
I own a condo in Greenpoint that I am looking to rent out. It has been on the market for about three weeks and I have received a very limited response so far. I have all ready dropped the rent $400 from where it was last year. I knew the market was down but I didn't know it was this down. It took me about four hours to rent out last August. Has anyone else been experiencing the same difficulties? Is it better to list it yourself with no fee (Craigslist, flyers etc.) or do you think it is better to list it with an agency and give them an exclusive? Any help would be appreciated.
Comments
my situation is similar. my condo is in a highrise building. The problem I am running into is people don't want to show their income or they don't make enough money to cover the rent.
Meanwhile i dropped the rent $600. a month. Still no tenant.
It is a tough crowd out there with no inocme.
Last year I got the full amount for rent. This year not even a nbble.
Posted by: Ysabelle at September 1, 2009 2:28 PM
I had some difficulties renting one of my apts. last months while the tennats were there. As soon as they moved out it rented very fast. You have to do both things-Craigslist and realtors, prefferably few of them. And you don't have to give them exclusive. Take good pictures. It's better if the apt. is empty. Prices are lower now but not that lower, may be 10-15%. Good luck!
Posted by: gale at September 1, 2009 2:54 PM
Gale said most of it - TAKE GOOD PICTURES. Give it to more than one broker as an open listing, continue to post on your own as well.
Posted by: Crownlfc at September 1, 2009 3:20 PM
I haven't tried to rent in this market, but I never had trouble in the past. Good pictures are key. Creating a web page doesn't hurt, but if you know html, you can create a page for Craigs. Give details, tell a story...make it desirable. Yes, upload to craigs at least 2-3x per day. See if neighborhood blogs are willing to post. Brokers can't hurt!
Posted by: rh at September 1, 2009 3:59 PM
I own property in Greenpoint as well.Had to lower the rent 13% before anyone was interested. Also, the only people that were looking, were looking over a month ahead--so my Sept 1 rental was rented in July, giving the tenants time to give their landlord notice. None of the fresh-out-of-college kids are moving right now, which is affecting the entire market.
Also, no one seemed to want to pay a broker's fee--but craigslist was okay.
Maybe try changing the move-in date to Oct 1?
Posted by: brooklynblondie at September 1, 2009 4:09 PM
the rental market is dead with no sign of picking up. If you have not rented it out you may be sitting on it for a very long time. My advice is price it where ever you have to, to fill it up in the next 2 weeks. After that you have very little chance
Posted by: bitter_bubble_buyer at September 1, 2009 4:38 PM
Ysabelle who cares if they dont have enough income. If they have a credit score over 720 and assets to cover the rent they are good to go. This aint 2006, just get the place filled
Posted by: bitter_bubble_buyer at September 1, 2009 4:45 PM
Thanks for the advice everyone. I agree the rental market is frighteningly dead. I'm shocked. I'm thinking of maybe trying to sell it.
Posted by: deepBTUz at September 1, 2009 4:49 PM
it will be harder to sell it. now we are just bitter bubble buyers for life
Posted by: bitter_bubble_buyer at September 1, 2009 4:56 PM
If you take good pics...as a last resort you could try listing on homeaway.com or vrbo.com. That may tie you over for a while with sporadic rentals. I had to lower mine by 10 percent recently and feel lucky that I had the chance to do just that. My tenants are happy where they are.
Posted by: HurricaneKate at September 1, 2009 5:34 PM
Nobody is hiring anybody. What do you expect?
Even in the West Village, it's not easy to rent an apartment.
Eventually sales prices will plummet just like rents.
Where are the "bulls" now? Probably in some alleyway smoking crack. . .
Posted by: IronBalls at September 1, 2009 10:06 PM
As a renter who has been apartment hunting for weeks now, I can give you my take on things:
1. Craigslist is 1st place I'm looking. Pictures are good. Detailed, honest description is good. Don't waste people's time making them think your place is something other than what it is. And be clear about location.
2. As others have said, no real harm to you to let a broker list the place as well, but you should still continue your 'no fee' listings on craigslist. Some people will rent from you but not from a broker. Other people will never see your ad on craigslist but will see it on the broker's web site.
At least 5 apartments I've seen have been listed this way. I saw them all through craigslist and then later saw them listed on brokers' websites. The brokers, by the way, always overhype these places and are probably building up expectations in potential tenants that will be dashed when they see the place. Describing any block btwn 4th and 5th as "best block in park slope!" is beyond absurd...
3. Responding quickly to e-mail is very good. Do not insist on having the 1st contact be a phone call -- that is what bait-and-switch brokers do, so I'd really rather exchange an e-mail or two to make sure you won't waste my time first. I know in some ways this is a "renter's market", but people looking for apartments are busy and stressed. Sometimes I have just enough time/energy for a quick e-mail but don't want to be bothered with a 10 minute phone conversation -- or, worse yet -- leaving a message and then getting a call back at some inconvenient moment.
4. You can find out how your pricing is by looking for similar places on craigslist or streeteasy.
5. If the bathroom or kitchen needs some serious clean up or renovation, get that taken care of, even if the current tenant is still there (or at least make it clear that you will sort these issues out after the current tenant is gone).
The places I've seen with miserable kitchens or bathrooms are the places that I'm still seeing listed on craigslist every couple of days. I'm not saying you have to put in all new fixtures or anything, but for gods sake re-caulk the tub if it needs it, scrub the toilet, and repair/replace cabinet doors if they are damaged.
6. You might have to be patient or seriously lower the price.
In addition to the places with crappy bathrooms, I've seen some apartments that I liked and thought were well priced but for some reason were not right for me (e.g., tiny kitchen, not enough windows) sit on the market for weeks.
Posted by: northsloperenter at September 2, 2009 10:18 AM
P.S. If the place has a yard that is neglected and overgrown with weeds get out there with a weed wacker and clean it up a bit!
Posted by: northsloperenter at September 2, 2009 11:09 AM
If you want to be pro-active about renting out your place and consider yourself relatively tech savvy, you might want to check out this new site www.nakedapartments.com -- instead of posting an apartment and waiting for renters to contact you, you can target renters based on what they are looking for, their credit score, annual salary and send them relevant listings.
Posted by: realestate2point0 at September 2, 2009 11:51 AM
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