Tweet
House: Nice 3 bedder in Avondale heights, existing tenants were moving on. Needed new tenants.
I re-read some good threads on here:
propertytalk.com/forum/showthread.php?29762-2-hot-tips-from-Keys
propertytalk.com/forum/showthread.php?15532-End-of-tenancy-Please-check-these-off-to-avoid-further-costs-to-you!
propertytalk.com/forum/showthread.php?28844-A-collection-of-clauses-for-TAs
propertytalk.com/forum/showthread.php?30653-Getting-tenants/page2
Took a bunch of pics, but they were not very good (average photographer and an average camera). However, I had a few professional shots downloaded from the ad, from when I bought the place.
Put up an ad on TM. Did not leave a contact number (in case I got a flood of calls) or advertise an open home (did not want a free for all) At this point, I had bought into the hype about rental shortages etc
We got about 30-40 email responses, and I emailed them all, with an open home time of 9am saturday (which suited me well) I also emailed an online application form that I made myself. This was super easy to do using google forms, and cut down on paper work. I asked for landlord and employment references (and checked them as appropriate).
It was funny reading them, as so many said stuff like 'this place is perfect for us' etc - this based on a just a few (18 ) photos.
However, 9am was a dumb move, as it did not suit any prospective tenants, so only a few turned up.
Week 2: I changed the ad with an advertised open home, and my phone number. This worked well, and we got about 10 groups come through, and about 5 applications, of which we went with the best. Got another 20 or so enquiries.
Based on some advise I picked up at an APIA meeting, I asked for 4 weeks bond and 2 weeks rent in advance, the logic being that if they can pay that up front, they will be more likely to be able to pay rent on time.
Learnings:
One advantage of advertising on TM, is that when they email you, you see their user name, so you can then check their feedback. EG. one person had 30% negative feedback, which made me judge them as a poor prospective tenant.
Not putting a phone number was silly. When I did, I did not get flooded with calls, but there were a few, plus text messages.
Early morning open home was a dumb move. People are either hung over or doing stuff with their kids etc. Afternoons worked much better.
Overall, I'm happy with how it went, good (so far) new tenants, with zero days untenanted.
would be happy to hear any feedback on what else I could have done better
I re-read some good threads on here:
propertytalk.com/forum/showthread.php?29762-2-hot-tips-from-Keys
propertytalk.com/forum/showthread.php?15532-End-of-tenancy-Please-check-these-off-to-avoid-further-costs-to-you!
propertytalk.com/forum/showthread.php?28844-A-collection-of-clauses-for-TAs
propertytalk.com/forum/showthread.php?30653-Getting-tenants/page2
Took a bunch of pics, but they were not very good (average photographer and an average camera). However, I had a few professional shots downloaded from the ad, from when I bought the place.
Put up an ad on TM. Did not leave a contact number (in case I got a flood of calls) or advertise an open home (did not want a free for all) At this point, I had bought into the hype about rental shortages etc
We got about 30-40 email responses, and I emailed them all, with an open home time of 9am saturday (which suited me well) I also emailed an online application form that I made myself. This was super easy to do using google forms, and cut down on paper work. I asked for landlord and employment references (and checked them as appropriate).
It was funny reading them, as so many said stuff like 'this place is perfect for us' etc - this based on a just a few (18 ) photos.
However, 9am was a dumb move, as it did not suit any prospective tenants, so only a few turned up.
Week 2: I changed the ad with an advertised open home, and my phone number. This worked well, and we got about 10 groups come through, and about 5 applications, of which we went with the best. Got another 20 or so enquiries.
Based on some advise I picked up at an APIA meeting, I asked for 4 weeks bond and 2 weeks rent in advance, the logic being that if they can pay that up front, they will be more likely to be able to pay rent on time.
Learnings:
One advantage of advertising on TM, is that when they email you, you see their user name, so you can then check their feedback. EG. one person had 30% negative feedback, which made me judge them as a poor prospective tenant.
Not putting a phone number was silly. When I did, I did not get flooded with calls, but there were a few, plus text messages.
Early morning open home was a dumb move. People are either hung over or doing stuff with their kids etc. Afternoons worked much better.
Overall, I'm happy with how it went, good (so far) new tenants, with zero days untenanted.
would be happy to hear any feedback on what else I could have done better
Comment