Chances are, when you put your property on the market for rent, yours won’t be the only option in the area. They key to getting the most profit, and desirable tenants, is pricing your home or apartment competitively against other rentals in the area. Unfortunately, that’s not always as simple as it seems.
Since 2003, Jon Selinger has been the owner of ASM Properties, a property management company in Tennessee. So he definitely knows a thing or two about appropriately pricing property to be appealing for both landlords and renters. While every company or property owner may choose to go about things differently, Selinger explains how ASM Properties advises their clients when pricing the homes they manage.
If you are using a property management company in your area, then you should definitely take advantage of their expertise, says Selinger. If a company advertises that they manage 350 companies, then they should definitely know the rent range in the neighborhood, so the leg work that you have to do as a landlord is far less.
But, if you have chosen to market your property on your own, you take measures to ensure that you get the most for your money:
- Assess what your property has to offer and then compare it to other listings in the area. How many rooms are there? How many bathrooms? Is there a yard? Does it have an eat-in kitchen? Online listings of other rentals will include all this information as well so that you can compare accordingly.
- Inquire about how long the rentals have been on the market. If you notice that it’s been a few months and the other properties haven’t moved, then you might want to consider listing your property for a little less. Even $50 less a month is enough to entice perspective renters.
If you have a tenant currently occupying your property but you know that he doesn’t plan on renewing his lease, a few months prior to his departure is the perfect time to start pricing. Pay attention to national market trends as well as the fluxuation of pricing in your area. Chances are, the price you had listed the home for in the past should not be the target number you hope to achieve with the new tenant. While the prices of apartments and homes will vastly differ across the country, this formula is constant.
