If You Own Rental Leases: Set the Right Rent for Maximum Profits

As an owner of rental properties, setting the right rent for your rental leases is highly important yet it get can quite tricky as well. Set your rents too low and you can end up losing hundreds, even thousands of dollars over the course of a tenancy. Set your rents too high and you'll have your rental units sitting empty generating zero income.

Setting the right rent requires discipline and the occasional testing. If your properties aren't attracting a swarm of renters, don't panic and slash the price dramatically. To help you speed up this process, this article will reveal some proven tricks of the trade for deciding the right rent for your rental property from the start.

How to Find Out How Much Rent Your Rental Property Can Fetch

One common mistake rental property owners make is pick their local newspaper and look up what other landlords charge for a similar-sized unit and then just use that same rate. While this is helpful in determining a rough figure to start with, don't just copy the rates.

There are many, many factors beyond just the price that determine if people will rent your unit. The size, amenities, location, and condition of the unit all factor into the equation.

First make sure that you are comparing rental properties in the same area. When looking for rental prices in the newspaper classifieds, limit yourself to units available in the same geographic area as your property. After all the same exact unit can rent for $500 in one part of town and $750 in another.

Next select units in your area that are similar in size and features to your own rental leases - air-conditioning, dishwasher, off-street parking, laundry facilities, etc.

If possible choose at least three other rental properties that are similar in size, amenities, location, and appearance to your own. Then average their rental price together. This will give you a much more accurate estimate of how much rent you can charge for your rental leases versus picking one at random from the classifieds.

How to Boost Your Rents and Update Yourself on the Latest News

A carefully planned and well executed advertising campaign can help bring in the best rent for your rental leases. In addition to running classified ads in the local newspaper, you can consider squeezing one into your local real estate guide if the pricing is right. This way you can pack a wide coverage with a minimum budget.

Make use of any referral networks that you can lay your hands on. Advertise with the local businesses. Offer your existing tenants a rent rebate for referring a new tenant to you (who ends up signing a rental lease).

Finally you can consider joining a local landlord association. They have valuable resources where you can learn more on rental rates and access information on your local real estate market.

These organisations can also help you keep up with changes in the rental housing market in your area. Their landlord news can reveal important rent issues such as economic downturns, new job creation, rising or falling population figures, and the number of rental units available or new units under construction.

Teo Zhenjie has been showing landlords how to manage their tenants and rental property effectively on Propertydo Landlord Guides. Visit his website for step-by-step real estate guides, free resources and forms.