Understanding Vacant Properties and How to Fill Them

Vacant properties happen for a multitude of reasons. Perhaps your tenants vacated during the off-season and you are having trouble finding replacements. Maybe your rent is not aligned with the rental market or the listing isn’t as detailed as it could be. Whatever the reason, you need to fill this property and we can help. In this article, we cover what qualifies as a vacant property, potential reasons why your property might be empty, and some remedies to your woes.

What Qualifies as a “Vacant Property?”

A vacant property is a property that does not have any tenants and is not in use (whether it be for residential/personal, commercial, or business purposes). You, the landlord, are not collecting rent and receiving or positive cash flow from it. While vacant properties can also mean a piece of land with no buildings or developments on it or a property that has been abandoned, for the purpose of this article we will assume “vacant” simply means lacking tenants.

Why is Your Property Vacant?

There are many reasons that a property may be vacant. It’s impossible to tell exactly why your property is not attracting tenants, but here are some possible reasons.

• Your advertisement is not detailed enough or seems rushed. One of the biggest red flags some tenants look for is that a property listing looks rushed, lacks details, and has poorly done photos. Take some time and thoroughly list all of the amenities your property offers, what it is close to, what the school districts are, and all the miscellaneous details you might not think are relevant. Remember, you’re trying to justify the price of your rental. If it’s higher, explain the attractive features. If it’s lower, push the fact that your property is perfect for people on a budget.
• Your rent price is too high or too low. As mentioned above, your rent price should be higher if you have lots of amenities to offer (a clubhouse or pool, for example) and you’ll need to update your description to match that. It’s okay to have rent that is higher than the average prices in your market if you can back up why it is justified. Similarly, if it’s lower because it’s lacking features, be sure to mention that. If something is too good to be true, some buyers may feel distrustful. Compare your price to that of the market.
• Your advertisement is not reaching the right market. Know your target audience: if you are advertising your swanky, luxurious rental in a college town coffee shop, you should know your potential tenant pool is very small as most students are on a strict budget. Figure out who you should be targeting with your advertisements.

How to Fill Your Vacant Property

One of the best resources for both figuring out why your property is empty and how to fill it is with the Tellus superapp. Aside from making it easy to collect rent, Tellus will publish your rental listing to sixteen of its partnered sites like Zillow and Trulia. Here are some reasons why the Tellus superapp can help:

• Get four times the amount of leads. By using the Tellus superapp, you can get up to four times the amount of leads. Since Tellus publishes your listing to multiple sites at once, you only need to fill out a listing once. This gives you a lot of time to make the one listing detailed and informative instead of spreading yourself thin posting on multiple sites.
• Get free tenant screening. If you are wary of a tenant, Tellus also offers free tenant screening. Once a tenant fills out an application, you can look at the information provided by them and compare it with other applicants.
• Find a partner to assist you easily. If you are still unsure about how to fill your vacancy, Tellus can put you in touch with many property managers who can walk you through the process and help manage your rental property once it is occupied.

Final Thoughts

Vacancies are a fact of life when you are a landlord. But with a little polishing and thoughtfulness, you can find a tenant within a reasonable amount of time and get back to earning money. If you feel like you need help, or just need an extra boost to your listing, the Tellus superapp is here to help at every step of the way.