Rent Price Decreases

[Thomas Beyer]

QUOTE (EdRenkema @ Nov 22 2008, 07:31 PM)
Certainly true, this one however I closed on Aug. 29, totally reno'd, advertised since last wk of Sept. and only 3 viewings since, I'm looking at 4 month vacancy!

I've got it on kijiji, gottarent, viewit, my realtor has it on Royal LePage, and today I put in a 30 day ad in the Hamilton Spectator. I'm $25 below market rent and offering a $100 gift certificate with one yr. lease.


the name of the real estate game is to HANG IN THERE .. financially and emotionally .. thus prudent reserves .. and in December not rented means to me that much more aggressive forms of advertising is required, or the asking rent is too high or the area is weird (and thus the rent is too high for the area)



Try these kind of ads:



3 months free rent (and when they ask you tell them it is for a 3 year lease, with every 12th month free, i.e. the last month of every year ) .. but that should get some calls ..



or



free trip to Mexico on your landlord (costs maybe $1000 .. look for specials in the Globe or Toronto Star)



or



free 40 inch flat screen TV .. (get one at boxing day blowout .. and ensure your have either a credit card or post-dated cheques for 12 months before you install it)



or



every 2nd month free .. for a year ! (and then set rent accordingly, i.e. higher than normal obviously)



or



We pay for your moving expenses (say up to $1000 or you hire some guys for $20/h + free beer + pizza for a day)

 

[EdRenkema]

QUOTE (thomasbeyer2000 @ Nov 22 2008, 08:44 PM) the name of the real estate game is to HANG IN THERE .. financially and emotionally .. thus prudent reserves .. and in December not rented means to me that much more aggressive forms of advertising is required, or the asking rent is too high or the area is weird (and thus the rent is too high for the area)
Try these kind of ads:

3 months free rent (and when they ask you tell them it is for a 3 year lease, with every 12th month free, i.e. the last month of every year ) .. but that should get some calls ..

or

free trip to Mexico on your landlord (costs maybe $1000 .. look for specials in the Globe or Toronto Star)

or

free 40 inch flat screen TV .. (get one at boxong day blowout .. and ensure your have either a credit card or post-datec heques for 12 months before you install it)

or

every 2nd month free .. for a year ! (and then set rent accordingly, i.e. higher than normal obviously)

or

We pay for your moving expenses (say up to $1000 or you hire some guys for $20/h + free beer + pizza for a day)


Free 40 inch flat screen TV - I like that!
I don`t even have a freakin TV, every one of my tenants lives better than me - even the students and I`m not kidding.
Don`t get me wrong, I like your suggestions, the irony and the humour in this is unavoidable, like the new windows, new carpet, new laminate, new kitchen, new bathroom, 3 smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, insulated garage door .... etc isn`t good enough for them? And here I thought I was being a good landlord.
I should have skipped all that and gone straight to the free TV.

 

[mortgageman]

QUOTE (EdRenkema @ Nov 22 2008, 08:13 PM) I don`t even have a freakin TV, every one of my tenants lives better than me - even the students and I`m not kidding.

For now they APPEAR to live better than you. Work the system and it will pay off hugely for you. Hang in there!

 

[TommyK]

QUOTE (thomasbeyer2000 @ Nov 22 2008, 07:44 PM) Try these kind of ads:

3 months free rent (and when they ask you tell them it is for a 3 year lease, with every 12th month free, i.e. the last month of every year ) .. but that should get some calls ..

Mmmm... this is a good incentive.

Lock them in for a LONG term. LOL

 

[holymoly]

QUOTE (thomasbeyer2000 @ Nov 22 2008, 09:44 PM) 3 months free rent (and when they ask you tell them it is for a 3 year lease, with every 12th month free, i.e. the last month of every year ) .. but that should get some calls ..
Or a 2.5 or 3.5 year lease, so you don`t end up having to find December renters again when those long-term tenants leave.

 

[TommyK]

QUOTE (holymoly @ Nov 23 2008, 08:06 AM)
Or a 2.5 or 3.5 year lease, so you don't end up having to find December renters again when those long-term tenants leave.

I totally agree. The rental market really slows down from Nov - Feb.

 

[MrHamilton]

QUOTE (EdRenkema @ Nov 22 2008, 10:13 PM) Free 40 inch flat screen TV - I like that!I don`t even have a freakin TV, every one of my tenants lives better than me - even the students and I`m not kidding.
Don`t get me wrong, I like your suggestions, the irony and the humour in this is unavoidable, like the new windows, new carpet, new laminate, new kitchen, new bathroom, 3 smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, insulated garage door .... etc isn`t good enough for them? And here I thought I was being a good landlord.
I should have skipped all that and gone straight to the free TV.

Thomas, thank you for your suggestions! I wish I had them this time last year, when our single family rental home in Waterdown, Ontario (suburb of Hamilton) sat empty from Jan 08 - Mar 08. We tried all the same marketing avenues as Ed did but we received so few calls. The drought ended when the snow started to melt and then the calls came flooding in. I guess its a good thing when the snow banks are no longer taller than the Gottarent sign.

Point is, it is difficult to find new tenants in the winter but Thomas` suggestions would definitely set you apart from the rest. $1,000 for a big screen tv is about 1/4 of the rent we could have charged...

Best of luck to you Ed!
Erwin

 

[EdRenkema]

QUOTE (EdRenkema @ Nov 22 2008, 08:13 PM) Free 40 inch flat screen TV - I like that!

like the new windows, new carpet, new laminate, new kitchen, new bathroom, 3 smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, insulated garage door .... etc isn`t good enough for them? And here I thought I was being a good landlord.
I should have skipped all that and gone straight to the free TV.

So here it is folks, this should bring the calls in droves, I mean who could resist

http://hamilton.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAd?AdId=89...14-86a4ffff0af1

 

[Lucas]

QUOTE (EdRenkema @ Nov 24 2008, 11:28 AM) So here it is folks, this should bring the calls in droves, I mean who could resist

http://hamilton.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAd?AdId=89...14-86a4ffff0af1


Very professional Ed...nice job!!!

Lucas

 

[Mike Milovick]

Buy in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.



Rent is up from last year and vacancy rates are going down - vacancy is less than the 3 to 5% that CMHC considers to be a healthy rental market : )



Mike




QUOTE (lwelke @ Nov 9 2008, 03:13 PM)
I guess I just have to look at the rental websites (i.e. Rent Faster) and talk to potential renters to learn that rental prices are decreasing. Just want to hear it from my fellow members to see if they are decreasing their rents as well and if so, by how much (i.e are you using a percentage, or just going by what the market is telling us to do)?



Thanks.



Leanne Welke

 

[TommyK]

QUOTE (EdRenkema @ Nov 24 2008, 10:28 AM) So here it is folks, this should bring the calls in droves, I mean who could resist

http://hamilton.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAd?AdId=89...14-86a4ffff0af1

Lots of FREEBIES. Hopefully you can get some call. Man, I didn`t realize how slow it would be approaching winter time.

Good luck to you pal.

Tommy

 

[nepoez]

What do you guys think of 2 of my desperate ads:
http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-housing-apartm...QQAdIdZ84963519
http://edmonton.en.craigslist.ca/apa/931177495.html

 

[TommyK]

QUOTE (nepoez @ Nov 24 2008, 10:37 PM) What do you guys think of 2 of my desperate ads:
http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-housing-apartm...QQAdIdZ84963519
http://edmonton.en.craigslist.ca/apa/931177495.html

Did you rent it out Nepoez?

I am trying some desperate incentives as well... winter winter winter....

Tommy

 

[nepoez]

Hi Tommy, NOPE! It`s been listed for over a month. But the holiday special only started this week. I don`t live in town so there are many things suggested here I can`t do. Internet is probably my best bet..

How long has yours been vacant?

QUOTE (TommyK @ Nov 24 2008, 11:22 PM) Did you rent it out Nepoez?

I am trying some desperate incentives as well... winter winter winter....

Tommy

 

[MarkLabrosse]

QUOTE (EdRenkema @ Nov 24 2008, 10:28 AM) So here it is folks, this should bring the calls in droves, I mean who could resist

http://hamilton.kijiji.ca/c-ViewAd?AdId=89...14-86a4ffff0af1

Looks good to me Ed. Good luck! Great thread btw.

 

[LeighF]

QUOTE (nepoez @ Nov 25 2008, 01:00 AM) Hi Tommy, NOPE! It`s been listed for over a month. But the holiday special only started this week. I don`t live in town so there are many things suggested here I can`t do. Internet is probably my best bet..

How long has yours been vacant?

I find that when I delete my listing on Kijiji after a while and re-submit it, I get some traffic towards it again and emails galore!

 

[JeffFisher]

Interestingly discussion. My partner and I have just purchased our first property that closes early in January. It`s our first investment property (a townhouse in N.E. Edmonton). Asking rent in other properties in development are $1150 per month and $1195 per month quite a bit lower than rentometer.ca would suggest!

I have two questions.

1. We are getting a new furnace to replace the 30 year old one and we are getting a new stove and fridge. Is it worth trying for a bit extra rent on the basis of likely fuel cost savings, i.e. $1245 per month?

2. We live in Vancouver and cannot foresee all of the advertising options described above. We have a recommended property manager but really wonder whether that`s the kind of thing she would do for us.

Any insights re: 1. Any sense as to whether a new furnace would be a worth the extra $50 monthly? 2. Any ideas how to market (other than online) given that we are in Vancouver?

Thanks very much for any input.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

QUOTE (JeffFisher @ Nov 29 2008, 11:07 AM) 2. Any ideas how to market (other than online) given that we are in Vancouver?

do NOT buy any property until you know who will manage it impeccably !

it is part of your due dilligence phase !!

 

[TommyK]

QUOTE (LeighF @ Nov 26 2008, 05:44 AM) I find that when I delete my listing on Kijiji after a while and re-submit it, I get some traffic towards it again and emails galore!

Ok, I think this is what I am going to do. Take my ad off kijiji for a couple weeks. Then re-post it again with a new approach.

 

[mortgageman]

Don`t bother waiting a couple of weeks. Just delete, rework it and get it back up there. Repeat over and over until it`s rented.
Good luck!