Owning a rental property can be challenging even when the demand is high and the rental market is filled with potential tenants. Rental properties are always taxing because they require so much work and attention to detail. Some rental markets have lower demand in off-season times; this is also the norm in smaller cities. The trick to know how to rent your house, especially in a low market, comes with a bit of creativity, good market study, and strong networking. A property that stands out in a housing market will always have more appeal and more tenants vying to sign that lease agreement as quickly as possible.
Knowing how to rent your house will obviously depend on the area you live in, because each market has different demands and ways to approach this. But if we are to discuss what makes a property un-rentable, then the range of causes can be ever wide. Potential tenants always try to avoid rental properties that are in a bad location, are not modern or clean, have high rental prices, or are owned by a difficult landlord. These are the main causes which leave many rental property owners suffering from vacancies.
A vacancy during a low market season is not considered a failure by any measures; it is expected to have vacancies from time to time. But what do you do if you have expenses that need to be met through rental income? This is why knowing how to rent your house in low market seasons is very important to maintain your positive cash flow from the investment property.
How to Rent Your Property in a Low Market
Fix Your Property
How to rent your house should be fairly simple if you understand what is needed to make it appealing to tenants. The first thing an owner must pay attention to is the condition of the rental property. A property that has many problems and is in need of major repairs will be difficult to rent out considering the high competition in the rental market. Before you list your investment property online or through a real estate agent, be sure to bring in a professional who can fix everything that needs to be fixed to have it perfectly ready for tenants.
Fixing the rental property doesn’t only include the property itself but also the furniture and the appliances within it. If you want your property rented out, then constantly renovating it is a must. Having worn out furniture that has been there for years is unappealing to tenants. Would you as a rental property owner consider renting an old-looking property? If the answer is no, then you have some work to do.
Related: How to Maintain a Real Estate Investment Property
Hire A Good Realtor
This is probably one of the best ways to save you time on how to rent your house. A realtor or a real estate agent is a trained professional working in the real estate market. These professionals have the inside knowledge of the market and enough networks to provide you with many possible tenants, and they know exactly how much the value of your rental should be considering its status and situation.
Hiring a realtor will of course come at a price because of the services he/she provides. However, if you are unable to attract tenants or have trouble on how to rent your house, then hiring a real estate agent should be your next step. The cost of hiring a real estate agent will be considerably less than suffering many months of vacancies.
Related: Real Estate Investment Agent: Do You Need One and Why?
Provide Incentives for Tenants
When you are in a low market and in a desperate need to rent out your property, getting creative becomes necessary. Consider your rental property like a business or a commercial property, where making discounts or offers works wonders in attracting potential customers. Offering lucrative incentives for potential tenants is a good answer to the question of how to rent your house in off seasons. For example, consider offering a free first month for a tenant who is willing to sign a 6-month or yearly contract. While you might miss out on a month’s payment, you are guaranteed a long-term rental income flow for the next period.
Consider Short-Term Rental Listings
Knowing how to rent your house requires some outside the box thinking. If you are accustomed to long-term rentals that are steadier and with less tenant turnover, then short-term rentals might be a good way to change things if you are suffering a vacancy period. Websites like Airbnb offer you the perfect platform to list your property for a short period of time on their globally known website for free. Not being able to find long-term tenants doesn’t mean that there will be no potential tenants looking to rent a property for a week or two to save money on hotel expenses. Airbnb is a growing platform, and using it might help you rent out your property, especially in lower performing real estate markets.
Related: Why Invest in an Airbnb Investment Property Over a Traditional?
Market Your Property Correctly
Renting out a property will require some basic marketing skills, and like all marketable products a rental property needs a minimum standard to stand out. The listing of the property is what attracts potential tenants to view it and give you a call to discuss it. However, having a listing that has a marketable pull requires a bit of work to be done.
Photography: Hire a professional photographer to take photos of the property in order to post them online on listings websites. People usually judge a rental property by taking a look at the photos posted. Therefore, having professionally taken photos of the rental property makes your listing more unique on these websites. First impressions for tenants matter, don’t take listing photos lightly.
Description: When you are listing a property, being able to describe your rental property in an easy way for potential tenants is a plus. The description of your rental property must include the price, size, bedroom number, services, and amenities. This is what they call real estate advertisement; it has a creative side that depends on the property owner.
Conclusion
There is no easy way to know exactly how to rent your house because for every owner the circumstances will differ. However, vacancies and low market periods are expected for anyone. Avoiding them will depend on how much you are willing to invest in terms of time and effort into making your rental property a bit more unique than the rest.