Vacancy Video

Last weekend I recorded a walk through of a rental I am trying to rent in UTC. Up to that point I had shown this place to many great potential renters. The problem was it was "too many" and nobody was pulling the trigger. I could not go on like this. Besides dropping the price to reflect current market conditions, I decided to have a friend of mine video tape me doing a tour of the unit. The idea was to let the folks see first hand what the rental has to offer, from the comfort of their living room. This would then increase my closing ratio on people who actually came ans saw the unit.

The video came out a little grainy but besides that I was quite happy with the outcome. After I posted the video 2 days went by and NO CALLS! I was worried....
Then today I got a call from a gentleman who wanted to see the unit. When I met him he complimented me on the video and said how he wished everyone would do that. I showed him the rental he already had seen on the Internet. He loved it but had one hang up. Was not sure his girlfriend would go with a unit with no AC. I told him the owner was offering a $500 upgrade to the unit, and I'm sure that he could probably do a wall unit for close to that price.

As of now the unit is still vacant, however the first person who came by after viewing the video was very close to signing up. I will get a renter out of the next couple who see it. I will let you know.....

Update on National vacancy rate.....

U.S. apartment rents fell in the fourth quarter from the third as the national vacancy rate climbed to a four-year high of 6.6 percent, according to a report just published by Reis Inc., a New York-based research firm.

The report defies the expectation that apartments would benefit from the housing slump as job losses and lower wages are cutting into the pool of potential renters in their twenties and thirties.

Asking rents fell 0.1 percent from the previous quarter, to $1,052 on average, their first quarter-to-quarter decline in almost six years. Effective rents, what tenants actually paid, fell to an average $996 last quarter, down 0.4 percent from the prior quarter.

Thank goodness the holiday is over

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the holidays. But, it is can't end quick enough for my vacant units. Suprisingly we were able to fill 2 vacancies suring the week of Christmas which was great. Coming to the end of the first week in January, I see pent up demand for rentals. My ususal busy areas (UTC, Encinitas) have picked up, as well as some of my vacancies in Poway and Rancho Bernardo I am getting more traffic. In this cold weather one thing I am trying to do is turn the heater on in the unit an hour before my showings. When you walk into a house and it feels like a cold prison cell, it is hard to picture yourself being happy there. Heat and some nice smelling scents are two easy items you can do to increase your chance of getting your place rented. Happy New Year to everyone! I would love to hear about your experiences with rental property in San Diego.