“Words are but the signs of ideas.” Samuel Johnson

When you have a vacancy do you install “For Rent” signs on your property? There are different schools of thought on this and I decided to dedicate this week’s newsletter to that question.

TYPES OF SIGNS If you are going to install a sign make sure that it is well made, the spelling is correct and it has a professional look. My suggestion would be to purchase signs from a sign company and have them designed just for you. It is not that expensive, and a professional sign reflects on you and your building. You may want to have a space on the sign so that you can change the ad for future vacancies. If your sign starts to look old or worn out, buy a new one. This is inexpensive, tax deductible marketing and could find you a great new tenant or in some cases, cause a prospect not to call. As far as what to put on the sign, I would opt for the bedroom and bath count and a phone number. The idea is to get them to call you. You can answer prospective tenants questions when they call. Too much information can be a bad thing.

SIGN OR NO SIGN? I, personally, am in the “no sign” camp. I have never used “For Rent” signs on any of my properties. Just a personal preference. I prefer to advertise online with apartments.com, Zillow rentals and craigslist. I like having all the information in my ads, including price, deposit and features. I also like having pictures and videos which can describe my apartment much better than I can. Have I missed out on potentially good tenants by not having a sign? That is possible, but my feeling is that my internet marketing provides me with all the pertinent information, so that people who call me, are in most cases ready to set up a viewing appointment.

PROPERTY MANAGERS If you use a property manager do you know how they are marketing your vacant units? You may want to call just to know where they are placing their ads, whether or not they are using premium ads or free ads, and what their general marketing plan is. Many property managers use a website of their own to market vacancies. It is good to know exactly what they are doing, because vacant units are costing you money each day they are vacant.

“The best players don’t win championships. The best team players win championships.” John Wooden

What we at PRS PROPERTIES CAN DO. We can give you a good idea of the current value of your building. We can suggest changes you might want to make before sale to give you an idea what type of building you would be able to exchange into. You may decide to stay in the rental business or you may want to move into a more passive real estate investment, such as a triple net or a DSL.. We are always available to chat. We can give you referrals for professionals, such as lenders, contractors, and engineers, so that you can decide who you feel best with. We can supply you with rent and sale comparable in the area of your properties, so that you know what rental values are in your area. It is important that you know the true value of your rental units, so that you can get them rented right away at market value, or at least as much as possible with rent control restrictions. We can look at potential purchases that you may be interested in to make the property more desirable, and maybe look at potential issues that an insurer might require you to repair.

If you should decide to sell your building, we can help you exchange into a larger or smaller properties. We can even help you move into something with less management responsibilities. We can also help with getting the paperwork together for a refinance if that is your desire. We can also recommend experienced licensed contractors who can perform any repairs or installations you may need prior to selling. We can also look at your building for other easy and inexpensive changes that might allow you to get a higher value. We can help you to get the maximum value for your property, should you decide to sell, or the maximum return if you are planning to keep your building.

We are currently looking for “as-is” properties and are willing to purchase with low rents, deferred maintenance or even with a problem tenant in place. We can offer a 7 day escrow and all cash at closing. Give us a call. We have also put together numerous transactions over the years which involve properties that are not listed for sale. Many investors are currently in 1031 exchanges and need to identify a replacement property before their 45 day identification period runs out.

Should you decide to put your property on the market, we will put together an aggressive, targeted and professional campaign to get your property sold fast. We have been doing this for over 40 years, and we will use all the tools available to bring you the most dollars at closing. If you are thinking of selling or are just curious about the value of your property, don’t hesitate to give us a call.

We look forward to a prosperous year and we look forward to be of any help we can to buyers and sellers of multi unit properties.