Sometimes you gotta be different. One of the tricks of the rental trade is showing up as different, better than other options.
In rural communities where I’ve invested there are limited multi-family rentals. There are also limited elevator services. So when a tenant moved out of an apartment and dragged a chest into the elevator, snapping off a leg that fell through the space between the elevator door and the shaft below, stalling the elevator, we changed courses. It was $2400 to get the elevator repair company to drive the hundreds of miles to fix it.
It was then that our GM recommended that we furnish all of our apartments, nixing unfurnished.
We also posted permanent signage that states: Passengers Only, No Freight Allowed.
Moreover it was about learning who our best candidate as a renter is: Professionals brought to these rural parts of the country for engineering work or to work at the local hospital. We’ve found that we’ve got a waiting list for tenants who don’t want to have to move furniture or buy an entire apartment full of furniture for their 1 – 2 years on a job.
In the end, it makes our option more desirable than others, particularly because we offer modern high-styled furniture.
We’ve carried this practice out over multiple states and it’s been key to our rental success. Sure, some furniture gets damaged over time, and these small towns don’t have local furniture shops. With Amazon, UPS and FedEx, we have no trouble getting deliveries.
Get online and take a look at what’s available. It’ll surprise you…in a good way.
