Hello all,
I have a lease expiring next month with the renters moving out. I’ve listed on Craig’s List and Rentclicks. When I tried the newspaper, the cost was $61 per week (OUCH!)! Does this seem normal to you guys and if so, what other methods could you give me to try and get this thing rented. I live out of State, but have someone to assist me down the street from the rental. Any ideas?
How about a For Rent sign in the front yard?
Mike
And include directional signs, too.
I think advertising the full week is overkill; Thursday or Friday to Sunday will garnish the most readership for the week anyway…
Regards,
Scott Miller
if it’s in a place with a major university try their news paper. it should be cheaper
Advertising rates depend on circulation. In my area, NYC, for three days around the weekends, I pay a little more, over $100.00.
Bottomline, it’s how many applicants I get. The NY Times charge $200 for a weekend ad, and I get ZERO responses the last two years. I don’t plan to use them anymore. Newsday, another local paper, for a little over $100 for three days gets 50 to 100 responses, depending on the time of year.
Tenants pay rental agents around here, so for apartments I can show before the prior tenant moving, I have the rental agents show it. I find folks going thru agents are business types too busy to look themselves, folks relocating, and have an agent show them everything available in the area (including stuff not listed but in the newspapers), or immigrants not handy with the language needing an agent to do the talking. In fact, this turned out to be a large group, and I would miss out on a large pool of applicants not using agents.
As the agents charge 10 to 12% of the annual rent as commission, with the tenant paying, I find as a whole, tenants coming thru agents are serious lookers, and stay a few years, compared to some that found it on Craigslist, stay a few months, and move on.
I get over 90% of the responses from the newpaper ads when I do advertise. I agree advertising the whole week is unnecessary because while I advertise for only three days, renters call from the weekend ads and call all week, and some cases, from issues two or three weekends prior. In fact, rental ads are few on the weekday classifies that I would be wasting my time on it anyway.
As for internet advertising on Craigslist, it’s only started to catch on here, and three to five years ago, I get no responses. I get about half a dozen responses for the week.
Some reports great success with “for rent” signs on the property. I don’t do it since in my area, it’ll attract vandals, and advertise that it’s vacant, and “tools” are available to be stolen if I happen to be doing some work there.
The other aspect is “fair housing” laws, and when people call from newspaper ads, I qualify them before giving them the address. With “for rent” signs, I can have some nut confronting me, and won’t go away. This is just my take on it.
HOLY COW!!! my last 5 line newspaper rental ad cost me $381 for 7 days.
I have had success with signage alone and with the newspaper. I think the more important question is how many calls you're getting per day, and how many qualified applicants are filling out applications. $61.00 per week is reasonable, depending upon how many readers get the paper. I would rather run an ad for a month @ $61/week than put a bad tenant in a property. A bad tenant will cost a lot more than a good advertisement.
Thanks everyone for the help. I’ve used plenty of online sources and placed a sign in the yard. I’m getting several calls per day. I have the renters still in the property and they are allowing people to view it (with me allowing them to exit their lease two weeks early…which is a good thing since I just found out that he was busted for marijuana distribution and paraphernalia). All and all, he seems to have kept the place up and is willing to some of the cleaning for me. I believe he is looking for most of his deposit back. What a great incentive. Thanks again for your help!