Fastest way to rent an apartment

Look at the comps and toss in a free month and lower the price compared to comps by $50 a month

Thanks cccharley for your thoughts. We have priced our unit lower than other same size units (Convert 3's) in this building. We are also going to provide one month free as incentive which would work out to a net effective rent of $5075/mo. This is definitely lower than the $6,100 the Regent is offering for the similar apartment four floors higher.

We need to have this rented fast. Can you recommend any other sites that are as good as this one is for renting your apartment.

Thanks again,

Joe

Craigs list and the Sunday times

add a floor plan to your listing and explain what the timing of the deal is including how long its available for. if you are serious about trying to get somebody that fast, i think you're going to need to lower the price considerably, ie. a bonus for moving by that date.

Have you exhausted your own universe - facebook posts, email blasts to everyone you know, posted it on your/your friends corporate intranets, laundry rooms/bulletin boards of neighborhood busiensses and buildings?

have you tried posting this info on urbanbaby.com? It is just a discussion board, so i'm not sure how helpful it would be, but it sounds like your unit/building would be attractive to families.

perhaps i'm as dense as a bag o' hair, is this a rental, co-op or condo? good advice from scoots, kands cc and cc - take some decent pictures. btw - if you are an american citizen, embrace the CA tax laws - they are a colossal gf.

1. Pay the broker's fee (non-exclusive, any broker) or offer X months free.
2. Provide a floorplan.
3. Take Corcoran-style photos of your apartment
4. Set the right price.
5. Advertise the address

I agree with yozhik: seriously consider paying the brokers fee. Even though the net effect is the same as giving month(s) free, I think this is more psychologically more attractive (because people do not like paying broker fees). It also reduces the amount a tenant will have to come up with initially.

"We have lowered our asking price from $5,800 to $5,600"

This was probably a mistake. I often warn sellers against "nibbling": small price cuts often get you nowhere: the idea of an "asking price" in a market where the majority of consumers expect to negotiate is to get the right group of possible consumers to look at it. Let me ask you this question: how many more people do you thing will be willing to look at your unit at 5600 ASKING vs 5800? If I were working with a tenant and they said that they would look at the one asking 5600 but not the one asking 5800, I would probably drop them, or at least discount their viability. If you are going to drop a price, take it into "the next category". In this case, my guess is that would be 5495 to get all the people who are looking "up to 5500". What you did is just make your place probably the least attractive of the group of 5500 to 6000 apartments, because I'll bet there are a bunch at close to 6000 which are more attractive (NB: I have NOT looked at the specifics of your unit, just going on general theory).

I would have either dropped the price to 5495, or pick somtihng other than asking price to play with (all the above suggestions taken into account).

But I think you might have a different problem than you realize: how are you going to rent it for that date? Is it a Coop? Condo? sublease? Each still has a turnaround time of some sort and you have to account for that. Also, don't even think about odd dates: FOCUS on the first of the month because that's where the HUGE spike is, and if someone wants to rent earlier, you can be flexible.

Also, the word "need"..... you "would like" to rent it by Sept 23rd, but "need"? I think you are focusing in on something which is unreasonable, rather than looking at the big picture.

Joe Cooper - this isn't rocket science. Price it LOW relative to comps and it will rent.

Paying the fee makes a huge difference, as fees can add up more for a renter than changes in rental cost. Are you in a coop or condo thats going to add on obverblown application, move-in and move-out fees? Brokers fees building fees can add up to 2-3 months worth of rent, and is due at signing. This has a significantly larger impact than a "free month" of rent.

A 3.5% price drop is meaningless. Last time I was looking for a place, I was looking at places within a 20% price range. 3.5% is not going to change anyones mind. Throwing in 1 month free is ok, somewhat meaningless as well. Rent is a recurring cost, and next years rent (if they renew) is going to be based on the actual rent, not the net-effective.

Note that I think (its getting late, maybe I'm wrong) you got the math wrong on net effective rent. If you are giving 1 month free on a 13 month lease (they pay for 12 months, you throw in 1 extra), I get $5169, and if you are doing 1 month free with a regular 12 month lease, I get $5133. P

Now as to actually attracting attention, list actual address, show a floorplan and have some decent photos. I only clicked listings with addresses, and I only followed up on apartments that showed a floorplan.

you should try crag list and contact with experienced agents they will advice you better and try to give you what you exactly want to live better..