When a rental property is vacant, the owner is unhappy. If the owner bought the property using a mortgage, his interest payments continue, whether or not there is a tenant occupying the property. If the owner has no loan on the property, he or she knows that every day the property remains vacant, possible income is being lost. Whichever way, the property owner or investor wants the property to begin to generate income as soon as possible. Sometimes the break in making money from the property is due to a tenant transitioning to another property. Whatever the reason, the property owner wants to reduce the period when the property is vacant and there are ways of achieving this.
A property owner should endeavour to determine the fair rental value of the property. Unreasonable rent is one of the biggest deterrents to those who want to rent a property. Some property owners simply decide what they want as rent without taking out time to compare the prices of properties in similar neighbourhoods. The Internet has made this form of research accessible to all. There are also many online and hardcopy property magazines that contain information on available properties. You can buy some of them in order to compare the rent. Many of these sources are free.
When carrying out your research be careful to ensure that you are comparing like with like. The rent expected from a property is not just a function of the physical location of the property. Other things that come into play include the age of the property, the facilities or services provided. A new property will usually command a higher rent and attract tenants that are more willing. Properties where they provide additional services such as 24-hour electricity supply usually cost more to rent. If you do not provide such services for your tenants, you do not expect them to pay for them.
You can take advantage of the period of vacancy to carry out repairs and maintenance of the property. If the property that you are renting out is an old property, you might consider features in contemporary projects that you can introduce. Sometimes these renovations are necessary because the benefit far outweighs the cost. However, if your financial indicators reveal that the cost of repairs far outweigh the benefit, then you either rent the property out as it is or make slight changes.
Another issue that normally keeps tenants away from renting some properties are the presence of obnoxious terms and lack of commission arrangement for the agent. Some property owners request for significant caution deposits and undertaking to restore the property to the way the tenant met it. Some property owners insist on the tenant signing an undertaking to deliver possession to the property owner within a shorter period than is legally required on the expiration of their term. Many of these terms are deal breakers and often put off many interested people.
Engage professionals that will help you determine the price range and manage the entire process. Some of the issues that they deal with are arranging inspections and screening potential tenants. If you are dealing with these issues directly, it will take your time and cause delays in the process. It is also important that you clarify to the agents the amount or percentage of commission they are going to earn. The agents can now focus strictly on their work since they know that their efforts will be rewarded.
There are special incentives or concessions that normally boost the rental system. Although the law states otherwise, some property owners seem to insist on new tenants paying two-year rent in advance. If you want your property to be rented out fast, you can give qualified tenants a concession to pay only one year. This will be a great encouragement for newly wedded couples and individuals who are still searching.
Once the above issues are settled, you should advertise and ask your agents to advertise the property using various media that would-be tenants will likely check. However, no matter how keen you are to get a tenant, do not waive the process of screening tenants and determining their eligibility before you rent your property to them. Follow due process and focus on the person rather than on the amount he or she is willing to pay.