Property Management Maven

I got a VERY NICE letter faxed from our local newspaper - LARGE VA publisher Media General - wanting me to re-sign a rate contract for min 4 lines at $1.47 per line for another year….this, they were quick to point out, is not an increase in my current rate.

I in turn sent them a nice letter indicating not only am I NOT signing another contract, I was pulling my 5 inch 2-column ad and using only a 6-line 2-column ad in future with hot link to my website.

Since my client/property owners pay a pro-rated amount of my ad costs depending on the # of days their property listing appeared in my ad, this does not really cost me anything; however, the administration and accounting is a hassle….and is no longer justifiable.
 
Since I cover the costs of my website, daily postings to CL and our local MLS, I do not think that this additional owner expense is justifiable it in the long run. If an owner insists on their property being featured in the local newspaper, I’ll insert an ad and they can pay full rate charges for the # of days it runs.

In order for a rental prospect to find a rental property in the newspaper, they would have to be in town to pick it up from a news rack or Google “VA newspapers” to find The Daily Progress online…..I think most rental prospects are now attune to using CL or other housing websites rather than searcing for local print media classifieds…..sort of like the Yellow Pages for phone numbers, this is a print media that has segewayed nicely to the internet and will be appearing on telephones and PDAs that are web-enabled .

Maybe there is hope for me that I am not SO OLD as to not be able to break 40 years of real estate training to depend on the daily newspaper…..for NASCAR race results or rental classified advertising.

It is hard for new property owner clients to realize that lowering the rent does not always get their property rented sooner.

With 20+ available  rental properties, when my phone is not ringing, I know that prospective tenants are not looking * they aren’t in town; they are still on vacation; they are waiting for the LAST MINUTE to see if their current home will sell before they commit to a rental home in the area - a small apartment for him or a house for the entire family.

Lowering the rent won’t make the phone ring.  Individual property owners make the mistake that thinking that by lowering the rent, the phone will ring - if the people are not in town looking lowering the rental rate in Craigslist each week won’t work….it just means it will rent for a lower amount to lesser applicants (qualified at the lower rent) when prospects are in the area.

Knowing the rental market, when people MOVE and when people LOOK to rent a rental home homes is an integral part of being a professional property manager.

By keeping the rental rate AT MARKET RENT, prospects are qualified at the higher rent and THEN I will lower it for up front rent payments * 3 to 6 months in advance *  a longer term lease or other consideration acceptible to the property owner……a win-win. 

Just lowering the rent until it rents is a mistake many property owners make thinking they are getting their property rented when they are actually leaving hundreds if not thousands of dollars on the table that will never be put in their pocket.

It’s happening already in our area. It usually takes until mid to late July for property owners with unsold homes to realize they need to RENT their home when they move….this is known as the “shadow rental market”.
 
For the last 2 years, those homeowners would call me directly - they by-passed their sales agent as an option for a temporary property manager/leasing agent. This year is different. Realtors are calling me FIRST and THEN referring their clients to me. Maybe its the $250 I pay for property referrals * however, I rather think it is the knowledge that the home will go back on the market within the next 2 years when our area real estate market rebounds and they want to maintain the relationship with their client.

Since my management portfolio is mostly high-end single family homes, many prospective renters who call me are getting smart and are asking if the rental home I am offering has recently been on the market for sale…they don’t want trigger happy property owners putting THEIR home on the sales market next spring and tasking them with showings and staging their home while paying rent.

For this reason, I don’t take properties listed/offered for sale and lease simultaneously. When scheduling a viewing appointment, if there is a FOR SALE sign in the yard, my experience is that rental prospects will not show for the appointment which wastes my time and energy….Additionally, my website requires photos and floor plans for listing continuity which takes time and energy to prepare and upload.
 
Most rental prospects for area rental homes are asking for longer term leases - 2, sometimes 3 years. They are coming to UVa or other large area employers and don’t plan to buy and don’t want to move several times over the next 2 or 3 years. This is another reason they are selecting homes rather than apartments or condos where they have no knowledge of their neighbors or management capabilities.

While a few areas of the country are experiencing lower rental rates - Las Vegas, California, areas of Texas and Florida….most areas of the country are actually experiencing increased rental rates as DEMAND for good rental homes has increased as people are electing to not purchase homes and elect the flexibility of leasing.