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ContinueWe explore some of the best rental property advertising strategies you can use to drive high intent leads and find great tenants fast.
Finding a new tenant can be stressful. It takes time and there is the lingering threat of a costly vacancy period. However, by leveraging a combination of traditional rental property advertising techniques and modern online marketing you can get your listing in front of thousands of prospective tenants easily, affordably, and most importantly, quickly.
Before we get stuck in, while it’s true that vacancies are costly, it's important that you don't rush into a new tenancy. You need to follow through with your thorough tenant screening process to find and select the best tenant for your property - even if this means taking a little longer during the selection process.
In this article, we explore some of the top rental property advertising strategies that you can employ to fill your vacancies, and how tools like Landlord Studio can help streamline the listing and tenant screening process.
Once you’ve typed up your listing, spell-checked and proofread, and gotten ahold of some up-to-date and high-quality imagery you are ready to begin marketing your listing to find renters.
It’s always a good idea to maximize your property listings exposure by using a variety of channels to market a listing. One place to start is by posting it on as many free sites as possible and then move onto paid platforms. You will need to set a strict budget to adhere to and remember to record the advertising expense as a deductible expense using Landlord Studio. Often you’ll find that the paid channels will return better quality leads, but the free ones may well supply an equal number.
Your single goal when it comes to marketing your property is to make as many relevant and qualified applicants aware of the property listing as possible.
Below we explore 5 ways that you can advertise your rental property to find tenants.
The process to find renters via word of mouth could take any number of forms. For example, let the tenants in your other units know that you have a vacancy opening up. Additionally, spread the word between friends and family, perhaps one of them knows someone who is looking for a place. And of course share it on your own social accounts such as Facebook and others.
You could even sweeten the deal and offer a small rent relief option or gift card as a sort of commission if they do find you a tenant. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of the original social networking.
In fact, you could even use a budget-friendly video testimonial method to create a simple yet engaging and shareable video showcasing the property and the benefits of living there.
Sticking a for rent sign outside your building might seem old-fashioned, but it still works. These for rent signs will attract the attention of local traffic and even locals in the neighborhood who have a vested interest in who lives next door. While unlikely to produce as much inquiry as some of the other methods on this list (eg. online rental listings) the inquiry they do drive will be hyper-targeted with people who are already familiar with the benefits of living in that area and are looking to move soon.
It’s a cost-effective way to let people know that there is availability and when paired with additional rental property advertising strategies can drive some high-quality leads. Plus, even if the person that passes the for rent sign isn’t looking for a place themselves – they might know a person that is and refer them your way.
However, for rent signs aren’t for everyone and may not be suitable for every location. To help you determine if using for rent signs is right for your rental business, here’s a list of the pros and cons of using For Rent signs in our ever-changing world of rental marketing.
A for rent sign might not be the best strategy for you. Perhaps it isn’t generating enough leads, or the leads you are getting are low-quality or time-wasters.
Below we have listed a few creative rental listing alternatives to a for rent sign that can be used to help gather quality leads.
The way people search for rentals has changed over the last decades. The first stop people will make is an online search. Having an online presence through a professional website then can be a great way to get your rental listing in front of tenants.
You can create a free rental listing with Landlord Studio and syndicate it to top rental listing sites including, Zillow, Zumper, Hotpads, and Trulia with a single click. Learn more here.
Depending on the location of your rental and the local demographic in the area, using flyers could be a good way to expose your rental to a relevant audience. This is a relatively inexpensive way to find renters and allows you to include some quality photos, a description, and details of an easy way for them to contact you.
You can use platforms like Freepik, a popular online platform for graphic resources, to help you create impressive flyers for an affordable price.
Just like an open house for a for-sale property, hosting an open house for a rental can be a good way to drum up interest to find renters. It also allows you to meet prospective tenants face to face and means you won’t need to organize multiple separate viewings with people that express an interest.
The key is awareness… you’ll have to ensure that you post the Open House on multiple websites to generate traffic. A for rent sign on the lawn with details of the open house times could be a good way to combine strategies and achieve success through this rental property advertising method.
Take advantage of free online listing sites to find renters.
Facebook Marketplace harnesses their absurdly large user base and allows you to get your listing onto one of the biggest sites on the web. While creating the listing is free, you can choose to sponsor your listing to get it in front of even more people.
Craigslist has been around for a long time. But they are not obsolete. They still get millions of views a month, many of which go to their property listing pages. This is free and a great way to get in front of prospective tenants.
Zumper uses two-way matching to let prospective renters search by their top criteria and let listing owners stipulate credit score minimums for applicants. It’s free to post on Zumper and any listings added to their site are also added to PadMapper and Facebook Marketplace automatically.
With Zillow you can list your property for free (using their Zillow Rental Manager). If you want to boost your listing they charge a flat fee of $29.99 per listing for up to 90 days.
Because Zillow, Trulia, and HotPads are all under the umbrella of the Zillow Group, postings on any of those sites are spread across all three networks.
Also owned by Zillow Group, Trulia's expansive reach is its main draw. Listings for a full rental unit or home are displayed on Trulia, Zillow, and HotPads, but you also have the option to list a single room, which will then appear on Trulia and HotPads only.
List your property for free on Landlord Studio and syndicate to Zillow, Zumper, Trulia and Hotpads with a click.
Maximize your property expsosure andget more high intent leads without the hassle of creating and managing multiple accounts - all for free.
Traffic to Apartments.com is high – some 35 million renters visit it a month in fact. Like with Zillow or Landlord Studio, it will syndicate your listing to its partner sites ForRent.com, ApartmentFinder, Apartmenthomeliving, and Apartamentos.com.
While simple listings are actually free, Landlords can also choose to upgrade to a Premium listing to promote their units as featured.
Apartment List only charges a fee if you are successful in renting your property through their site. Prospective tenants complete a survey of what they’re looking for and the site will automatically create a shortlist for them.
While the market for newspapers has certainly changed over the years the concept of the local classified section still thrives. Many newspapers have moved online and still offer listings for a range of things from pets for sale to, you guessed it, properties for rent.
Check out your local city or regional paper and see what it would take to get a listing.
Most larger real estate companies will handle the letting process. They have expertise and experience in creating ads and getting them in front of people. Hiring a service like this will cost you a fee and is likely going to be one of the more expensive options out there.
One of the benefits is that it allows you to be completely hands-off for the process of finding renters. This is a popular option for people with numerous units who simply don’t have the time to manage their listings themselves.
Related: Should You Hire A Property Manager Or Self-Manage Your Rentals
Rent is likely going to be their largest single expenditure taking up 30% plus of their salary. Unsurprisingly, tenants have become increasingly demanding. It’s crucial to know what tenants are looking for and to create your listing with that in mind.
Many tenants are spending more time at home and as such are favoring apartments and properties that make good use of space, have home offices, are close to large outdoor spaces such as parks, and have a personal outdoor space attached.
As such creating a great listing is a top priority. We outline a few of the key parts of a rental listing and some tips to help you stand out and be above the competition.
All real estate marketing strategies will state that writing an inviting, catchy, and unique description of your investment property is a must. Take your time, carefully consider what makes your rental stand out from the competition. What does it have that other rentals don’t?
Make sure to detail all the vital things such as the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, etc. Write it properly according to grammar and spelling standards, and make it clear and easy to read.
Additionally, you will want to outline any draws from the local area. For example, is the property near bus routes, close to schools, near a park, or the beach?
Finally, you need to create an intriguing and captivating heading, something that prospective tenants can’t help but click on to get a closer look.
Learn How To Write The Perfect Rental Listing
Another trend we’ve seen due to COVID-19 is that people are looking at fewer properties before making their final decision to rent.
What this means is that landlords are getting less opportunity to impress. The visual representation of your property should be eye-catching and show off all the rental’s best features. You could even include a floor plan in your listing to show off its layout and space.
In fact not including a floor plan is “one of the reasons that 1 in 5 buyers would ignore a property listing completely,” according to Rightmove.
It’s a good idea to hire a professional photographer for this process – however, it’s not always necessary if you know how to take great photos of your unit yourself. When taking the photos make sure the unit is clean and tidy, is well lit, and feels as homey as possible. You want your future tenants to feel like this might be their new home, rather than living in someone else’s.
Learn How To Get Great Rental Photos For Your Listing
One of the final things to consider when advertising your rental property to avoid vacancies is setting a fair rental price. Too low and you are leaving money on the table, too high and you will likely put prospective tenants off who will feel like they can get a better deal elsewhere. To determine a fair rent amount you will want to compare your property with similar rentals in the area.
Once you’ve got your applicants you will then need to run them through your screening process including running a tenant screening report through Landlord Studio. This report will quickly give you important information such as their credit report, criminal history, and eviction record.
Finally, with the hard work over, your tenant selected and ready to move in you just need to set up an efficient method for collecting your rent. Thankfully, Landlord Studio has you covered here as well. Your tenants can set up automatic online rent payments through Landlord Studio. These payments will then automatically be reconciled in our income and expense tracking too.
Landlord Studio is an easy to use property management and accounting software designed for landlords.
Find and screen tenants, collect rent online, track income and expenses, run reports, and more - all for free.
In this free webinar, we’ve teamed up with Kim Avant-Babb to explore how to find the perfect tenant and achieve a 0% eviction rate for your rental property.
Hosted by: Logan Ransley, Landlord Studio Co-Founder and Kim Avant-Babb, Real Estate Investor
Where: On Demand
Watch now
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