Oahu Property Management | Setting Monthly Rent for Oahu Rental Properties PART 2

How to Set the Monthly Rent for your Oahu Rental Property
Part 2 — VIEW PROPERTY 

In my previous blog post – I outlined some challenges we face when deciding on a market rent rate for an Oahu rental properties, and provided my formula for determining market rents on Oahu:

A.  View Property

B.  Research Rentals

C.  Research Market Variables

D.  Set Rent

               The first step is to view property – not just YOUR property, but other Oahu rental properties as well!  If you can see others in person, that would be helpful, but pictures and phone calls will suffice.

               To ensure that you are comparing Oahu rental properties of similar status, size, and quality, you should pay attention to at least the following factors:

• Number of bedrooms and bathrooms; square footage is important, but with Hawaii’s indoor/outdoor lifestyle not as critical.
• Outdoor space and maintenance provided and/or required.
• Quality and condition of structure — is it new, is it old, is it well maintained, is there deferred maintenance?
• Quality and condition of interior – does it have updated kitchen and bathrooms (i.e., remodeled in the last 5-10 years), was it recently painted, and what is the status of the flooring?
• Status of property — is it available for rent long term (greater than one year), is it occupied, when was the last time it was owner occupied, is it for sale, is sale contemplated.

How does the property you wish to rent measure up to other Oahu rental properties on the market? 

When comparing your Oahu rental property to others on the market – make note of things that are better than the others available, or things that you can change without spending a lot of money.  I tell owners seeking to rent their property that making upgrades will not usually translate to a higher rent.  However, it will translate to less vacancy.  I will make small adjustments to rent for upgrades and well maintained homes – but this usually amounts to only between $25-200 more per month.

More important, is that an Oahu rental property that is well maintained and decorated in neutral tones, will spend less time vacant.  And that is the goal!  Many owner/investors may get caught up in rent value, when they should be more concerned with vacancy rates.  Collecting an additional $100 on a $3000/month property results only in an extra $1200/year, whereas a $3,000 month property vacant for 15 days, costs and owner $1,500.  It’s better to have a well maintained Oahu rental property priced right, and have less vacancy than to try and squeeze out an additional $100 from a tenant.    

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OAHU PROPERTY MANAGEMENT IN KAILUA, HONOLULU, KANEOHE, OR HAWAII KAI.