The Waiting Game

Tick.
Tock.
TiCk.
tOcK.

With my upper unit on the market, all I can do is WAIT for tenant leads to filter in and hopefully get someone properly qualified to sign a lease.

Literally, there's nothing else you can do at this point except be patient, track leads coming in, and evaluate pricing if it takes too long to get a renter.

Also, I took a trip out to Indy earlier this month to check out the property, meet with my team, scout neighborhoods, and experience the market first-hand. I've said this multiple times, but I HIGHLY recommend taking a trip out to your market. Understanding your market, the neighborhoods, and meeting your connections face-to-face is invaluable. Plus, you can write it off :)

By buddy Nick (who is very interested in Indianapolis) flew out to Indy to hang with me and check out the city too. It was quite the adventure, man. We took separate flights on a Friday night (I came from the San Francisco, he came from LA), and landed in Indianapolis around 5:00am (Eastern time). Which means...it felt like 2:00am my time. FUN. TIMES.

Here's a few pictures from our trip:

​But, back to the investment...the unit sat on the market for WEEKS, so we decided it was time to lower rent. When you're not getting any traction on your unit, it's a clear sign that rent is too high.

So, I dropped the price from $900 to $875.

​And.....leads started picking up again. And guess what? We got a couple applications too!

On September 28th....

FINALLY.

​I got some great news. Email from my property manager:

"Tenant is approved and moving in next week.  Have a great weekend."
 
YES! Music to my ears! I've got an approved and signed 12-month lease at $875. Which is actually $25 more than I was expecting when running my initial numbers at $850. SCORE!

OK, now it's time to call my utility companies, take my name off the account for now, and have my property manager instruct the new tenant to place utilities in their name.

WOW. I made it through. Acquisition, renovation, marketing, tenant placement. It's not always a quick process, but you've got to push through and commit. Now, I have another cash-flowing property up and running.

Let's get that passive income flowing!

Takeaways

• Getting your unit rented after renovations is a waiting game. Sometimes, I'll admit, it's very hard to be patient. But you must realize, there's not much you can do.
• If your unit is sitting on the market for an extended period of time, it's most likely due to demand and price. Evaluate the price and gauge if it's worth it to lower the rent.
• An occupied unit is better than a vacant unit, even if it's demanding less less rent. You definitely want your tenant paying your mortgage, NOT YOU.
• I highly recommend visiting your market. I know...I say this all the time. But, it's TRUE.
• While your unit is vacant, the landlord must pay for utilities. Once it finally gets rented, your property manager must coordinate the tenant's move-in day so you can take your name off the utilities.

​
-Tyler

Next Post: Cash Flow Baby!