- Joined
- Sep 14, 2007
- Messages
- 617
I thought I would share this story:
I had a tenant in condo in Okotoks inform me on October 15th that he would be moving out at the end of the month because of some personal health issues. At this point in time I was also taking over 4 more doors that I needed to fill. I informed him that I understood his problem but that I would need to keep November`s rent and if I could get it rented out soon I would help him out with getting some of his rent back if he helped me get it rented. He agreed.
I took out an on Rentfaster and the local paper ad as I normally do. As I was really crunched for time and going on vacation, I lowered my rent by $50, offered 50% off of the damage deposit. I got an inquiry right away.....the tenant wasn`t great but I was going on vacation, the thought of having to rent this place out in December or January wasn`t appealing. To top it all off, the last phase of this condo project was coming on-line in the next couple of months so I really didn`t want to have the unit vacant. I offered the place to him but didn`t have time to get the first months rent before I went on vacation. I arranged to have the old tenant hand over the keys! Talk about doing it all wrong! When I got back from vacation I learned that the new tenant hadn`t taken possession so I called him up......he had decided to move back to BC and had a huge legal bill. I said "Thanks" and hung up..
Now I was even a little more desperate and my very first vacancy was trying to knock on the door. I normally have potential tenants fill out applications before I show it to them.....but I was desperate right....So now I was showing it to everyone and offering a months rent for free!! What a waste of time and money!! Two more people told me that they would take it but bailed before I could collect the DD! This was getting dire. I got a call from a person who owned a unit in the last phase that was coming online he need a place to live in but his place wasn`t ready yet. He wanted it for 3 months. This would mean that I would have it come up for rent along with the 50 others units that were coming online but I rented it to him to get through the winter but left my ad up.
I re-worded my ad, took out all of the incentives and increased the rent to $50 more than I was previously getting. I now had 3 months to find a good tenant. I got an inquiry right away and went back to my old system....of application first, show second!
Well guess what, I rented it to great tenants, on the first showing, three months early and got more rent than I was previously!!!
Lessons learned......stick to your systems!! When you look/sound desperate that is the kind of tenant you attract and no doubt will have problems in the future!! Be confident and you will attract those great tenants we all want. When things are down or stacked up that is when you need to focus the most and not loose sight of this rule.
Again, I got a great tenant and increased rent when others are complaining of rental decrease, vacancies and tougher markets! Still 0 vacancies to date!!
Good luck out there!!
Wade
I had a tenant in condo in Okotoks inform me on October 15th that he would be moving out at the end of the month because of some personal health issues. At this point in time I was also taking over 4 more doors that I needed to fill. I informed him that I understood his problem but that I would need to keep November`s rent and if I could get it rented out soon I would help him out with getting some of his rent back if he helped me get it rented. He agreed.
I took out an on Rentfaster and the local paper ad as I normally do. As I was really crunched for time and going on vacation, I lowered my rent by $50, offered 50% off of the damage deposit. I got an inquiry right away.....the tenant wasn`t great but I was going on vacation, the thought of having to rent this place out in December or January wasn`t appealing. To top it all off, the last phase of this condo project was coming on-line in the next couple of months so I really didn`t want to have the unit vacant. I offered the place to him but didn`t have time to get the first months rent before I went on vacation. I arranged to have the old tenant hand over the keys! Talk about doing it all wrong! When I got back from vacation I learned that the new tenant hadn`t taken possession so I called him up......he had decided to move back to BC and had a huge legal bill. I said "Thanks" and hung up..
Now I was even a little more desperate and my very first vacancy was trying to knock on the door. I normally have potential tenants fill out applications before I show it to them.....but I was desperate right....So now I was showing it to everyone and offering a months rent for free!! What a waste of time and money!! Two more people told me that they would take it but bailed before I could collect the DD! This was getting dire. I got a call from a person who owned a unit in the last phase that was coming online he need a place to live in but his place wasn`t ready yet. He wanted it for 3 months. This would mean that I would have it come up for rent along with the 50 others units that were coming online but I rented it to him to get through the winter but left my ad up.
I re-worded my ad, took out all of the incentives and increased the rent to $50 more than I was previously getting. I now had 3 months to find a good tenant. I got an inquiry right away and went back to my old system....of application first, show second!
Well guess what, I rented it to great tenants, on the first showing, three months early and got more rent than I was previously!!!
Lessons learned......stick to your systems!! When you look/sound desperate that is the kind of tenant you attract and no doubt will have problems in the future!! Be confident and you will attract those great tenants we all want. When things are down or stacked up that is when you need to focus the most and not loose sight of this rule.
Again, I got a great tenant and increased rent when others are complaining of rental decrease, vacancies and tougher markets! Still 0 vacancies to date!!
Good luck out there!!
Wade
