Tenant Turnover? Rental Rates?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Michael Galvan on March 5, 2012 at 8:43am

Hi Jeremy

it seems to me that there is much more turnover and for me my units remain vacant longer. Many investors are telling me the same just like you are mentioning.  I believe it is a manifestation of the employment situation in most metro areas.  Here in Chicago are unemployment rate is officially listed at 10.5 % well above the national rate.  The reality though is that it is much higher than that when you consider those who are discouraged, stopped looking for work, trying their hand at a new business venture, etc..  These folks are living with family or some other type of arrangement.  I know some of these folks personally.  My rents have increased as well which is really a strange market contradiction.  So we are working harder to find good qualified tenants.   

Permalink Reply by elaine bright on March 5, 2012 at 10:22pm

In our area (Nashville)right now it seems the demand for rental is more than the supply.  Over the past year, Rental signs are few in the area of my rentals and they do not stay up long.  I have one rental that turns over about every 12 to 16 months because it is usually a roommate situation and the dynamics of the living arrangement usually change within that time period.  I have had this unit for 13 years and historically it has taken 2 months minimum to lease it again.  My other rentals thank goodness have had long term renters.  Rents have gone up a bit, but I keep the rents around the median of the area.

This past summer I had a lot of traffic for my big unit and I had it rented in 2 days with a waiting list.  That was crazy and people were telling me that places were getting rented out from under them if they hesitated in making a decision.  This summer, I think the timing was right and price was right.  

If you have been trying to get your place rented over the winter it might have been slow until about now with spring in the air.  For me March is when more people are coming out to look at places and things slow down in September.  It seems if I have a rental empty in September I can not get it rented again until march.  

Permalink Reply by Pete Gammie on March 16, 2012 at 4:52pm

Jeremy,

I've recently bumped up rates on two rental properties, neither tenant was happy about that, but the rental rates have moved up appreciably in the past year in the Denver area.  I hear this from the realtor I had lunch with today and other investors at monthly investment club meetings (IRR, John Fisher's investor breakfast, etc), and by checking Craig's List.  However, I also work with my tenants, am doing some requested improvements at one property and told that tenant I wouldn't raise rates next year if he would agree to a 2-year lease.  This tenant's been with me 4 years, is low maintenance, and I'm happy to lock that in for a couple years then adjust rates again. 

I signed a 5-month renewal with another tenant who wants to buy a house and I'm not really wanting to sell that property to them, as it cash flows very nicely for me.  However, didn't want to get stuck with a vacating tenant in the Fall or early Winter, so the lease goes through July.  That allows time to put a new tenant in there in August or to have the existing tenants renew until the Spring of '12 if they haven't found a place by then.

Permalink Reply by Connie M Williams on July 7, 2012 at 7:38pm

Jeremy:

Since Nashville experienced flooding in May 2010 our city has had a supply & demand problem. We have found with our rentals that we can get a little higher rent, and rent them more quickly than ever.

My partner Sheila Tidwell handles that part of our business. The last (2) rentals we had come available, Sheila placed an ad on Craigslist and had so many inquires she said she wasn't going to show it over and over. Instead for both of them she held an open house. She had 13 people show up, 3 with completed applications (download available on our website) and a deposit check in hand. The second ad she had the same kind of response. 

Hope your turnovers slow down and your cashflow increases. We did a show in February about how well business in Nashville is. That episode was 091, titled, BOOM! BUSINESS IS GOOD.

Cheers,

Connie Williams, author of THiNKING CONSCIOUSLY ROCKS!

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