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

For sale is this very well cared for income property in North Central Phoenix.  It has a total of 4 units, each with 2 huge bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms and laundry facilities in each unit.  It’s a turn key operation with little in deferred maintenance and ready to go: fully rented.

Location

The Phoenix fourplex is located in North Central Phoenix and specifically the eastern end of Sunnyslope near the Phoenix Mountains.  Close to major travel routs, a bus line and near the I-51 freeway.   Residents have quick access to lots of shopping, a hospital, some of the better schools in the valley, hiking and plenty of employers.

Features

Each unit has 2 large bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms (by full I mean with with a tub)

There are 3 walk in closest.

Mostly hard surface flooring, that means durability and cleanliness and foremost low turn over cost.

Newer roof installed in late 2009.

Plenty of parking: both off street (6-7 spaces) and on street (3-4 cars).

Numbers

Price: $170,000

Income:

Rent: $2,200 per month.  Market is $2,400

Expenses:

Water:  $220.00 per month

Trash: $80.00 per month

Taxes: $2,411.00 annual

Maintenance: $1,200 annual

Insurance: $740 annual

Get in touch.

Call Artur at 602.628.4349

artur@inphoenix.com

Over the last year there have been quite a few changes in the small multifamily market.  It’s also interesting that the bottom, seemingly, per unit was hit around the same time as the single family home market: April/May 2009.

While the average price per unit gone up much, it does look as if the price is fairly steady and maybe trending up, up ever so slowly and that’s good for now.

The average price is now around $24,000 per unit and it’s been hovering from $22,000 to $27,000 over the past 6 months.

What’s really changed are the total number of units being sold.  The small multifamily market also follows the seasonal trends of single family homes, that’s why you see the summer high.  Look at the number of units sold for the same period in 2010 to 2009 an notice the very huge difference.

An now with 96 pending properties and 87 in AWC mode the forecast for sales looks very strong in deed and we may even get an up tick in the average price per unit with such a low inventory of active properties compared to the demand.  As of May 12th there were 272 3-4 unit properties active with 62 of those short sales and 31 lender owned.

All the good stuff is going fairly fast and much of what’s for sale is the same stuff that was on the market half a year ago and even a year ago, so not really part of the game.

With the current sales pace there is only a 4.5 month supply of properties and if you remove the over-priced stuff it’s more like 3-3.5 months of supply pegging it squarely in the sellers market.  A seller’s market indeed, but as you know investors are fairly savvy and in this market every one is looking for a deal so sellers can’t really push up the price.

In order to get the better properties, investors are advised to have cash if possible and act quickly.  Don’t expect much more inventory, distressed inventory that is, to show up on the market anytime soon.  We’ll have a steady trickle but no major floods.

If you would like to discuss this in more detail please call me, Artur at 602.628.4349

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.

(Graph by: PhoenixMarketTrends)

We’re currently revamping Arizona Apartment Investor into a new design, actually it’s been in the works for a while: until it’s completed shortly some updates will be located at PhoenixMarketTrends.com, like the most current look at the triplex and fourplex market in Greater Phoenix.  I chose only triplexes and fourplexes because I happen to like this size, it’s easy to buy and sell: it can be done so via a residential loan like FHA, VA or conventional, these are purchased by investors and owner occupant/investors and they are a good gauge of the small multifamily market.

Please continue reading here.

The Phoenix real estate market seems, to many, to be a bargain basement store where the owners of the store have no sense or are giving things away.  It’s not.  And, that is what cover in the article, 15% Return Cash on Cash On Phoenix Real Estate.  High returns are possible, but not with little or no input from the investors.  It is as it always was, the more astute investors get the better deals, which most educators don’t teach you.

The article, The Greater Phoenix Population Is Moving, Most Of It Down The Street, To The Home Next Door. covers how the population of Greater Phoenix is moving but simple within the same neighborhood from one house which is being sold short or going into foreclosure to another often one purchased by an investor.

There has always been some interest from people who want to combine the need for shelter and investment with purchasing a fourplex.  In the article, Where Are The Triplexes and Fourplexes More Suitable For Owner Occupants in Phoenix, I gripe a little bit and explain whey the choices for owner occupants are so limited.

Some investment related articles we did at PhoenixMarketTrends.com

• Case Study: A Central Phoenix Condo From Lender Owned To Long Term Investment:

This is a case study of a condo purchased by an out of town investor.  It was a lender owned property taken from a plain dirty place to a wonderful inviting home.

• How To Search For Income Multifamily Properties, Duplex, Triplex, Fourplex, In Greater Phoenix.

There are several ways to search for multifamily properties, here and at Phoenix Market Trends and we review them here.

• Being An Active Investor Is The Way To Passive Income

I like this post because I believe you have to be responsible for you own assets and that includes real estate, though your involvement may be limited, but it needs to be there.

• Real Estate Investment Strategies: Opportunities For High Long Term Returns With Multifamily

Multifamily is now in a many year low.  You can find properties priced at the same levels at the 1980’s.  That’s just extraordinary and there is a clear reason for it.  Just the same, there are very good reasons why well purchased multifamily properties will do well in the future, maybe even the near future.

While this weblog is particulary focused on multifamily and our partner weblog is mostly residential we publish general investment articles that are not specific to multifamily there.

Some of the latest articles include.

1. Investment Strategies:  Don’t wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait!.

Time is on the side of real estate investors, but only if they have real estate in the portfolio.

2. The location and investment return expectations.

You can’t change the location so pick it carefully. Your investment performance and source of the return will depend on it.

3. Making a move into real estate investing.

It’s not a plunge but a step by step walk.