How early is too early to advertise for rent?

Discussion in 'Property Management' started by fuudrizzle, 27th Mar, 2018.

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  1. fuudrizzle

    fuudrizzle Active Member

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    Lease ends late April next month and my property manager advises to not advertise now but early next month as they have found that it may get stale and that most people are looking for property that are available within a 2 week period.

    Just curious on people's experience and thoughts.

    Thanks :)
     
  2. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    I agree with your agent. I'd start at the most three weeks out from available date.
     
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  3. Trainee

    Trainee Well-Known Member

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    Only people who need to move asap would look during easter. And your place isnt available yet.
     
  4. Anthony Brew

    Anthony Brew Well-Known Member

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    While a listing can get stale if you list for a month or more, 2 weeks is too short. I would push the agent on this.

    Points you may not have realised:

    1. When a tenant signs, they usually will not move in that same day, they don't carry their stuff around with them hoping to find a house that day to sleep in. You want someone signed 1 week before or say good bye to a weeks rent.
    2. You also want 1 more week to advertise on the higher end of the range of your rental estimate so that if no one bites you have time to reduce it.

    That is already 2 weeks gone. So I would say 3-3.5 weeks out from lease end date which gives you 1 week at the higher end of the comparable, 1-1.5 weeks after dropping it to get someone to sign 1 week before and then move in after that week that they would already have waited anyway.

    Don't rely on advice from property managers. Calculate 3-3.5 weeks out and tell them to have an ad up on that date. It is your money on the line and nobody cares if you have a longer vacancy. The PM still gets their letting fee regardless so if you don't like having your money go up in smoke, take control and be assertive.
     
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  5. D.T.

    D.T. Specialist Property Manager Business Member

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    Probably depends on market conditions and location. I've found 2 weeks out to be optimal for us as goes stale if longer than that. Price it correctly to start with and minimize turnaround time.
     
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  6. Jamie Moore

    Jamie Moore MORTGAGE BROKER - AUSTRALIA WIDE Business Member

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    Has the agent done a good job in the past? If so - I’d trust their judgement.

    Cheers

    Jamie
     
  7. Tom Rivera

    Tom Rivera Property Manager Business Member

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    Rule of thumb for us is four weeks, assuming the outgoing tenants are cooperative. The first two weeks is your most intense period of interest, the next two weeks are slower and after you pass a month you get stale fast.

    I find my outgoing tenants appreciate this because we've usually found a replacement tenant before they need to get stuck into their packing and moving, plus it's extra reassurance for you and I as client and Property Manager. It also attracts the forward thinking organised tenants who aren't trying to move at the last minute.

    If the tenants are iffy on their cooperation, you may shorten the time to avoid going stale when you can't get timely viewings and if the property is particuarly odd or difficult, you might want to consider advertising up to six weeks out.
     
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  8. SuzyG

    SuzyG Well-Known Member

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    I would personally weigh up your risks...
    - advertise too early and risk the listing going stale
    - advertise too late and risk a period of vacancy.

    Personally I would choose to take the risk of the listing going stale over advertising late and having lost rent.

    From a tenant perspective having rented lots of houses, if I knew I was moving houses, I would usually be looking seriously 3 weeks out from our vacate date so I knew I had a house secured.

    To mitigate the lost of having a listing going stale, perhaps you PM could list the property with a few photos and advertise it as an 'early release'. It could then be updated perhaps 2 weeks prior to the vacate date with additional photos and updated marketing.
     
  9. Jennifer Burns

    Jennifer Burns Member

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    It completely depends on the market. My IP in Brisbane the agent suggested 4 weeks as their average application to move-in was 3 weeks and we needed a week to test pricing/enquiry levels.

    We only had a week vacancy whereas there were plenty of other empty units in the same area...

    My son's IP in Canberra where it is very tight for tenants was advertised 2 weeks out and filled immediately.

    Completely agree with Jamie
     
  10. Xenia

    Xenia Well-Known Member

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    I don’t agree
    Tenants in there right now paying rent, make use of that time with regular open inspections. I would have it on the market now with weekly or biweekly opens
     
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  11. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    I agree, 07:00 is too early for a rental OFI.

    Sweet spot is usually 2-3 weeks out as tenant's on holdover have to provide 3 wks notice (NSW) and are more flexible if already given notice by current LL/PM (60 days or 1 month for end of lease).
     
  12. Lil Skater

    Lil Skater Well-Known Member

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    I generally aim for about 3 weeks out, but if tenant pushes I can only do the last 14 days (stated in the Victorian RTA). Most people in Victoria tend to move within about 2-3 weeks as they need to give 28 days notice here, the first week or two on market is always the busiest - so it tends to line up reasonably well.
     
  13. JacM

    JacM VIC Buyer's Agent - Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat Business Member

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    As the PMs above have indicated, it largely depends on the market you're in. Your PM will have a strong understanding of optimal timing so that your ad does not go stale. In some areas you might need to cracking because it'll take 4 weeks. In others you open the door to prospective tenants once and it's leased. Perhaps in the interim your agent could work hard behind the scenes to try and lease it off-market. Often they have tenants on their books wanting to move out of one place and into another and can lease the property without advertising.