Owner Portal
Few things are more frustrating to an Atlanta rental property owner than a vacant home. When your property doesn’t rent quickly, you lose that steady stream of income that’s so important to keeping up with expenses and increasing your ROI.
Vacancy times often depend largely on the market. If things are generally slow, you may have trouble finding a tenant simply because of the competition. However, if the market is moving and good tenants are actively looking for rental homes, it shouldn’t take more than a few weeks to rent your property.
Here are some of the underlying causes you may want to investigate if you’re finding there isn’t a lot of interest in your Atlanta investment home.
Does the Property Show Well?
When plenty of prospective tenants are calling and emailing to schedule showings but no one is interested in filling out an application or taking the next steps, you’ll want to consider how your property looks to them. Well-maintained homes rent quickly, so make sure everything inside the home is working. Check your curb appeal and evaluate whether what a tenant finds is similar to what you’ve advertised. Everything should be clean and welcoming. You want tenants to imagine themselves living there.
If your property isn’t renting, this is a good time to consider making some cost-effective improvements. If your appliances are old or your flooring is dated, good tenants will hesitate and continue looking elsewhere.
Is the Property Priced Correctly?
Perhaps you can’t even get interested tenants to call about your property.
If this is the case, you may be pricing it too high. Study the Atlanta rental market and get to know what homes similar to yours are renting for. Accessing good data is important. If you’ve priced your home according to what you need to cover your mortgage and expenses without studying the rental values of homes just like yours, you may not be in the right range.
Earning as much rent as possible is an important part of your investing strategy. However, overpricing a rental home can result in longer vacancy periods, and that lost income will be far more expensive than lowering your price by $100 per month.
Are You Willing to Consider Pets?
More than half of the households in Atlanta include at least one pet. Renters love their animals just as much as homeowners do, so if you’re having trouble renting out a home that doesn’t allow pets, consider a new strategy. You don’t necessarily have to accept all pets in any form, size, and breed, but you can say in your advertising that you’re willing to consider pets. This will drive more interest.
Pet-friendly properties not only rent faster, they can also earn you more money. You’ll have the ability to collect a pet fee and even monthly pet rent. With a strong pet policy in place, you can minimize risk and reduce the anxiety of long vacancy periods.
How are You Marketing the Home?
Finally, consider your marketing strategy. Are enough prospective tenants even seeing your listing?
You want to take great photos and write an accurate, engaging, and concise description. Post your listing on all the rental websites popular with tenants, including Zillow, Zumper, HotPads, and PadMapper. Encourage people to share your rental advertisement on social media - you never know who is looking for a new home.
The best thing you can do to limit vacancy time and get your home rented quickly to good tenants is to work with a professional Atlanta property management company. You’ll find reliable data to help with pricing, strategic marketing plans, and a rent-ready home.
We can help. Please contact us at Property Services of Atlanta for all your leasing needs.