For landlords, filling a rental vacancy quickly is the best way to prevent a loss of income and keep money in your wallet. Because of this, you may want to host an open house showing so you can cast your net to many people at once. However, open houses aren’t always as great as they seem and may give you more trouble than they’re worth. To help you decide on your next steps, learn about the pros and cons of open houses vs. private showings for rentals.
The Pros and Cons of Open Houses
Open houses are great at improving the overall local awareness of your property. The signs and online postings you use to advertise will get your information to many more people, helping you attract people you wouldn’t normally connect with. Additionally, open houses give you more time to prepare your property instead of having to spruce up for every individual visitor. This is especially helpful when a tenant is still living in the property so you can take care of the ever-important task of property staging.
However, this helpfulness can also harm. During an open house, keeping track of everyone is nearly impossible, meaning you risk property damage and theft. This becomes even more of a problem if you’re hosting in an occupied property. Additionally, open houses are much more casual, and many of your guests may be completely unqualified to rent the property.
The Pros and Cons of Private Showings
Because of how much one-on-one time you’re getting with private showings, you significantly reduce the risk of someone damaging or stealing from your property. It also becomes much easier to get to know a prospective tenant’s personality and whether they can afford the property. Together, you can go over every property detail and even get preliminary screening out of the way.
Unfortunately, the biggest downside is that some parties may forget to show up, cancel late, or just not come at all. This adds to the time commitment that goes into private showings and how much communication you’ll have to do with multiple parties if the unit is still occupied. Overall, private showings take up much more time and can be a lot more labor-intensive than open houses.
Which Is Best for Your Rental Property?
In truth, both choices have pros and cons; it all depends on your situation. If you’re showing a property that’s occupied, has furniture and belongings in it, or isn’t secure, private showings are likely your safest option. However, if you don’t have the time, try small group showings to avoid wasting time with no-shows. But if you’re showing off an empty rental, feel free to go with an open house. However, it may be worth having another set of eyes helping you out during the open house.
Property showings are difficult for even the most experienced of landlords, and knowing the differences between open houses vs. private showings can save you from wasting time, money, and effort.
