Fill Sacramento Vacancies Quickly

Quickly filling vacancies is imperative to owning a profitable income property.

With vacancy costs being the greatest expense for an owner, aggressive marketing and a strong tenant qualification process is critically important to a property’s profitability. The best way to keep your income property profitable is to keep high quality tenants that not only pay their rent on time, but also take good care of your investment during tenancy. Here are a few things to consider before listing your property on the rental market.

How Long Should I Expect My Home To Be On The Market?

Vacancy time can vary due to location, property condition, and even time of year. A standard rental home stays on the market for an average of 52 days. The time can be even longer if the home is not rent ready or is not priced correctly for the current market. At Real Property Management Select, our aggressive marketing and professional leasing staff allow us to fill our vacancies in an average of less than 3 weeks.

The Price Is Right

The rental market is set by supply and demand, similar to most markets. Unfortunately, this means your personal monthly mortgage is not a relevant factor in pricing your property’s monthly rent. If the market rent for your home is $1,500, yet you are holding out for $1,700, you may be losing money.

Let’s say you placed your home on the market at $1,700 per month. After 90 days you were able to find a tenant who was willing to pay a bit over market, and give you $1,600 per month. We will assume this is a typical 12 months lease, so over the first 15 months (3 months vacant + 12 months occupied) you will receive $19,200. 12 x $1,600 = $19,200 divided by 15 months = $1280/month.

If you had originally priced at the market value, and quickly rented the property at $1,500 per month (market rent) with a vacancy time of 30 days, you would have 2 additional months of income giving you $1,800 more for the first 15 months. In the same 15 month period, you would receive a total of $21,000 because you collected rent for 14 months instead of only 12 months, as shown in examples above. $1,500 x 14 months = $21,000 $1600 x 12 months = $19,200. Total additional income= $1,800.

In this scenario, it would take you 2 ½ years to recoup the rental income lost for those two additional months the home sat vacant. Real Property Management Select can give you up-to-date market rent values in all of our rental areas. Let our knowledge help you reach your desired financial goals for your income property by balancing high returns with low vacancy times.

It’s Not Just About Curb Appeal

To win over quality renters, your home must stand out. The curb appeal helps to get tenants in the door, but the cleanliness, amenities, and overall condition will help set your home apart from the competition. If your budget does not allow upgrading, another option is to list the home slightly under market if there are cosmetic issues, or a lack of typical amenities seen in local comparable homes. Keep in mind, the money you are trying to save by deferring maintenance and upkeep costs may end up negatively affecting the return on investment in the long run.

Real Property Management has the knowledge and experience to fill your vacancies quickly. Contact us today to receive your Free Rental Analysis.