Advice for a 1st-time LL
Hi all, I’m renting out my apartment as a little change in lifestyle (a baby) means it isn’t working for me anymore, and I don’t want to sell. I’ve heard that Feb-April is typically a rough time for finding tenants, and would love to hear whether this is an accepted rule of thumb. To add…
Hi all,
I’m renting out my apartment as a little change in lifestyle (a baby) means it isn’t working for me anymore, and I don’t want to sell.
I’ve heard that Feb-April is typically a rough time for finding tenants, and would love to hear whether this is an accepted rule of thumb.
To add to this, my apartment is in Downtown Brooklyn, an area that is going through a lot of overstock right now, so just wondering if I should plan for a few empty months.
Any other advice for this first-time landlord would be very much appreciated!
December and January are usually the worst months but I read somewhere that this past December inexplicably had the highest amount of rental (equal to the prior 5 months combined). I think for the right price, you won’t have a problem. My apt sat vacant for 2 months, even though it was priced fairly and in a great nabe. But when they right people came along, they signed the lease immediately.
Thanks so much to everybody for the great advice (and for the congratulations, too)!
And to Danielle, here’s the Craigslist ad: http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/abo/1563348843.html – please do drop me a line if you think your friend might be interested!
I wouldn’t worry about the time of year too much. All you need is one renter, and there are always people looking for apartments, especially in attractive neighborhoods like yours. My experience last summer, when rental interest is supposedly at its peak, is that NOBODY would pay a broker fee. We gave the tenants looking a choice: they could pay the broker fee, and get $100 off the monthly rent, or we would pay it, and charge $100 more. Tenant choice the latter, and my inquiries on this board indicate others would likely do the same.
And I wholeheartedly agree with mpcmpc – don’t hold out for a little extra in rent if it means losing an interested tenant, and above all get someone you trust -tenants can be a huge headache if you get into a bad relationship, and you won’t have time to deal with that with a critter on the way.
Another 1st time LL has a nice 1BR apartment available in Ditmas Park, near Newkirk Plaza for $1275/mo. Might go for a bit less, if the alternative is leaving it vacant for a couple of months.
I’ve had good luck finding tenants in winter months. My sense is there’s fewer people looking, but fewer apartments available in winter, so it’s essentially a wash. Good luck,
Think about it – lower your rent enough and it will soon be filled.
The proper question is: what is the fair market price for the space?
Since you seem willing to take what you can get, I would search the listings, undercut the average price by 15% and work to find the most trustworthy candidate.
Remember, one month of lost rent is almost the same as a %10 discount rate on your books.
Above all, avoid a problem tenant. Congratulations on the little one!
End of October to February is usually the slowest. Take decent daytime, sunny pics, price accordingly, price accordingly, and price accordingly. Describe the area, proximity to subway, building amenities etc. Post it yourself on CL and give it to brokers as well, let them collect their own fee. Make sure you and the brokers screen all applicants (credit, housing court etc, etc)
Hi West Ens Girl,
I may know somebody looking for an apartment – may solve your problems. What are the details? Do you have any pictures i could forward along?