So I guess it was some time at the end of December that I finally got this apartment all the way put together with a thousand little thing that take the longest like paint touch ups, cleaned floors, thresholds and knobs for the doors, cleaned windows and blinds. It's still not perfect, but it's ready for someone to move in and to start recouping the money that I investing in the space to upgrade it.
It's always tricky to set a rental rate for an apartment in my building. There really isn't "market-rate" housing in this part of OTR since it's mainly surrounding by affordable housing. There isn't much else between Liberty and here on East Clifton to judge the spread between south of Liberty where apartments are going for easily $2.00/SF/mo, if not more, around the hottest areas like Washington Park. I would say ones farther north that are closest to Liberty are at about $1.50/SF/mo. In contrast, my only renovated unit that has been rented is at $0.85/SF/mo. Now that unit doesn't have a new bathroom, kitchen, or flooring like this unit, but I guess that's the best gauge of the actual "market" that I have here. The apartment that I live in has a new bathroom and upgraded floors, which would probably fetch more than that one too, but since I live in it and didn't rent it it's hard to say where the "market" would be for that one.
As far as I can tell I've sunk a little over $10,000 into this apartment renovation, not counting some of the more capital items like the 3 new windows that I replaced. But given the higher quality of the finishes, I'm hoping that I can recoup that renovation cost within a year by charging $1.15/SF/mo. I know that's a stretch and that I'm trying to rent it in the middle of winter; the worst time of year when not as many people are out looking to move. I'm staying patient though. I've gotten a lot of solid interest; nearly 20 people have come through it at this point (one person twice); but I still haven't found anyone to pull the trigger.
It's frustrating and it makes me wonder what the issue is that is keeping people from signing up. My theories range from location to safety to amenities to curb appeal.
I think the location north of Liberty has finally made it on people's radar.Since there's a lack of product south of Liberty and outrageous prices for what's left, it has pushed people to take a hard look up here now. The level of interest alone is verifying this.
Safety, or rather perception of safety, seems to have increased as well in many people's minds. Whereas 2 years ago when I was renting the other apartment, I would get distinguishable concern on the faces of potential renters sometimes. Now I haven't really been getting a hint of it. I'm not sure if the perception has changed completely, or if its just that the triggers for that perception have changed/reduced. In the past there were still plenty of guys in the drug trade hanging around the street, whereas now there are much less, if any. The combo of increased police focus north of Liberty and a police camera from the top of my building have really changed the the drug business in the area and the guys that you do see are few and far between today. I'm optimistic that it's almost gone; and I think this spring/summer when it warms up will be the true test of that. But even this perception wasn't enough to prevent finding a tenant 2 years ago in the winter.
One of the biggest knocks against my building is the lack of laundry. None in unit and none on site. Many renters won't even look at the building without it. That being the case I really haven't been running into many of the potential renters that even ask that question or care when they learn that. It's something that I definitely look to change in the future, but still probably not what's keeping someone from signing.
My last guess is that it's coming down to the curb appeal. I've been focused on the inside of the units for a while now and haven't done much to dress up the outside, stairs, or hallway. I painted part of the hallway, but really the stairs are tight and beaten up; the entry gate is rusted and looks worse than the affordable housing surrounding us; the mailboxes are tiny and rusty; and the motion sensor entry and stair lighting needs work. The metal cages around the first floor windows only add even more to the experience. Going forward I think I'm going to put some money and effort into improving this experience so that it doesn't hold me back.
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