Rentals – Time on Market?

[deprotinator]

Hi everyone, I’m new on this forum and new to the world of landlording. I hope some of you more experienced members can guide me in the right direction. I’d like to find out how long it’ll take to rent out my current 2BR condo (in today’s market) after I move out. I’m hoping to conduct an unscientific poll here by a show of hands. How many days did you folks advertise for before finding a tenant?

Thanks for all the help! There seems to be a lot of statistics and discussions on pricing, but not much info on how long it takes to find a tenant.

[spdrun]

Rental in DC, about a month. More recently, I’m subletting my place in NYC because I’ll be away traveling next month. Took me about 3 wks to find the right tenant, but I’m super picky.

[paramount]

There are obviously factors which will impact the time it takes to rent a property – some you can control some you can’t.

Location
Condition

But most importantly…if you price slightly below market it should rent very fast. I rented my property 3 weeks before it was vacant.

[deprotinator]

Yes, that’s right, it’ll depend on many other factors. My condo is located in northern San Diego a little bit past UTC and not quite Carmel Valley. Newer 2 bed 2 bath built in the late 90s. Great condition. 2 car attached garage. Not furnished but does include appliances. Anyway, I’m not really asking for members with the same rental units to assess my specific situation. I’m just trying to get a general feeling of how long it takes to rent out a place around here. Thanks a lot!

[EconProf]

Listen to the market. It is smarter than you are.
Go to Craigslist to zero in on what similar rentals are going for. Price yours a bit under the market and then be very picky in chosing a tenant. As a beginner, you don’t want the hassles of weak tenants/too many occupants.
You can also listen to the market by learning from the calls you get. If you are flooded with calls and people who want to rent, you are probably too low on your rent. If you are still trying to find a tenant after three weeks or so you are probably asking for too much or your Craigslist ad is deficient (note: include lots of pictures).
Your property sounds very desirable and is in a great area, so it should rent quickly.

[(former)FormerSanDiegan]

My first vacancy was the longest … took about 5 weeks to fill (that was in the early 2000’s).

After that we’ve always priced on the low side, advertised before it was vacant, usually 3 or 4 weeks ahead and have always had a rental agreement before it was empty. Of course in most of those cases the place was vacant for 1-3 weeks due to post-move-out/pre-move-in painting, etc and/or timing of the desired move-in.

Again, it will depend on many things you cannot really control and some things you can.
You can’t control the size of unit, location, or it’s overall condition (OK, you can control that somewhat, but probably not cost effective to gut-remodel, etc)

Your only real levers are price and terms
Terms might include pets and lease flexibility (e.g. allow 6-12 month).

I’ve found that if I allow pets I often lease it quickly at a good rate. Of course, if my property were pristine I wouldn’t allow pets, but its condition is suitable for pets.

[upwardspiral]

I tell my rental properties neighbors prior to a tenant leaving that the house will be available. I have had luck with them finding the new tenants for me. Doesn’t hurt to ask.

[Author]

Posts