Empty Units Don't Make Money

Landlords are quickly learning that it takes more than basic amenities to keep renters happy. New perks are becoming part of what it takes to keep units full.

by James R. Lindamood

What would it take to get you to switch apartments? Many landlords are learning that it takes some enticement to get new renters into their units. Doggy day-spa treatments, security-deposit waivers, and the promise of discounted or free rental months are only a few of the many things that landlords and property managers are offering so their units don’t go empty.

Empty units don’t make money. That’s simple economics. What many landlords are finding is that there are far more empty units than there were just a year ago. This has caused a frenzy among many property managers, with each trying to beat the deals offered by the competition. Some managers are even offering to freeze a renter’s monthly rental amounts. With the slowdown coming on before the busy rental season, many landlord haven’t raised their rates from the year before, which makes the hits on rent freezes a little easier for them to bear.

Many property management companies are blaming the slowdown of the banking and investment industries as the primary cause of the slowing rental market. With fewer financial professionals having less disposable income, their rental choices are dwindling steadily.

These unusual incentives mean that many of the cities apartment-dwellers are being caught by surprise. Many are spending a great deal of time looking over their rental agreements, thinking, “Where’s the catch?” With the number of apartments in the city growing by leaps and bounds, it’s no wonder management has to hustle to keep them filled.