4 Tips to Advertise Your Rental Property
1) 1. Spruce Up the Property
As we’ve mentioned, a home can sell itself from the sidewalk. Make that precious first impression count by investing not only in the habitability of the home, but also in its presentation. A trimmed lawn, clean windows and fresh paint can make all the difference to a potential renter!
2) Register with Third-Party Real Estate Advertising Sites
Advertising in any business is traditionally a mix of both legwork and market research. In acquiring a tenant for your rental property, it can be more of both! Your “product” isn’t simply an item; it’s a home, a lifestyle, a cornerstone of your future tenant’s life. You will need to know the nuts and bolts of the market statistics for the neighborhood of your rental property in order to set a fair market price. On top of that, you need to know where to go to find your customers! While visibility is important and you will still get leads from prospects who have driven by the rental and have seen your contact information there (see tip #1!), every market advertising is shifting online. Your online presence must be as consistent and as reputable as you are in person. There are many websites, and new ones every year, that will compete to advertise your listing. By partnering with a trusted and well-known third-party advertiser, you gain the edge of being where prospects are looking without having to attend events, put up billboards, or take out ads in the paper. (Which are all viable options, but are becoming rapidly outdated.)
3) Take Great Photos
The downside to online listings can be that the photos don’t show the house in its best light. And why not? You control the photo-taking! Open the blinds! Let the light shine in! A property doesn’t have to be staged to be welcoming, but your photos should definitely highlight the rental’s best features. If you don’t have a steady hand, can’t work the angles, or just can’t capture a quality photo with your cell phone – look into hiring a property photographer. A professional has the skills and the equipment to bring to film exactly what you see in reality – which makes for great advertising! You are trying to get a prospect off of the couch and into the property. Sub-par pictures aren’t going to do that!
4) Follow Fair Housing Regulations
When writing up your own ad spots, you may think that the language you’re using is innocuous. There are, however, guidelines set by Fair Housing that will help you advertise your rental in an inclusive, legal manner. Remember – you’re not writing the advertisement for you. You’re writing to any potential tenant. By saying, for example, “Perfect for a young couple with children”, you invite an idea of discrimination against older, childless, single adults.
Advertising your rental property differs from the advertisement of other “products” in that you set no expectation of who your customer will be. There is no “key demographic”. The only expectations set are on your property itself.
If all of this sounds like a lot of time-consuming work, it’s because it is! There’s a reason advertisers bolster entire industries – and it can bolster yours, too.
A property management company like Frontline Property Management, Inc. has years of experience in advertising for new tenants. Our Property Managers are well-versed in online advertising, have connections with third-party advertisers, and (importantly!) are able to quickly identify and shut down scams in their tracks. Cut down your vacancy time by partnering with a Frontline Property Manager today!
