BY MINAS STYPONIAS
Fall marks a time when everyone enjoys the changes in the surrounding foliage — everyone except homeowners with pending apartment vacancies. For them, fall and winter is a time when rental inventory builds and rental prospects thin out. Even the most luxurious of apartments loses the ability to attract a substantial amount of interest from the constantly diminishing renter base during the months of November, December, January, February and March.
But what option does an owner have? What can be done to combat this dip in interest and prospects? Their first step is to get involved with a real estate professional, who not only knows the immediate area but is also familiar with the ever-changing seasons and how they affect prospective renters. Their selection should be someone who knows how to market their property so that they combat these changes effectively and prevent their property from sitting unnecessarily during these slower months.
My normal strategy in the fall and winter months is to encourage landlords to accept a monthly rent at a lower rate than their current asking price so that they increase their opportunities among the diminished renter pool, and also limit their financial loss over the course of the year.
For example, if a landlord has a property that is marketed at $2,400 per month on Nov. 1, their apartment is limited to an ever-diminishing pool of individuals willing to pay high market prices during a slower market. If their apartment does not rent as of Dec. 1, this landlord has effectively lost $2,400 in yearly net rental income. Should that apartment now suffer another month or two of vacancy they will continue to lose the entire $2,400 per month for every month it remains vacant.
If a similar landlord with an identical apartment markets their apartment for $2,200 per month on Nov. 1, their apartment will show up in a larger array of searches, and they will have an increased customer pool based on the lower amounts renters are willing to pay in a down market. If their apartment is rented for occupancy on Dec. 1, their net effective loss by marketing their property for $200 less in rent is $2,400 for the year. Their willingness to adapt to the slower market demand has permitted them to minimize their loss on their annual net rental income and prevented them from having an apartment sit for a longer period of time.
Landlords can also adjust their vacancy period during these slower months by offering their units for short-term leases of 3, 6 or 9 months, so that at the point of renewal their apartment will now be vacated during a much more lively and competitive marketplace. This also affords them the opportunity to renew with that tenant at a rate more in tune with what their apartment should normally be comparable to.
Minas Styponias is a licensed real estate broker for BuySell Real Estate in Astoria, where he was born and raised. He has had a career as a luxury rental property manager in New Jersey and Manhattan. Styponias speaks English, and is conversational in Greek and Spanish.
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