Some rentals rent quickly and others linger on the market and often very little separates the two. When the right principals are applied you can have a home leased in much less then the average time and if you miss a few details you can have a home empty for longer then necessary. Below are a few basic principals.

1. If the home is not clean and I mean sparkling clean even in the nooks and crannies, the grout, the paint, the floor and even the filters, then you’ll loose a lot of potential tenants. This is one of the top complaints we hear from potential tenants about other homes they’ve seen. Often you won’t even know that’s the problem. They will either tell you “it’s nice and I’ll get back to you” or simply say no and disappear.
2. Calling back and or returning emails is on par with no. 1 and amongst the silliest of ways to lose potential tenants. Just as often as we hear about cleanliness, we hear about the other guys not returning calls. What’s the purpose of placing ads and putting up signs if the caller will not be even called back. You can wait a day or two because by then they will usually forget which property or they may have already found something. Same day works best if you can get back within an hour or two, but 4+ hours and your losing them.
3. Photos of the property will only look good if the property is clean and prepped. Don’t skimp on photos. If you don’t have an appropriate camera, hire one or hire a photographer. Photos are a key draw and if you have a nice property that’s not well photographed you’ll easily get dismissed by looking tenants, and are looking online: more so for homes then apartments.Consider that a professional photographer that will provide you with some 30 photos will cost about $150 and bad photos may prevent your place from leasing for some additional time, the cost quickly becomes a mute point: if your rent is $1,000 a month, just leasing a weak earlier because of good photos will be very much worth it and you’ll have the photos for the future as well.
4. Marketing a home online is vital. Skip the papers. Take the time and spend some money to place the ads in some of the most looked a places, including some that are free like craigslist or some paid like rentals.com for about $40 per month. Also consider PropertyNut.com - a one month ad there is about $10 and they will distribute your ad with photos to lost of sites, including automatic periodic placement in Craigslist.
5. Be flexible with showing times. Lot of potential tenants work a lot. That seems to be the way of live in American. This harsh work life prevents many tenants from having lots of time to look for properties. If you can, accommodate them.
6. Be flexible with credit. The recent market downturn has been bad for a lot of people, but they are not bad people. Yeah, you have to be aware of the complete losers who simply have no respect for credit, but quite a few people had a foreclosure or short sale. Can they now afford the rent, do they have a job, how is the other credit. Don’t go by the credit score as you’ll lose out on some of your best tenants. Consider more then the numbers.
7. Provide evidence or assurance that you’re a good landlord. Lots of tenants move because their current landlord fails to live up to their responsibility. If you can provide evidence and assurance that things get fixed and taken care of, that will go a long way at getting your place leased. Remember this is a business and tenants are your customers.

Consider that tenants are providing so many benefits to you: paying your mortgage and paying down your principal, keeping your property occupied and secure, then it would be prudent to treat them with respect for mutual benefit: it’s worth the extra effort, even though, I know, it’s easy to sometimes skimp on a few things.

Even if you are not the landlord manager, but you have a management company, check on them. Is the management company doing things right. From my experience they fail on many levels so vet carefully.

This is a post originally published at PhoenixMarketTrends.com

There are a lot of pressures on rents our there, but little in terms of help for current owners.

It’s simply supply and demand, but also the quality of the supply and the tenants perceptions that govern the rental market.

Drive almost any area in the valley and you’ll see lots of discounts on rents.  While many times those discounts are a rouse to get people calling the perception is still there that deals are abound for the tenant.

And they are.  The combination of increased inventory and also new inventory from owners who got a good deal and can undercut the competition, is driving rental prices down.

If someone purchases a fourplex for $170,000 with renovations it will be much easier to compete for a tenant then for an owners who paid more and has higher obligations. They may still have to in order to get tenants, but it will take them longer the actually bite the bullet and lower rents.

Current tenants and potential tenants know this and are able to take advantage of the situation, but asking for reduced rents, improvements to the properties or a combination of the two: actively looking tenants want low move in cost and as little in additional expenses as possible.

Having a nice apartment, a washer and dryer and especially as a small patio or yard is a definite plus and will help lower vacancy rates.  If you can, add these items and you’ll get a long term benefit.

Be prepared for this to continue for a while.

Leasing is an important part of any real estate investment.  It that an understatement!  It is your business in the rental property sector.  The property is but a vehicle with it’s own benefits, but it is the tenants that provide the income, the cash flow so managing that part of the business, well, is crucial.  The article below covers a very common occurrence.

How To & How Not To Lease Out Your Phoenix Home?

There are many ways to invest in real estate.  One is to simply be a money lender.  While this is not truly real estate investing, it is a way to get a decent return on a secured asset.

Invest in Phoenix Real Estate Indirectly: Be a Money Lender With 8-12% Annual Return

While the reports below cover the single family home market.  It is just as important to follow because these numbers influence every facet of the multifamily sector: rental rates, vacancy, etc.

Read Current Phoenix Housing Reports

In the coming week we’ll update the sales numbers for both December 2009 and January 2010 for the small multifamily sector in Greater Phoenix.