Will my property be marketed before move out?

Yes, we start the marketing process 30 days out from the available date.  We then start showing the property after the current resident has departed and the move-out inspection is finalized as well any make-ready work completed.

Here’s how our process works and why we follow a fine-grained approach to marketing and leasing activities.

The Problem

Landlords desire the least amount of vacancy possible, naturally.  So in the past, it was common practice to market and show a rental home 30 days ahead of the current tenant departing.  Perfectly fine and everyone was mostly happy.  But in the last two decades, tenant behavior has changed dramatically.  Once they would clean up the house, arrange moving boxes neatly, and be accommodating to once or twice a week showings by Landlords/Property Managers with well-mannered prospective tenants in tow.  But this rarely happens today, regardless of the price point of the subject property is in.  Now tenants do few favors for their Landlords and leave dishes in the sink, pets running around, beds unmade and most demand they are present during the showing, making a very uncomfortable experience for prospective tenants.  That’s even if you can get them to agree on a time.  With the vast increases in rental prices compared to income, tenants are paying more than ever before, and this leads to feelings of entitlement to the property or even resentment toward the perceived greed of landlords.

The prospective tenants even come with issues complicating the marketing phase.  Many expect the HGTV treatment with everything looking its absolute best.  They also want on-demand showings.  This is impossible when most states, like ours, require 24 hours notice.  When these expectations are not met, the prospect is lost.  Also, the candidates willing to see through these types of issues tend to do so in hopes that we will then see through their problems.  These issues are commonly poor credit, rental history, or a low housing to income ratio.

Another condition we have to take into consideration is the shift toward generational/multi-family living.  Often we find an entire extended family has arrived at the showing.  Not only can it be difficult or impossible to keep all those people with the showing agent while simultaneously providing information and answering questions, but it can increase your liability dramatically.  Thieves now prey on landlords/showing agents.  They arrive with multiple people, who all go in different directions.  While out of sight, they may steal possessions, jewelry, and most commonly, prescription drugs. 

Our Proven System Which Solves Leasing Issues

To address the inherent problems of leasing/showing occupied properties while also maintaining the lowest vacancy, at NestTenders, we do the following:

• We start marketing efforts 30 days before the available date of the property.  Listings are advertised as “Coming Soon” and showings are scheduled to occur after the tenant departs.  Our approach allows time for inspections, photography, and most, if not all, turnover maintenance to be completed before prospective tenants start touring.  It also eliminates showing time conflicts and delays, reduces liability, ensures the property is looking its best and allows for multiple party showings to occur. These drive interest by showing the property is popular and desirable; motivating prospects to act quickly.
• We photograph properties vacant.  In real estate, the goal is to show the potential of a property, and furnishing or staging is desired.  But with rentals, prospects are not seeking their dream home.  Their motivation is mainly speed and cleanliness.  Showing the property vacant and ready to go encourages them to start a new lease quickly.
• We live-answer incoming tenant leads in-house rather than use automated messaging lines or outsourced operators.  Doing this creates a personal mental connection/attachment/association between the prospective tenants and the property.  Our team goes to great lengths to answer all questions and book a showing on the first touch.  Rarely does a prospect need to leave a message, and most are surprised they reached someone immediately.
• For online leads, we allow prospects to book a showing immediately in our showing system without the need for approval.  If they submit an inquiry or question, our average response time is 12 minutes.  If an inquiry comes in after-hours, we respond to those up to 10 PM.  All others are answered within the first hour of the next business day.  This approach works to exceed the needs of today’s information on-demand culture and further builds a positive connection between the prospect and the property.
• To ensure that booked showings convert to an actual showing, we have an extensive process in place to touch the prospect at several points with appointment reminders and confirmations.  This increases the number of feet through the door by addressing a big issue with rental showings; only 70% of scheduled prospects actually show up.

These are just some of the big things we do to reduce vacancy rates, but there are also dozens of much smaller processes in place that have a cumulative effect on vacancy rates.