Four Strategies to Fill Off-Peak Vacancies

A few blog posts back, we gave some reasons as to why your property is still vacant. This week we’re offering specific solutions to help you fill off-peak vacancies that may be coming your way soon! Typically, in Connecticut, the “off-peak” or "slow" rental season begins in October or November and lasts through March. And it’s easy to understand why, because moving through cold, sleet, or snow is quite miserable. The scholastic calendar is also a major factor here, as most families want to settle into their new home before a new school year kicks off! While most landlords already do their best to avoid off-peak vacancies by perfecting the start/end date on their leases, the situation will still arrive from time to time. So here are four simple strategies for minimizing lost rent and filling your vacancies during the off-peak months!

[1] Market Before the Move-Out

There is nothing more costly to an owner than vacancy, and yet, the biggest mistake we see self-managing landlords make is refusing to market or show their property before they are vacant!  While an empty unit makes scheduling showings more convenient for the owner, one issue is that it does not allow prospective tenants to get an idea of how their things would fit in the home.

Even more useful, showing an occupied unit allows you to create what we call in the property management world, a “0 Day turn!” This is when a new tenant moves in the day after (or realistically just a few days after) the old tenant vacates. Quick turn-overs maximize profits by minimizing lost rent with each new lease...pretty sweet! We highly recommend landlords add a clause to their next lease which allows them to market and show their properties with tenants in place.

[2] Offer a Move-In Special to Qualified Applicants

Another great tactic to pull tenants in and minimize off-peak vacancy is offering a move-in special. Consider something like ½ off on the security deposit for well-qualified groups. If an applicant has good income, credit, and rental history you can be confident that they won’t do much damage to your property, in which case, reducing the security deposit is enticing to them, and you as a landlord don’t have to take a hit to rental income! If you are more concerned with damages though, you could also offer a discount on the first month’s rent. Giving a $500 credit for someone to move in on October 1st makes more sense financially than waiting and finding a tenant on November 1st. If we had two units with different owners, both renting for $1,750/month, one that fills the unit early with a rent special nets an extra $1,250 in income. ($1,750 - $500 = $1,250 as opposed to losing the entire October rent)

[3] Take Better Photos & Improve Your Marketing Description

We can’t tell you the number of times we’ve seen horrendous marketing photos from DIY landlords, better yet, how about the rental listings with no pictures at all?! It sounds crazy, but many owners don’t get the marketing right from the start because they don’t take a few extra minutes to capture quality photos. Not only is this bad practice during the hottest rental months of the year, but it especially hurts properties that are listed in the off-peak season. If you want to give yourself a chance against similar listings during slower months of the year, you’ve got to have quality photos to catch people’s attention first! 

And going hand-in-hand of course with your images/video tours is the marketing description. Landlords tend to be brief with these or give out wayyyy more information than anyone needs! You don’t want folks to get lost reading your listing, but you also don’t want them calling you for answers to simple questions, like: “Is there off-street parking or do you accept cats?” These are critical questions for almost any tenant, so give them the answers they need in advance and save yourself time dealing with undesirable leads!

[4] Accept Online Applications

Our last piece of advice is; make it easy and they will apply! Not enough landlords make the application process efficient or easy for prospective tenants, and in the off-peak rental market...this only makes filling your vacancy more difficult. Listing your property online is straightforward and so is giving people the opportunity to apply online! Some listing sites, such as Zillow, have already rolled out their own tenant screening/application process, and there are plenty of other low-cost services available online. Put yourself in the renters shoes, if you were choosing between two identical units, and one owner made applications and electronic communication accessible while the other needed to be met in person for every interaction, which would you choose? Most of us will end up taking the path of least resistance. 

A Final Word

Now that we’re nearing the off-peak rental season here in CT, you’re more prepared to find tenants efficiently. If you’ve got a vacancy that’s coming soon at one of your properties, you can use these four strategies to make sure your units are filled before the competition. We’ll leave you here now with one extra tip to fill those off-peak vacancies , and that is to write an accurate but descriptive headline! One of Robert C. White & Company's current listings is simply titled, “3 bedrooms single-family home with private yard,” nothing fancy, but nothing to confuse either! Good luck landlords.

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