Has your property let stalled?
If there isn’t much interest in your rental, what can you do?
If you are struggling to rent out your property and it is sitting lonely and unloved on the market, there is a reason for it. Either the rent you are asking is too high and /or the condition of the property is not attractive to potential tenants, or, perhaps the marketing strategies are not right.
Is your rent too high?
The asking rent is absolutely critical. A property is only worth what someone is willing to pay. So in most cases, if there is no interest, then the rent is too high and it needs to be lowered.
Of course, this is easy to say and harder to accept. It is particularly painful when the rent is near the mortgage repayment level and you risk having to top it up each month. However, the harsh reality is that some income is better than none – in some circumstances, it is better to lower the rent, accept a 6 or 12-month tenancy and be left with 5% of the mortgage to pay rather than 100%.
Condition
The condition of the property is paramount. Tenants have high expectations. They want bright, light, clean and modern interiors; and that is why it is essential to ensure decoration is at its best, and maintenance is done regularly. Tenants will pay for the best properties and they walk away from tired homes. The properties in the poorest condition let the slowest.
The changes you make could be minor (eg, mowing the lawn, replacing vinyl in a bathroom) but these small improvements could make a substantial difference to the interest in the property and most importantly, will help to attract the best quality of tenant.
Marketing Strategies
Using an agent who is able to promote your property in all of the right places is essential. Many agents do not utilise all of the main property portals and some choose not to advertise on Rightmove for example, because it is expensive. This unfortunately is a false economy as it does not give you access to the full audience of prospective tenants, therefore seriously limiting your chances of finding the best tenant in a reasonable timeframe.
In conclusion, in all of the above cases, it is important that your agent is closely monitoring the situation, by analysing the level of enquiries and feedback, from not only those tenants that have viewed your property, but from all potential applicants. If you are regularly receiving this information from your agent, this will allow you to take the correct action.
The more flexible and decisive you are, the more successful your letting will be.