Pricing Your Apartments


How do you fix a price point for an apartment? Take a guess? Figure it based on your carrying costs? Check comps and do a market analysis? Charge whatever the market will bear? If you're looking to place quality tenants, less is sometimes more.

We all want to make money with income property; the more the better! When you're looking for a new tenant, however, don't assume that you're going to make more money by charging more. If your property is priced high for what you're offering, you won't get a lot of calls, and the ones you do get will be either uneducated about your local rental market, desperate, unscrupulous, or a combination of any of these.

What to do? Perform your due diligence: check the advertisements for similar apartments, make appointments to look at them, talk to real estate agents and others in the business, and get a clear idea of how much others are getting ? not just charging ? for similar rentals. Then, advertise yours to undersell the competition.

Why undersell? It's a basic rule of economics that price is a great way to compete. If you offer a good product for slightly lower, you'll get a lot of calls, which means you'll be able to screen more applicants and get the best possible tenant into the unit. Once you have a quality tenant that likes the place, you're golden ? you can make increases annually that put your unit in line with others. Tenants who don't have slumlords for landlords won't go to the trouble of searching for a cheaper place because of the costs associated with moving. Your first-year discount got the best tenant in the door, and providing quality housing will keep them there.

In conclusion, don't let your greed cloud your judgment when you're trying to find the right tenant.

2005 Terence P Ward, all rights reserved. Terence P Ward is the President of Landlord for Hirehttp://www.landlordforhire.com, a residential property management service of Green and Clean Corporationhttp://www.Green-n-Clean.biz, based in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York State. You may find contact information for him on either of his company's web pages.







Related News



Getting lease for oil drilling is just the start - The Associated Press

KATU

Getting lease for oil drilling is just the start
The Associated Press -Jul 20, 2008
The 68 million acres under lease to oil companies has potential reserves to nearly double US oil production and increase natural gas output by 75 percent, ...
McCain and the Safety of Offshore DrillingWashington Post
· Drilling bans may endDaytona Beach News-Journal
The lowdown on offshore oil reservesSan Francisco Chronicle
Think Progress - Houston Chronicle
all 166 news articles

Sprint Nextel will sell towers for $670M - Bizjournals.com

Sprint Nextel will sell towers for $670M
Bizjournals.com, NC -2 hours ago
Sprint is not disclosing the duration of the leases. “By leasing, rather than owning these network facilities, we can better focus on our core business of ...
Sprint Nextel to sell cell towers for $670MNTV
all 26 news articles

Fitch Ratings Downgrades Lease Investment Flight Trust - MarketWatch

Fitch Ratings Downgrades Lease Investment Flight Trust
MarketWatch -3 hours ago
These and other aircraft types are exposed to potential value and lease rate deterioration stemming from fuel price volatility and the resulting airline ...
Pegasus Aviation Lease Securitization III (PALS III)MarketWatch
Fitch Affirms Triton Aviation FinanceMarketWatch
all 51 news articles

Leasing debate hits western Colorado - Grand Junction Free Press

Leasing debate hits western Colorado
Grand Junction Free Press, Colorado -7 hours ago
“It’s why we’re not operating every single lease that we have, nor operating on every permit to drill that we have.” Duke Cox is the Western Colorado ...


Liberty Property Trust signs two to new leases The Business ... - Bizjournals.com

Liberty Property Trust signs two to new leases The Business ...
Bizjournals.com, NC -5 hours ago
Liberty Property Trust recently signed two new leases at Mendenhall Business Park in High Point. They include: Ricoh Americas Corp. signed a long-term lease...

Highwoods Properties Signs 75000 Square Foot Lease at RBC Plaza - WELT ONLINE

Highwoods Properties Signs 75000 Square Foot Lease at RBC Plaza
WELT ONLINE, Germany -4 hours ago
Williams Mullen will be relocating to RBC Plaza in the third quarter of 2009 from Highwoods Tower I in Raleigh where they currently lease approximately ...
Williams Mullen law firm moving to downtown RaleighNews & Observer
Williams Mullen law firm moving to RBC PlazaBizjournals.com
all 16 news articles

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania - Univest National Bank and ... - MarketWatch

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania - Univest National Bank and ...
MarketWatch -4 hours ago
... Loans and leases, gross 1398269 1357887 1355442 1371374 1380736 Allowance for loan and lease losses 13713 12997 13086 13872 13793 Loans and leases, ...
Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc. Announces Second Quarter ResultsWELT ONLINE
KeyCorp Reports Second Quarter 2008 ResultsPR Newswire (press release)
Pacific Capital Bancorp Reports Second Quarter 2008 Financial ResultsFOXBusiness
MarketWatch - MarketWatch
all 1,000 news articles

The Mint Leasing goes public through reverse merger - Bizjournals.com

The Mint Leasing goes public through reverse merger
Bizjournals.com, NC -7 hours ago
The Mint Leasing is responsible for underwriting criteria and procedures, administration of the leases, and collection of payments from lessees.
The Mint Leasing, Inc. Completes Business Combination With Legacy ...FOXBusiness
all 17 news articles

IOF Portfolio Update - Sydney Morning Herald

IOF Portfolio Update
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia -53 minutes ago
The new leases at 900 Third Avenue represent an average increase of 20% on prior in-place rents. The average lease expiry profile is now 6.1 years, ...

Brandywine Executes 195000 Square Foot Lease With Time Warner ... - CNNMoney.com

Brandywine Executes 195000 Square Foot Lease With Time Warner ...
CNNMoney.com -8 hours ago
Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE: BDN) announced today that it has executed a 10-year lease transaction with Time Warner Cable Inc. for 195000 square feet in ...
TIme Warner inks big Herndon lease with BrandywineBizjournals.com
Home > Fairfax County > Time Warner to lease 195000 square feet in ...Fairfaxtimes.com
all 11 news articles