As a self-managing landlord, efficiency is key for me. The most time consuming part of finding a tenant is setting up showings for each property. After being stood up one too many times, especially after driving all the way out to my properties or asking my tenants to show the house, I decided that I had to create a method to make my local showings and long distance less work.
While my tenant would show my long distance houses, the last thing you want to do is wear out your welcome. While there was no driving involved, it was too annoying for my tenants because my gracious tenants would alter their day only to have someone not show up. Over time, I found a great solution that would solve my problems both locally and for my long distance tenants.
A Showings Solution
A few days out, I would pick a specific day and scheduled all of my showings every 15 minutes on the same day. Use these tips to efficiently set up your showings.
1. Eliminate Multiple Days – I schedule showings all on the same day, eliminating the need for repeated showings on various days and cutting out the number of days I show the property.
2. Eliminate Impact of No Shows – Since I have showings every 15 minutes it has eliminated the negative impact of a no show since I have more showings before and after anyway.
3. Create a Sense of Urgency – Since people see other interested applicants, it creates a sense of urgency to put an application down on the home before the others take the house. It also creates a sense of desire on your property.
4. Keep Showings Short – Since there is a time frame, it encourages people to take their time while still putting a sense of urgency. I find that this doesn’t prevent anyone from getting enough time to look, it simply eliminates idle chit chat.
Of course, with anything there are always a few negatives. The only negative to this showings solution is having multiple people at the same time. If anyone is late or takes too long you could have multiple people at the same time. This is can be unfortunate if you are able to talk to them and focus on the desires.
Overall, this has been such a blessing. I implement it with both my local and out-of-state rentals.
Do you have any tricks or suggestions? How do you schedule your showings?
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Do you pay your tenant to show the house? Does the tenant have any incentive to clean up the house and make it look good?
I typically do not pay my tenants. I did give a $100 donation once to tenants cause, as a thanks. As a rule none of them have ever had an issue showing the house to the next tenants as previous shown it to them. My cliental has all been professionals and has had the house in showable condition. My houses are in great locations and tend to rent due to location, school districts and price.