How To Quickly Find a Great Renter in Riverside, CA

Why Overpricing Costs More Than It Earns

By BRIAN BEAN
Rental Home Advocate | Property Manager | Real Estate Broker

The rental market has cooled off a bit and it’s taking longer to lease vacant homes. 

Some investors are losing way more money than they should because of one outdated and misguided approach. I’ve got the solution to that problem. Stay tuned ….

“How long does it take to find a renter in Southern California?”

That’s a common question. We hear it a lot, especially from newer investors who want to know how many days, weeks, or months they should expect to be vacant.

But really, that’s not the right question. The real focus should be …

“How do I quickly find and secure a great renter?”

Because it’s in your control. You have the power. Your decisions will determine how long it takes. You’re not Forrest Gump, floating through life at the whim of the breeze. If you have a solid plan and follow a simple process, you can reduce your vacancy time and calm your fears about the time it takes to find a new renter. But you need a good foundation to start.

So let’s dig in. …

The 3 Phases to Lease a Home

There are three main phases to lease a home. Many owners only think about the middle one, which happens in public.

These three phases include:

1. Making the home rent-ready. This is the period from the day a resident moves out, to the day the home is fully repaired, cleaned, and ready for marketing. Our target is 14 days or less.
2. Marketing and approval. From the day the home hits the market, through showings and applications, to the day we approve an applicant. This is the actual “days on market,” and our target here is also 14 days or less.
3. Occupancy. From the day of approval to the day the lease actually starts. At Dream Big, that’s within 14 days, or on the first of the month, whichever comes first.

These phases can overlap, which can reduce the overall timeline, and we do try to start each phase as early as possible. But even if you shave off a week on phases 1 and 3, you’re still looking at a month of vacancy potentially.

The real wild card is in the middle phase. Days on Market.

To reduce that timeline, a home must look great, be priced right, and be seen.

And what does that mean?

1. Be seen: The home must be posted and findable where your potential applicants are looking. We post on the multiple listing service for agents who may have rental applicants. And we also post on the major public online portals such as Zillow, Rent.com, Realtor.com, etc.
2. Looking good: Your home must be show-ready BEFORE you let anyone inside. If in an attempt to cut the timeline you market and show a home in disarray, you just ruined your first impression. And you won’t get a second.
3. Priced right: The most important of the three factors.

Rental investors have been spoiled in Southern California. There just aren’t enough homes for the number of people who need them. Low supply and high demand in the past created a frenzy – tons of showings, multiple applications, elevated prices, low “days on market.”

But over the past year, rent prices have flattened out. Demand has decreased. Supply has increased. And days on market has gone up as a result.

California Regional Multiple Listing Service, which covers most of Southern California, reports rental home days on market today sits at 24 days, up 1 day from last year, but up from 13 days in 2021. Nationwide, the median days on market is 30 days, up from 27 days a year ago, according to Apartmentlist.com.

Price it Right

All this is to say, in such economic conditions, pricing is more important than ever.

For 3 big reasons:

1. The Math. If your rent is $3,000 a month, every single day of vacancy costs you $100 lost rent. If you hold out for an extra $200 a month, telling yourself, “We can always come down later,” and that decision costs you just 14 extra days on the market, you’ve robbed yourself of $1,400. And if you DO get a tenant at that higher price, it will take you seven months to recoup what you lost sitting vacant. That’s before you’ve made a dime of the increase.And reality is, an overpriced home doesn’t just cost you an extra 14 days. It’s more. Sometimes a lot more. Unless … you eventually drop the price back down to market rent. And once you do that, you never get that lost rent back. Ever.
2. The Smell Factor. Industry data from Evernest Property Management shows that homes that don’t generate an application within the first seven days typically require an average of three subsequent price drops before they finally lease.Interest in a rental home is never higher than the first few days it’s on the market. But the interest trails off after week one. At day 14, it falls off a cliff.Why that happens. If you gave notice at your current place, you’ve probably got about 30 days to find something new. If we don’t catch a great applicant in the first two weeks, we might lose momentum for another two weeks, because the strongest prospects have already locked in a home for the coming month. That’s not good for you as the property owner.

   And that’s when your listing begins to smell bad. It’s been sitting too long. People assume It’s not fit to eat. And you end up dropping the price to find your applicants, often lower than you could have gotten if you just priced it right on Day one.

3. The Candidate Pool. This may seem counterintuitive, but the best applicants — the ones with strong income, clean payment history, and great rental references — know they’re a great catch. They know they can win in a competitive, multiple-applicant environment. So they’re looking for nice homes, presented well, priced right. If your home is overpriced, they won’t even bother applying.Meanwhile, the weakest applicants — lower income, rough credit, collections, late payments, middling rental references — they can only compete one way: price. They’re willing to overpay because they have to. Their only chance is on homes that the best applicants passed on.So what feels like a win in the moment — finally getting an application after weeks of vacancy — can turn into a real loss down the road if that resident doesn’t pay on time or doesn’t take care of the home.

Which is exactly why retaining your current residents is often the smartest strategy of all. A great resident who renews is worth more than a new resident you had to compromise to get.

Bottom line: Price close to market from day one, plan for the true three-phase timeline to lease your home, and understand that speed and pricing aren’t separate issues. They’re hand and glove for your rental home.

Want more information on best practices? We have tons of information on the right and profitable way to run your rental property. Check out our FAQ page and our Investor Video collection.

 

 

For more information about local trends in your rental market, contact us directly at Dream Big Property Management, 951-314-5402, brian@dreambigpm.com. You can also find valuable information on our website: dreambigpm.com.

Related Reading

• How to Screen Rental Residents the Right Way in Riverside, California (2025 Guide)
• The Hidden Benefits of Having a Great Resident in Your Riverside, CA, Rental Home
• Why We’re Eliminating Application Fees for Rental Homes in Riverside, CA

Full Transcript

Transcript of “How To Quickly Find a Great Renter in Riverside, CA | The 3-Phase Leasing Timeline,” featuring Brian Bean of Dream Big Property Management. CA DRE #01346382. Lightly edited for readability.

The rental market has cooled off a bit, and it’s taking longer to lease vacant homes. Some investors are losing way more money than they should because of one outdated and misguided approach. I’ve got the solution to that problem. Stay tuned.

Hey, Brian Bean here with Dream Big Property Management in Riverside, California. We help people just like you become intentional rental property investors.

How long does it take to find a renter in Southern California? That’s a common question I get, especially from newer investors who want to know how many days, weeks, or months they should expect to be vacant. But really, that’s not the right question. The real focus should be: how do I quickly find and secure a great renter? Because it’s in your control. Your decisions and your actions will determine how long it takes. You’re not Forrest Gump floating through life at the whim of the breeze. If you have a solid plan and you follow a simple process, you’ll reduce your vacancy time and calm your fears about the time it takes to find a new renter. But you need a good foundation to start from. So let’s dig in.

There are three main phases in leasing a home, but many owners only think about the middle one, which happens in public. They forget about the other two, which are no less important but happen in the background.

One: making the home rent-ready. This is the period from the day a resident moves out to the day the home is fully repaired, cleaned, and ready for marketing. Our target is 14 days or less.

Two: marketing and approval. From the day the home hits the market, through showings and applications, to the day we approve an applicant. This is the actual days on market. Our target here is also 14 days or less.

Three: occupancy. This is the gap from the day of approval to the day the lease actually starts. At Dream Big, that’s within 14 days or on the first day of the month, whichever comes first.

These phases can overlap and reduce the overall timeline. We do try to start each phase as early as possible, but even if you shave off a week on phases one and three, you’re still looking at potentially a month of vacancy. The real wild card is the middle phase: days on market. To reduce that time frame, a home must look great, be priced right, and be seen.

So what does that mean? First, be seen. The home must be posted and findable where your potential applicants are looking. We post on the multiple listing service for agents who may have rental applicants, and we also post on the major public online portals such as Zillow, Rent.com, and Realtor.com.

Second, looking good. Your home must be show-ready before you let anyone in. If you try to cut that timeline and market and show a home in disarray, you’ve just ruined a first impression, and you will not get a second.

And third, priced right — the most important of these three factors.

Look, rental investors have been spoiled in Southern California. There just aren’t enough homes for the number of people looking. That creates frenzied activity: tons of showings, multiple applications, elevated pricing, low days on market. But over the past year, rent prices have flattened out. Demand has decreased, supply has increased, and days on market has gone up as a result. CRMLS, which covers most of Southern California, shows rental home days on market at 24, up one day from last year, but up from 13 days in 2021. Nationwide, the median days on market is 30, up from 27 days a year ago, according to ApartmentList.com.

All this is to say, in such economic conditions, pricing is more important than ever, for three big reasons.

One, the math. If your rent is $3,000 a month, every single day of vacancy costs you $100 in lost rent. If you hold out for an extra $200 a month and that decision costs you just 14 extra days on the market, you’ve robbed yourself of $1,400. And if you do get a tenant at that higher price, it will take you seven months to recoup what you lost sitting vacant — that’s before you’ve even made a dime on the increase. And the reality is, an overpriced home doesn’t just cost you an extra 14 days. It’s more, sometimes a lot more, because you eventually drop that price back down to market rent. And once you do that, you never get that lost rent back. Ever.

Reason two, the smell factor. Industry data from Everest Property Management shows that homes which don’t generate an application within the first seven days typically require an average of three subsequent price drops before they lease. Interest in a rental home is never higher than in the first few days on the market, but that interest trails off after week one. At day 14, it falls off a cliff.

Think about why that happens. If you gave notice at your current place, you probably got about 30 days to find something new. If we don’t catch a great applicant in the first two weeks, we might lose momentum for another two weeks, because the strongest prospects have already locked in a home for the coming month. And that’s when your listing begins to smell bad. It’s been sitting too long. People assume it’s not fit to eat, and you end up dropping the price to find your applicants — often lower than you could have gotten if you’d just priced it right from day one.

And pricing reason number three: the candidate pool. This is going to sound counterintuitive, but follow me through this. The best applicants — the ones with strong income, clean payment history, great rental references — know they’re a great catch. They know they can win in a competitive, multiple-applicant environment. So they’re looking for nice homes, presented well and priced right. If your home is overpriced, they won’t even bother applying.

Meanwhile, the weakest applicants — lower income, rough credit, collections, late payments, poor rental references — can only compete one way: price. They’re willing to overpay because they have to. Their only chance of approval is on homes the best applicants have already rejected. So what feels like a win in the moment — finally getting an application after weeks of vacancy — can turn into a real loss down the road if that resident doesn’t pay on time or doesn’t take care of the home.

Which is exactly why retaining your current resident is often the smartest strategy of all. A great resident who renews is worth more than a new resident you had to compromise to get. But that’s a topic for another day.

Bottom line: price close to market from day one. Plan for the true three-phase timeline to lease your home. Understand that speed and pricing are not separate issues — they’re hand in glove for your rental home. Follow the plan, you’ll find great renters, and you’ll suffer less vacancy as a result.

If you have questions about finding a great renter for your home, or anything related to the right and profitable way to run your rental property, call me today at 951-314-5402. I’m happy to share. You can also find valuable information on our website, dreambigpm.com. And if you found this useful, we have more — check it out. Punch that subscribe button, leave us a review; it helps others find us, and we’ll alert you when new episodes are posted.

Don’t be accidental about your future. Be intentional to your success.