We have started an overall switch over from purchasing higher end 2 bd/1ba condos in HOA complexes to buying 4-Plex buildings. This has typically meant that the 4Plex units, albeit the same sq footage and facilities as the other condos, typically rent for about $200 a month less than the higher end properties.
With that said, my experience in marketing to find tenants has been in areas that higher end tenants seem to frequent (ie. Craigslist, Newspaper ads, etc.). We also have a reasonably high ‘bar’ that we expect the prospective tenant to jump over in terms of credit history, etc.
Now we find ourselves looking to rent to lower income tenants. Our properties are not section 8 approved. Does anyone have any suggestions to locate these types of tenants without encouraging drug users, ex-felons, and serial evictors?
Look at the rather lengthy post I put to the subject “Let’s share some unique and inexpensive ways to repair or imprive a house”…It should be about 2 posts prior to yours…You can take some of those ideas to make your places look really nice, and saves you money in the long run, and that may help attract better tenants…But you really have to look at your neighborhood and the building itself to see what type of tenant would be attracted to your place…Would you just drive right by if you were looking for a place to rent and saw your building???..If you do some nice touches (nice paint jobs, ceramic tile, etc.) take some pictures of it and post that with your listing on CraigsList…At least they can see that your places aren’t a dump - that they’re worth at least looking at…
If the neighborhood is shaky, and the building doesn’t look that great on the outside, you know what kind of tenants you’ll attract…It’s really that easy…
Thanks for your thoughts. I’m more interested in where to list, signs to place, etc. rather than building improvements. The area these buildings are in are on streets with lots of other multi-plexes so its not the sort of place you would want to rent if you drove by. This is a low income area, which is why I want to find techniques for marketing this type of property. Doing it up would be money wasted since my neighbors are never going to do the same to theirs.
The assumption with Craigslist is that the user has a computer, Internet connection, and has some knowledge of how to operate both. There is a large percentage of people out there (that are likely to be tenants of these types of buildings) that don’t have the resources of experience to use Craigslist.
V
P.S. Of the 4 tenants in this building, only 1 of them has a computer. The others are just regular folk that work in construction, or are just struggling to get by. The newspaper is more likely to be a resource to them, but with the high cost of newspaper advertising, I’m looking for alternative techniques that others have found to market to these type of tenants.
but it would’ve been more accurate a few years ago…
not that i’m prying, but when i’ve glanced at the computer section i’ve seen various types of people at the library accessing their email accounts, and other informational outlets such as newspaper media…typing with two fingers looking down at the keyboard…
times are changing and even the older folks are adapting and incorporating the internet into their lifestyle…
it still doesn’t apply to everyone, but i still feel you can fill your vacancies using CL…sometimes i wished there were more “upper class” sites similar to CL based on the types of requests/questions i’ve received to my listings…
I have dozens of other rental properties and we SLAM Craigslist with ads for them, so I agree that it is incredibly effective. But in this case, despite your perception of Internet availability, etc. I want to rent the properties fast and the types of tenants that would be attracted to these properties are not likely to be Craigslist users. I’ll try Craiglist anyway, but that’s not going to be my answer.
What I will probably do is to use ‘Bandit Signs’ techniques, go to the local laundromats and put flyers on notice boards, go to the local supermarkets, 7-11s, etc. and do the same. Visit local schools, etc. This ‘on the ground’ marketing will probably bring faster results.
Unfortunately the number of people using Craigslist dilutes the ability to get exposure. If I advertise there once per hour, then I can probably get some exposure, but unless I am willing to be chained to my computer to place ads continuously, then its affect is minimized due to the thousands of others who post in the same section every day in our area. So I’m less and less convinced that placing all one’s eggs in the Craigslist basket (even for our higher end rentals) is a wise move anymore.
I have similar properties and have found the most effective advertising is the newspapers (yes, it’s pretty expensive) as well as a “for rent” sign out front - especially if it’s a high traffic area. I also like to inform my existing tenants that we have a vacancy and offer them some reward (i.e. $50-100) if they refer the person who ultimately occupies the unit. Lastly, you might consider a simple flyer with the key info, a few pics, and contact info to place in your area’s supermarkets, gas stations, etc. You might also want to contact any sort of housing authority in your area that might keep lists of available units for prospective tenants.
I agree with your point about the use of computers/internet. While using sites like Craigslist certainly doesn’t hurt, I feel confident that almost all of my existing tenants don’t know what Craigslist is - nor do they have computers. But again, it’s still worth posting it.
Thanks for the tips. That sounds more like what I need. I like your idea about the incentive for existing tenants to tell their friends and get a placement fee for this. They’d definitely go for something like that.
I just ordered 10 Bandit Signs from www.banditsigns.com and I’ll try them out on all the local street corners also. It cost me about $50 for 10 signs shipped, so if I have to throw that away every couple of weeks, then its not a problem for me. That is cheaper than newspaper advertising, but I’d be doing that as well anyway.
We never normally have vacancies longer than 4 weeks, but I have one property that is about to break that record, so I think up’ing the marketing effort is going to pay off big time right now.
I might be wrong about this, but leaving posts in the local laundromat might not get you the type of tenant you’re looking for?..Similar to leaving posts in the local check cashing business?..
The online newspaper classifieds has always worked great for me…I’ll pay the $95 every 2 years or so, no problem…But the bandit signs always work great too…Be sure to drive by your own signs to make sure you can read them yourself, and put them up at intersections where people are normally stopped for a while…