Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Why Can’t Property Managers Guarantee How Long it will Take to Fill a Vacant Property?

Question from client: “How long will it take for you to fill my home with a tenant?”
Answer from property manager: “It should be in the next month or two, but I obviously can’t guarantee that.”
Comment from client: “Okay, I completely understand. I wouldn’t want you to speculate about the result of an action that you do for a living and your company has executed repeatedly well for the past 19 years (according to your ad).”

Question from hungry patron: “When will my eggs be ready?”
Answer from waiter: “It should be in the next 10–20 minutes, but I obviously can’t guarantee that because I’m not the cook.”
Comment from client: “You lazy imbecile! I’m starving- shake a leg! It should take 2 minutes- tops! Tell your guy back there to skip a smoke break and crack a couple eggs!”

What’s the difference? Clearly, it’s customer expectations. In some industries the expectations are really high, and in others it’s low. It’s just the way of the world.

So why don’t property managers guarantee the time it will take them to fill a rental property? Is it because they can’t (obviously)?

If you’re an experienced cook, you know approximately how long it takes to cook something. You’ve got to track down the ingredients, mix them up, and cook them for some length of time. It can be estimated (within a few minutes) of how long this will take. The “Guaranteed 10-Minute Breakfast or It’s Free” promotion should be easy to execute without giving away the farm.

The same should go for a property manager, right? If they know:
1. What time of the year it is
2. How fluid the current market is
3. The condition of the home
4. The rental price

It should be enough information for a tighter estimate of when to expect. There are just not that many variables to consider and factor in! So why are there no guarantees then? And why is it “so obvious” that a property manager could never give one?

Q. When will this basketball game be over?
A. Sometime today, but I obviously couldn’t guarantee that

Dominos Pizza did the “20 Minutes Guaranteed, or it’s Free” delivery promotion for years and they were able to pull it off with many more variables to consider (traffic, events going on in the city, number of orders, employees not showing up to work, weather, etc.).

So why not property managers? Are filling a home time guarantees a matter of can’t, or won’t?

Brett Furniss is the President & Owner of BDF Realty (“Charlotte’s Most Innovative Property Management & Investment Company”), and Rent-To-Sell Realty (“When You Need a New Solution to Sell Your Home”) which specialize in rent-to-own (lease options) and rent-to-sell homes. His newest book, A Real Estate Agent’s Complete Guide to Representing Rent-To-Own (Lease Option) Tenants (Delight Clients, Fill Vacant Homes, and Earn $2,250* Upfront! (*Minimum!)