Has any DG members already done an "Open House" for a rental unit?

If by "open house" you mean set up a time for multiple prospective tenants, I prefer doing that! I read about it in Dean's material and thought "what a great idea!"

We live 30 min. from our rentals, and running in every time someone wants to look at the place is not an option. When we get a few calls for an empty (or soon to be empty) unit, we set up a time when we are going to be nearby anyways.

For instance, let's say my wife and I are going into town to go shopping in the afternoon Tuesday. Peter calls me on the previous Thursday, wanting to see the place.

I "prequalify" Peter a little (according to Dean's ideas for a pre-recorded message) while talking to him on the phone. I make sure Peter knows there's no smoking or parties and I charge $50/mo for a well-behaved pet, I need first mo's rent and deposit, etc. I also ask him why he's moving. That can tell me a lot. If I am interested in showing Peter the place, I'll ask him if he can meet me Tues. afternoon. If he can't, I'll tell him I'll "keep in touch." Otherwise, if he can meet me, I'll try to set up a time on Tuesday afternoon while I'm in town. Let's say 3:30 works for Peter. Appointment set.

Paul calls on Friday. I prequalify Paul. I tell Paul I am showing the place on Tuesday at 3:30. Can he make it? How about 3:00 or 4:00 (before or after Peter)? He says he can get off work early to be there by 4.

Mary calls on Tuesday morning and wants to see the place that morning. I prequalify Mary, but don't want to reschedule my whole day. I'm having an open house from 3:30-4:30. Can she make it then? Or at 3:00? If not, we'll "keep in touch."

During all of this, I am in communication with my wife. If she really likes what I have to say about Mary, we'll make an exception. If we have to leave town by 4:30 on Tuesday, I'll take no appointments later than 4:00.

I need to keep in mind that I need to get to the rental a little before the first appointment (especially if it is occupied) to make sure it is clean and ready inside and out. Also, if there are current tenants, they need to understand that I have the right to show the place. I communicate with them as much as possible. I am sure to warn them about any showings as soon as I can.

Before the open house, I make sure to have lots of copies of rental applications and rental contracts. I obviously only sign one contract, but let the prospects review my contract that day.

I love showing the place to groups of people. I am always using assumptive language i.e. "when you move in," and "as long as we keep getting along," etc. Some of the pros are that everybody fills out everything immediately because of "competition." People don't question the application fee because they want to "one-up" the other prospects. Any current tenants respect me because of the innovative ideas I am using. I am in control.

I don't start tours over if someone shows up late. That could be a con. If people show up early, I wait until the start time if I am expecting other people. Before and after my tours are good visiting times, Q&A times, application paperwork, etc. I allow self-guided tours at those times.

I haven't found any cons yet. Anyone else?

Andrew

Sounds like a good idea. I hold open houses on my listings, and often get people looking for a rental. Every visitor who comes to my open house is a potential client. I get as much information as I can, and follow up with them as soon as I can. Open houses are great for building a buyers (renters) list.

Good Luck, Al

Thank you for taking the time to share this information as well as the level of detail you shared. It is great that other DG Members take the time to share what works and what they view as their best practice for an aspect of the business. I appreciate your information and will put it to good use. Good luck on all your deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Thanks so much for your comments and insight. It is very true that every potential attendee to an "open house" for a rental could be a future buyer or rental client. This is a great approach and I did not look at it that way before. Thanks for sharing your information and good luck on all your deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

I would list an open house in the paper or online.

I was just reading about the openhouse info and just wanted 2 say that info also helps me out alot because im in the process of holding a openhouse for a rental,thanks for the tips.

Thanks for your input on listing a rental open house. Good luck on all your deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Thanks for the comments. I am in the process of getting an open house ready for one of my recent deals. I want to post it online with photos. This mat attract people to attend. I will let you knowwhat else we come up with. Belieev and Achieve! - Joe

Along with these good ideas, can be staging a property; my wife loves doing this and we have a barn stall converted to a storage area just to house the home items we use; fortunately, we've been getting renters or buyers quickly and as of yet haven't done a full blown open house staged with furniture, lamps, beds, etc. music.
I REALLY like the idea of having 'an appointed" time to have everyone show up and even do bids on a rental. . . anybody done this. . .? On our last home, we had so much interest we considered a bidding war but landed a splendid renter after interviewing at much time and expense many prospects.

Hi Joe,
One other thing can be added when showing the space. Is a sign in sheet. You can even ask questions on it like how soon are they looking to move. Their address so they can be informed of your next great offer or maybe use them as future buyer's. Muc success to you...........Lubertha

Thanks for the reply and your additional idesa about staging. This appears to be a good option to have potential renters visualize the property. I have heard several discuss whether they can fit an xl couch in a living room or a king size bed in a bedroom. Thus, the staging fgives them a little more to visualize.

In regards to the multiple people, I did see that when 2 potential tenants arrived at the same time it created more of an urgency to apply for the rental. Thus, this may be a good idea for scheduling future appointments at the same time. Good luck on your rentals and real estate deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

Thanks for the rpely and additional idea of a sign in sheet. This is a great idea and I can get feedback etc. Thanks for sharing it with me! Continued success and good luck on those deals. Believe and Achieve! - Joe

He I am having trouble with renting my property, it is located in az. I was thinking of doing an open house before but thought it was just for selling. I have a small question. Do you need all the utilities on, and do you need to have it staged?

Any ideas would help...

I have done a couple of open house, On the two I did they were lease to own. I did use a sine in sheet and just for the the fun of it I bid out the down payment. I couldn't believe the results I got. I didn't even put a add in the paper or on Craig's list. I just used my little old hand written yard signs like in my video. They were both from 12 to 4 I only put out 12 signs the same day. both homes were gone and got a great buyers list at the same time.

Randy

The first thing I would do is try to determine the vacancy rate for your neighborhood. If there are many houses for rent close to you then you know you have to beat the competition. First the house needs to be squeeky clean - no dirt, no dust, floors sparkling, woodwork clean, walls freshly painted. All visable repairs done. Yes, the utilities need to be on. The tenant needs light to see how wonderful your house really is. Furniture isn't really necesary but good smells are. Try baking a pan of cookies in the oven on the morning of the open house (the oven needs to be squeeky clean too). Make sure the yard is clipped, trimmed and raked clean. Spruce up the front yard and walk with flowers and potted plants. These don't need to stay once a tenant moves in but they are necessary for attracting drive bys. Determine who your desired tenants are and where they tend to hang out. place flyers with a photo of the property at these locations. Place a classified ad in the local paper for three days before the open house to advertise the date and time. This will give you a free online classified ad too. Any one who responds to any of your ads should be directed to 'come see this wonderful house' at the open house. The morning of the event place signs advertising the open house in the front yard and arrow bandits at the street corners and main streets that lead to the property. Plan to be there all day. Have booties or shoe covers to keep the carpets clean or insist they remove their shoes if the house is largely carpeted. Have all paperwork available on the counter. I tend not to pre screen renters on the phone as that discourages them from comming to look. You can screen very effectively by talking with people as they are looking at the house. I have heard others mention a sign-up sheet and that sounds like such a good idea that I am using it at my next one. Hopefully, you will have gotten many calls on your ads, but in a really tough market, you may have to offer teasers like 'ONE MONTH RENT FREE' or 'REDUCED RENT FOR THREE MONTHS'. Any of these teasers cost less than an empty house. Don't forget to make contact with realtors in your area. People in transition still need someplace to live. Good Luck !!

You know an idea I just had while reading this post was if you have a prospective tenant coming by to view the property and you don't have any other parties currently interested in seeing the rental on the same day you could always have your freinds or family act as other interested couples or tenants and use them to spark the competitive nature in the viewing party. Another good thing about having friends and family listen to your pitch and view your rental is that they can help give you constructive criticism on your property and what you can improve on.

Just my thoughts,
Matthew

I love the advice in this older post! It's still relevant today!