Tips on organising viewings for prospective tenants?

redcard

Hi all, advice needed please! Last time I rented my house out I had 3 interested tenants, things have changed and I've got 50+ interested people this time arround!! I need tips on organising this, do I just have an open day and let them all come whenever? Should I just give them a handout of what I want ie: deposit ect and wait for them to get back to me. I really don't know what to expect but I want to be fully prepared. All help greatly appreciated thanks:-)

dinnyirwin

Im going to be totally frank here and tell you how to run your business like a business that is there to make a profit.
You may or may not want to make market rate. It all depends if you are feeling like helping people out and renting your house to them for less than market rate or whether you are in it to make money. but i'll lay it out anyway.

So, Sit back and read all the greedy landlord posts to come, but while you are reading them ask are you running a business to make a profit or are you running a charity. You need to find your market rate, and 50 people interested should tell you that you are not up to your market rate yet.

A businessman will tell you if you need one buyer and have 50 people interested in any product/service then its too cheap.

Re-advertise it, add an extra couple of hundred euro. Keep doing it until you have only about 10 people interested. This will happen quickly as you increase the asking price to near what the value is. When you have only 10 people interested at your price point then organize viewings with them.

Have them all view the property at the same time (no point wasting anymore of your time than you need) and make sure you have told them beforehand the rent and the deposit amount and to have it with them, along with references from their last TWO landlords. And make sure its the last two. If they are not the last two then that should ring alarm bells. They are obviously hiding the last two. Collect the references and tell them if selected they can meet you next day with deposits and rent. At least they will all have them handy at the viewing stage so that shouldnt cause delays after.

Then make sure to check references (you'll have to suss out if you are talking to a real landlord or their mate), in particular ask has their rent always been on time and specifically ask has that person paid their rent right up to the end or did they try to use their deposit as last months rent. If they did, then ditch them. Ask their previous landlords would they class them as dream or annoying tenants. Choose the ones you want and let them know. They might have got somewhere in the meantime so you might still have to go to your second or third choice, but unlikely these days.

debabyjesus

dinnyirwin wrote: »

Sit back and read all the greedy landlord posts to come, but while you are reading them ask are you running a business to make a profit or are you running a charity. You need to find your market rate, and 50 people interested should tell you that you are not up to your market rate yet.

A businessman will tell you if you need one buyer and have 50 people interested in any product/service then its too cheap.

Re-advertise it, add an extra couple of hundred euro. Keep doing it until you have only about 10 people interested. This will happen quickly as you increase the asking price to near what the value is. When you have only 10 people interested at your price point then organize viewings with them.

Have them all view the property at the same time (no point wasting anymore of your time than you need) and make sure you have told them beforehand the rent and the deposit amount and to have it with them, along with references from their last TWO landlords. Collect the references and tell them if selected they can meet you next day with deposits and rent. At least they will all have them handy at the viewing stage so that shouldnt cause delays after.

Then make sure to check references, in particular ask has their rent always been on time and specifically ask has that person paid their rent right up to the end or did they try to use their deposit as last months rent. If they did, then ditch them. Ask their previous landlords would they class them as dream or annoying tenants. Choose the ones you want and let them know. They might have got somewhere in the meantime so you might still have to go to your second or third choice, but unlikely these days.

Christ, its this type that makes me want to buy my own property.

debabyjesus

Op set a day aside and meet people and make your own judgement. Take previous landlords references with a pinch of salt. Nobody has ever seen a bad reference from a previous ll if you know what I mean.

Mrs OBumble

You don't need to choose the best of the 50. You just need to choose the first one who is good enough, who wants the place, and who will pay the rent and deposit you are asking. The latter two can be used to sort serious candidates from time-wasters.

redcard

Thanks guys, I'm asking the fair rent for my property, I researched simular in my area and an dearer than some and cheaper than others. Im just going to pick a day next week and email them to come between 9/5 to view. In the email I'll put deposit, references ect. And take it from there. I got a few strange emails like we are 2 couples and are studying not working? How would they afford rent? I've not being replying to these emails,

Eldarion

debabyjesus wrote: »

Christ, its this type that makes me want to buy my own property.

Then buy! LLs are not your parent, they're not your guardian, they're not a charity. In OP's case he's providing a service which is clearly very high in demand and he should charge accordingly if he wishes to maximise his returns.

Mrs OBumble

redcard wrote: »

...come between 9/5 to view.

Bad mistake.

That timeframe is cutting out a huge number of working people unless you've a lot of factories that do a night shift in the area).

These days, people cannot afford to take annual leave for every property they want to look at.

Raphael

redcard wrote: »

I got a few strange emails like we are 2 couples and are studying not working? How would they afford rent? I've not being replying to these emails,

Scholarship, Funding, Savings, Mammy&Daddy, BTEA all come to mind as possible options.

Edit: Re viewing time, I'd go for 2 hours on a weekday evening or a weekend afternoon. Taking a whole day out for it is pointless, especially if it's during business hours.

debabyjesus

Eldarion wrote: »

Then buy! LLs are not your parent, they're not your guardian, they're not a charity. In OP's case he's providing a service which is clearly very high in demand and he should charge accordingly if he wishes to maximise his returns.

I will, when I can afford to build it outright. Won't be long now and all the properties I've rented down the years have given me good gen on how I want my own to be but until that time comes i'm happy to rent decent properties off decent landlords at a decent price and not one's with massive euro signs for eyes preying on people caught in a housing trap.

Sounds like the Op is the former and is ignoring the greedy supply and demand business clap-trap, that same greed that fuelled the property bubble and bust, and is asking a fair price for her property.

Op I hope you get some nice decent tenants.

dinnyirwin

debabyjesus wrote: »

I will, when I can afford to build it outright. Won't be long now and all the properties I've rented down the years have given me good gen on how I want my own to be but until that time comes i'm happy to rent decent properties off decent landlords at a decent price and not one's with massive euro signs for eyes preying on people caught in a housing trap.

Sounds like the Op is the former and is ignoring the greedy supply and demand business clap-trap, that same greed that fuelled the property bubble and bust, and is asking a fair price for her property.

Op I hope you get some nice decent tenants.

You cant charge more than the market rate. Then your property would be empty. So the OP is doing the tenant a favour by giving them below market rate. If he was to charge full market rate, he is not screwing anybody, he is charging what the market dictates he can charge.

We know he is charging below market rate because 50+ people is a tell tale sign. If you were selling your car and you are going to two garages beside each other. The first dealer has 50 buyers waiting for you for the car at €5000, come in and take your choice of the 50. The guy beside him says he has 10 buyers for the car at €6000 - which one do you sell your car in.

If a carpenter is working 80 hours a week at €15 an hour. He is knackered all the time but making €1200 a week. Should he keep at it.
So then he decides to charge €30 an hour and loses half his work. Now he is working 40 hours a week for €1200. Has he done anything wrong?
No. he has found a market rate, where he still has enough customers to make a living.

bumper234

dinnyirwin wrote: »

Im going to be totally frank here and tell you how to run your business like a business that is there to make a profit.
You may or may not want to make market rate. It all depends if you are feeling like helping people out and renting your house to them for less than market rate or whether you are in it to make money. but i'll lay it out anyway.

So, Sit back and read all the greedy landlord posts to come, but while you are reading them ask are you running a business to make a profit or are you running a charity. You need to find your market rate, and 50 people interested should tell you that you are not up to your market rate yet.

A businessman will tell you if you need one buyer and have 50 people interested in any product/service then its too cheap.

Re-advertise it, add an extra couple of hundred euro. Keep doing it until you have only about 10 people interested. This will happen quickly as you increase the asking price to near what the value is. When you have only 10 people interested at your price point then organize viewings with them.

Have them all view the property at the same time (no point wasting anymore of your time than you need) and make sure you have told them beforehand the rent and the deposit amount and to have it with them, along with references from their last TWO landlords. And make sure its the last two. If they are not the last two then that should ring alarm bells. They are obviously hiding the last two. Collect the references and tell them if selected they can meet you next day with deposits and rent. At least they will all have them handy at the viewing stage so that shouldnt cause delays after.

Then make sure to check references (you'll have to suss out if you are talking to a real landlord or their mate), in particular ask has their rent always been on time and specifically ask has that person paid their rent right up to the end or did they try to use their deposit as last months rent. If they did, then ditch them. Ask their previous landlords would they class them as dream or annoying tenants. Choose the ones you want and let them know. They might have got somewhere in the meantime so you might still have to go to your second or third choice, but unlikely these days.

What a load of tosh.


What if they are 1st time renters or have only lived in one place before? It's people like you who give LL's a bad name.

dinnyirwin

bumper234 wrote: »

What a load of tosh.


What if they are 1st time renters or have only lived in one place before? It's people like you who give LL's a bad name.

Well what would you do if you had more than one person standing in front of you looking to rent your house? Would you give it to the one standing in front of you who has a proven, verifiable track record that they have spent time acquiring, or the one who has no track record, but a good story?

The reason you ask for references from the last TWO landlords is that some landlords will write a reference that would canonize someone, just to get them to move out (see all the advice from landlords to just let problem tenants go, rather than risk them staying on and not paying their way while you go the legal route). But if you talk to them AFTER they have got that problem tenant off their hands, then they will tell you everything you need to know, without fear that that person wont move out now.

Also sometimes issues only come up AFTER a tenant has moved out. The last landlord wont be aware of these issues yet. The second last landlord probably would.