Landlords and tenants need one another. But finding the other party is not always smooth sailing. Luckily, landlords have a variety of options when it comes to finding potential tenants to fill their vacant rental units. From traditional methods like “For Rent” signs and word of mouth to rental websites and social media advertising, you have plenty of options. In today’s post, you are going to learn six best ways on how you can advertise your rentals and find tenants quickly.
1. Post “For Rent” signs in strategic areas around the yard.
“For Rent” signs are still a powerful way to attract tenants to a rental property. These signs have two main benefits. One, they are inexpensive. You can get one for as low as $20.
And two, they provide ‘neighborhood help.’ Neighbors have a vested interest in who lives next to them and may try to help you find a good lead. They may know someone (or someone who knows someone) who might be looking for somewhere to rent.
2. Use word of mouth advertising.
Don’t take the power of spoken word for granted. While the world of advertising may have seemed to shift online, word of mouth advertising is still a powerful force.
Did you know that 20-50% of all purchases are influenced by word of mouth marketing? This is at least according to McKinsey.com. So, make sure to let your current tenants know when a vacancy is coming up.
Just like already aforementioned, they might know someone (or someone who knows someone) who might be interested in renting there.
To reap maximum benefits from this tactic, have some flyers with you at all times. You may also consider offering an incentive for any qualified referrals you get.
3. Make use of local bulletin boards.
Identify potential areas where you can post flyers for your rental in the local area. Such areas may include bus stops, laundromats, community centers, places of worship, grocery stores, and colleges.
Make sure to make the flyers eye-catching, for example, by using large color photos and bolding the headline. You may also want to include a section at the bottom of the flyer about your contact information that they can tear off.
4. Consider advertising on the local dailies.
Newspaper ads aren’t dead yet. You can still use them for marketing your vacant rental unit, depending on the location of your property.
To get the most exposure, advertise your vacancies during the weekends, as this is the time that newspapers often see the highest spikes in traffic.
Since you’ll just have a few lines, make sure to make the most out of them by providing crucial details. Instead of writing washer/dryer and bedroom, for example, write W/D and BR, respectively.
5. Make use of social media.
According to statista.com, there were some 243.6 million social network users in the United States. This is the equivalent of about three-fourths of the country’s entire population. And this number is only expected to rise.
So, if you aren’t making use of social media in your marketing efforts, the chances are that you’re losing out on potential leads.
Start by creating pages on all leading social media platforms if you don’t have profiles there. That is, on platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Then, start posting on those accounts regularly. But not too frequently as to be seen to be spamming people’s feeds.
Two or three times may suffice, and remember: quality over quantity.
6. List your vacant rental unit on multiple rental listing sites.
There are plenty of rental listing sites that allow property owners to list their properties there. The majority are free, while some are paid. The following are some excellent options to get you started.
- Avail.co: This site has numerous tools that can help get your rental listings out there. Besides allowing you to advertise your property there, you can also use the website to sign leases and collect rent.
- Cozy.co: This is a popular resource for landlords that has a boatload of free features, including apartment listing.
- Zillow.com: You can post here so long as you have an account. What’s even better, the ad will syndicate to other rental sites, too, such as Trulia.com and Hotpads.com.
- Craigslist.org: You can also post apartments here so long as you have signed up for an account.
When listing in any of these online rental listing sites, make sure to use as many high-quality photos as possible. You also want to provide detailed descriptions of some of the most attractive features that make your property stand out.
There you have it—six of the best ways to advertise your rental property to find tenants in the shortest time possible. If you find this process daunting, please consider hiring a professional property management service like RPM Metro Detroit.
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