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‘Free rent,’ extra services to lure apartment renters
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Posted on Jan 26 2009
Apartment owners on Saipan have been offering “free rent,” extra services like free Wi-Fi or free power and water hook up, and reduced rental rates to attract clients.
On Middle Road in Garapan, for example, an apartment building advertises “free rent” for its available units, and so is a duplex in Susupe.
“What it means is that if you sign a one-year contract, you won’t have to pay rent for two months. If you pay on the first month, you will not pay on the second month, and again, on the fourth month,” said Ann Cansado of Life Care Center which manages the Oden Building on Middle Road across the road from Mobil station.
Cansado said their “free rent” offer has been effective, with only a few units now vacant.
“The rental rate has been the same for years but we got a lot of tenants because we offer free rent,” she added.
Mustafa Shakir of Shakir’s Realty said the extra services—from flexible payment of security deposit to free power and water hook up—make a big difference in attracting prospective apartment tenants.
“Small things do count,” he said, adding that these extra services result in 95 percent occupancy rate at his apartment buildings. Shakir’s Realty has 24 apartment buildings on Saipan.
Depending on the location, a one-bedroom apartment costs $200 to $300.
Many apartment buildings on the island have a number of vacant units, some of them previously occupied by garment workers who have gone back home or those who moved to cheaper apartments. People can now rent a house for as low as $50, as advertised by the owner of a house in Kagman.
Other apartment owners offer free Wi-Fi service, 24-hour water, night security, free trash collection and backup generator to fill up their vacant units.
“I will say many apartment buildings right now have an average of 60 percent occupancy,” Shakir said.
He, however, said that in the next three months or so, demand for three- to four-bedroom executive homes will surge as federal government employees start arriving on Saipan in connection with the federal takeover of CNMI immigration come June.
