D4 Rent Pitching too low or Getting Greedy

D

Dave Dub

Registered User
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Hey There

I have a 2 bed Ballsbridge Apt. Its situated right in town near Waterloo road and I put it up on Daft at 1650 p/m. Its a really nice place, hardwood floors, 600sqft and fully furnished but I am a new landlord and I just picked a figure comparing it to other 2 beds in D4 but now I`m not so sure.

I have had tons of interest in the place and have viewed it 6 times already in less than 2 weeks with 3 groups wanting it now. Does this mean I`ve pitched it too low?

As far as I can see theres a sort of 1550-1700 range for these type of apts but exceptional apts have a sort of open-ended range.

The only major benefit I can see is that I have a clear choice of people and most other landlords I know say thats the most important rather than another E50 a month.

Any help?
 
Sounds about right to me. A friend of mine has a really nice 2 bed on Pembroke road and pitches the rent at a reasonable level so that he can choose tenants rather than have a tenant choose him.
 
Agree with Whathome.

Charging even €100 less than the maximum amount you would expect will mean that you can rent far sooner.

It also means you can choose your tenants and that they are much more likely to jump through a few more hoops to get the house / apartment (with regard to references etc.)
 
I feel happy enough with the situation but am worried about interest rate increases eating away any profit so was thinking of getting the most possible.

Anyway thanks for your advice
 
I have a one bed in Ballsbridge (603sq.ft) which is rented out at 1,400 per month but it includes parking. Was offered more at the time but had already promised it to the current tenant. Although no contracts were signed at the time, he seemed like a very decent guy who loved the place. Three months on, he still loves it, takes great care of it and, in fact, is a model tenant. 50 or 100 euro extra does not buy you that.
 
redo said:
Maybe get the tennants to offer sealed bids?
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There's plenty of choice out there and this would just put people off (they're not buying you know). I have a >1000 sq foot in D6 for 1350. I wouldn't dream of renting a 600sq foot apartment for 1650 no matter where it was. That's tiny. If I were him I'd be taking it and running - if he can get some suckers to pay that much.
 
gearoidmm said:
There's plenty of choice out there and this would just put people off (they're not buying you know). I have a >1000 sq foot in D6 for 1350. I wouldn't dream of renting a 600sq foot apartment for 1650 no matter where it was. That's tiny. If I were him I'd be taking it and running - if he can get some suckers to pay that much.
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Agreed, I am amazed the OP has any interested renters at 1650 for such a small flat.
 
I'd steer clear of sealed bids. In general, 2 beds do not get double the price of a 1 bed for a number of reasons. Labelling one's food in the fridge etc. so that those sharing with you don't scoff it while you're out, being one example. Also people, in general, share because they can't go it alone however much they might like to.

A one bed, on the otherhand, can be let to a singleton or a couple who have their privacy while each are paying a reasonable portion of the rent.

As to plenty of choice out there, it depends on the area. Just because people aren't qeueing around the block any more, it doesn't mean that a virtual queue is not forming via email, mobile and text! This was true in our own case. We made appointments for people to view and they each saw it alone. There were some people who felt they could say I'll get back to you, which they did in every case, but they were disappointed. The apartment was advertised and promised to someone within a couple of days. Signed, sealed and delivered within a week. I took my phone no. off Daft but left the ad up until the money hit my bank...ok I then forgot to take it off daft for a while and as I was only receiving emails, didn't realise it until I checked my mail!!

However, if you're covering the mortgage at the moment with 1650 on a D4 property, then I imagine it's an interest only mortgage or else you had a huge amount of capital to lay down. If you want to hold on to the apartment perhaps you could try to whittle the loan down, even slightly, to cover the latest interest hikes. One of the other alternatives out there for properties close to the city is, to rent it to a company who then sublets it to corporate tenants on a short term basis. You may be offered over 2k a month for this, depending on the calibre and location of the property. Cleaning bills and utilities are paid by you but you don't physically have to get the cleaners in. The company looks after it all. There are at least ten properties rented in this way in our apartment block. To the casual viewer and even the census the apartments look empty. In fact, corporate tenants occupy them on a one day a week/one weekend a month/ one week a month basis and their companies are charged an arm and a leg for it.

I would accept 1650 because you've already invested your time (interviewing tenants) and your money (adverising) already. Presumably this covers your mortgage, management fees and insurance. Lots of landlords are in it just for the capital appreciation although there are people out there who say that this boat may have sailed and is now simply cruising. However, they can't have it both ways..i.e. FTB stop buying and rents decreasing. If they stop buying, they still need somewhere to live/rent.

Good luck in your new venture.
 
Thats a very comprehsive answer and thanks for taking the time and effort to do so liteweight.

To Bankrupt and GearoidMM: The reason why I can charge so much is that the apt is a top of the range apt on one of Dublins most sought after streets with very few properties below 2500 p/m available and I am charging less than the only other 2 landlords (rest are owner-occupiers) in the building as I want to get it rented sooner rather than later. Should have explained this as I undrstand that a regular apt at 600 sqft in D4 if not a top class apt would prob get 1500 based on the offers put to people on DAFT.
 
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