Many of our investors are curious as to how we move properties and this page explains the methods to our madness. We are constantly improving our process and Clinton Lewis is our marketing supervisor. This is all Clinton does. He eats, sleeps and breathes methods for attracting tenants.
Competitors
About 30% of our tenants are found by our competitors. We have open relationships with other brokerages and they have access to you and your property. Why? We feel that it’s more important for you to get a tenant than it is for us to squeak out another 30%. Our competitors are advertising your property along the same lines that we are. Be advised: We don’t tell our competitors what to do or how to negotiate or make contracts. We will be happy to offer “neutral advice” on a deal but we do our best to stay out of the way.
Craigslist
The majority of our lease-option advertising is done on Craigslist as we find it very effective. Unfortunately, the competition for “shelf space” has gotten really fierce as more property managers have entered the market. We are averaging 150 ads a day but there are close to 2000 ads per day being posted and we get attacked (aka flagged) about every other day from unknown enemies. To stay ahead of our competition, our ads and posting strategies change on a weekly basis.
Facebook
Our agents and competitors use this medium to share information about properties that are available.
Ebay
We are getting some results in this arena and could possibly get more attention once we prove this is effective.
Signs
Local signs are obviously an effective method for attracting attention. We go a step further and put “QR” codes on them for those who want see more information about the property.
Google
Even though we don’t pay for clicks, we are on page one of “las vegas rent to own.”
Youtube
We have people who just stalk our youtube postings.
Weekly Broadcasts
– 3500 Prospects. Every time someone stumbles on our site there is an opportunity for them to add themselves to our distribution list. We collect about 15 leads per day. We then “drip” on them until they either opt out or go MIA. Every broadcast generates over 400 hits.
– Sundays. Our broadcast generally begins at 8am and takes about 14 hours to finish. We manage our own leads and tweak the content all the time. TIP: The best time to modify pricing on your rental property is on a Friday.
– Properties Broadcast
New – Properties that just went into escrow or properties with tenants leaving.
Reduced – Properties which have their financial incentives improved. Here are the 3 incentives:
– Option Fee – The lower the option fee, the faster it will move. HOWEVER, if you make this too low, you will get a less quality tenant.
– Monthly – The lower the monthly rent, the faster your property will move.
– Rent Credit – By increasing your rent credit, you will get more interest without impacting your bottom line. Since less than 10% of your tenants will exercise their option to purchase, we recommend increasing your rent credit first and foremost.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
How can I get a feel for how much interest there is in my property?
Unfortunately, there are so many competitors and agents that visit properties, there is no way of tracking visits or interest. The only accurate solution is to put an electronic box on the property. The downside to this is that electronic boxes will eliminate half your prospects as not all of our competitors have electronic keys.
You Tube – The amount of views on your video will give an indication of interest. You can measure progress yourself. Here are some rules of thumb: It take 30 views to get someone to visit. It takes about 4 visits before you get an offer. At about 130 views, you will get some phone calls.
Phone Calls – If you get a phone call once a week with an offer, your property is priced perfectly. Remember, our competitors have your phone number and we don’t monitor their activity with you.
Can you put my property on the MLS?
Yes. We have discovered over the last several years that the only way to attract agents “outside of our network” is to throw money at them. If you want to compensate someone “outside of our network” you will need to throw between $500 – $1500 at them to bring you a buyer. What this really means is that you will probably not get any of the option fee. If you are willing not to make any money on the option fee, please tell us and we will post your property on the MLS.
Can I do my own advertising?
Yes. Knock yourself out. If you find a prospect, we will offer you 50% off our compensation. We are currently experimenting with offering investors “free code” to use on Craiglist. Stay tuned.
Will my property move faster if I switch horses and go to straight renting?
No. It is true that there are more renter prospects than lease-option prospects. However, there are also many more properties available for a straight rental. Once your property is available for straight rent, it will be lost in the great ocean of rental properties and will take just as long to move if not longer. If your property isn’t moving now, it’s because it’s not priced right. PERIOD.
What is the downside to a straight rental?
Income. Not only will you make 20% to 30% less per month, but now you are on the hook for repairs. Generally speaking your income drops about 30% once you factor in rehab, maintenance and income reduction.
What can I do to make my property move faster?
Answer your phone. Every month we lose a deal because an investor was MIA. We recommend that you take vacations and live a normal life. HOWEVER, if you decide to go to Argentina for a month, we recommend you tell us so we can make arrangements to keep in touch.
Don’t take the key. Even if you are going down the street to get a Home Depot widget, put the key back in the lock box! Every month, some idiot takes the key and loses a deal because a prospect showed up and couldn’t see the property.
Adjust price. You need to do this every single Friday. Every week. Once a week. Just do it. Holding out 4 months to pinch $50 more out of your property doesn’t make financial sense. Adjusting price is your responsibility. You can either login and adjust it yourself OR text/email/call with new numbers.
– Option Fee: The lower the option fee, the faster it will move. HOWEVER, if you make this too low, you will get a less quality tenant AND other agents won’t show it because their commission is too low.
– Monthly: The lower the monthly rent, the faster your property will move.
– Rent Credit: By increasing your rent credit, you will get more interest without impacting your bottom line. Since less than 10% of your tenants will exercise their option, we recommend increasing your rent credit first and foremost.
TIP: Adjust your price on Friday as many prospects go shopping Saturday AND our broadcast goes out on Sundays.