Here, take a look at these pictures of Property 5's vacant Apartment #1:
It's been almost two months and I'm still having trouble renting Apartment #1 of Property 5 out. To add to the confusion, I got more calls about Property 1's vacant apartment which has now been rented out, and Property 1 is right next to one of the worst streets in Smalltown. Property 5 is in a good neighborhood and has enough parking space for up to six cars. The vacant apartment's bedrooms are kinda small, but one can't tell from those pictures. So why is this place not getting many calls? I'm completely baffled. Even Handyman Jerry and Alfonso are confused as to why people are blowing up my phone to get this place.
A prospective tenant came by and didn't seem interested in the place, so I sent her a text asking her what she thought of the place. This was her response:
"First off let me thank you for viewing the property to my fiance and I. We loved the porch, street parking, flooring & room structure. However our main concern is the park directly next door to the property."
There is a park next to Property 5 and the property is on the same block as a middle school, but the neighborhood and the kids are still pretty good. While I could understand not wanting to be near a park for annoyance reasons, I wouldn't think it'd be a reason not to take a nice looking apartment in an overall good neighborhood. Shit, I wouldn't be moving into the attic if I didn't think it was a good neighborhood.
I've done the For Rent signs. I've renewed the Craigslist ad several times. I even lowered the rent by $100 to $650, and still no takers. Even the public assistance animals don't want it. I only got one application from an 18-year-old kid who looked like he was on drugs. It was depressing to actually consider renting out to the kid, but I quickly came to my senses and denied his application. Nothing is worse than moving in a bad tenant for the quick money, only to have him destroy the thousands of dollars I spent renovating the place.
Alfonso and Jerry both suggested that the main reason for the lack of interest is the time period. This is the holiday season and people are saving up more to buy Christmas gifts for their greedy-ass kids. On top of that, it's the winter and people don't like to move in the cold. While these reasons are true, I never had this much difficulty renting out in the winter... Not to mention that Property 1 has been rented out during the same time period. If the apartment continues to be a difficulty rental, it may change how I retire. I mean, I have so many bills, and with no money coming from the apartments and the incredibly expensive attic apartment draining my bank account, I'll have to change how long it'll take for me to quit working. It would be stupid of me to quit a stable source of income when I don't have enough coming in from the rentals.
Ugh... what a nightmare! I really didn't anticipate having so many problems with Property #5. The one thing I felt sure of was that I'd be able to get the apartments rented out easily due to the apartment itself and its good location. And now? I don't know what to think. All I can do is be patient and hope that tax return season yields more interest so that I can get these places rented out and get some financial breathing room.
P.S.: What kills me the most is that I was able to get Property #1's vacant apartment rented out in less than two weeks. Property #5 is in a better neighborhood and is much cleaner, yet it got rented out faster. I'm even getting interest from people about Anita's now-vacant downstairs apartment in Property X, and that neighborhood is god-awful! I guess the moral of this story is that maybe real estate is not all about "Location, Location, Location".
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| I honestly thought that one of the biggest selling points was gonna be the hardwood floors that I spent so much money getting installed. Out of the very few people who showed up, only one of them commented on how nice the floors looked. |
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| The floor needs a little cleaning, but I consider this a perfectly fine kitchen. I've rented out apartments with far worse kitchens than this |
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| The only big drawback to this apartment is the fact the bedrooms are small (10 x 9, 11 x 10). But the bedrooms in Property 2 are slightly bigger by a couple of inches, and I have no problems getting people in there. |
It's been almost two months and I'm still having trouble renting Apartment #1 of Property 5 out. To add to the confusion, I got more calls about Property 1's vacant apartment which has now been rented out, and Property 1 is right next to one of the worst streets in Smalltown. Property 5 is in a good neighborhood and has enough parking space for up to six cars. The vacant apartment's bedrooms are kinda small, but one can't tell from those pictures. So why is this place not getting many calls? I'm completely baffled. Even Handyman Jerry and Alfonso are confused as to why people are blowing up my phone to get this place.
A prospective tenant came by and didn't seem interested in the place, so I sent her a text asking her what she thought of the place. This was her response:
"First off let me thank you for viewing the property to my fiance and I. We loved the porch, street parking, flooring & room structure. However our main concern is the park directly next door to the property."
There is a park next to Property 5 and the property is on the same block as a middle school, but the neighborhood and the kids are still pretty good. While I could understand not wanting to be near a park for annoyance reasons, I wouldn't think it'd be a reason not to take a nice looking apartment in an overall good neighborhood. Shit, I wouldn't be moving into the attic if I didn't think it was a good neighborhood.
I've done the For Rent signs. I've renewed the Craigslist ad several times. I even lowered the rent by $100 to $650, and still no takers. Even the public assistance animals don't want it. I only got one application from an 18-year-old kid who looked like he was on drugs. It was depressing to actually consider renting out to the kid, but I quickly came to my senses and denied his application. Nothing is worse than moving in a bad tenant for the quick money, only to have him destroy the thousands of dollars I spent renovating the place.
Alfonso and Jerry both suggested that the main reason for the lack of interest is the time period. This is the holiday season and people are saving up more to buy Christmas gifts for their greedy-ass kids. On top of that, it's the winter and people don't like to move in the cold. While these reasons are true, I never had this much difficulty renting out in the winter... Not to mention that Property 1 has been rented out during the same time period. If the apartment continues to be a difficulty rental, it may change how I retire. I mean, I have so many bills, and with no money coming from the apartments and the incredibly expensive attic apartment draining my bank account, I'll have to change how long it'll take for me to quit working. It would be stupid of me to quit a stable source of income when I don't have enough coming in from the rentals.
Ugh... what a nightmare! I really didn't anticipate having so many problems with Property #5. The one thing I felt sure of was that I'd be able to get the apartments rented out easily due to the apartment itself and its good location. And now? I don't know what to think. All I can do is be patient and hope that tax return season yields more interest so that I can get these places rented out and get some financial breathing room.
P.S.: What kills me the most is that I was able to get Property #1's vacant apartment rented out in less than two weeks. Property #5 is in a better neighborhood and is much cleaner, yet it got rented out faster. I'm even getting interest from people about Anita's now-vacant downstairs apartment in Property X, and that neighborhood is god-awful! I guess the moral of this story is that maybe real estate is not all about "Location, Location, Location".
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