Today we are sharing a few tips on how to attract a quality tenant for your rental property. This is the single most important thing you can do as a landlord and if you choose the right tenant properly, it will help you avoid lots of issues down the road. Tenant selection starts with quality marketing. This includes high quality photos, a high quality write-up and the broad syndication of your ad. If you have those things and your ad is all over the Internet, you’ll know based on your call volume and showing volume if you’ve priced the home properly. Without quality marketing, you won’t know.
Pictures
You need a good camera. Get a digital camera with a broad lens to take pictures. We currently use the Samsung Galaxy II digital camera and it’s working really well. Stand in corner of a room with the light source to your back or side. Take a lot of photos – at least 50. Once we have a good collection of photos, we pull them into Picasa or use the Mac Book Pro to enhance them. This allows us to improve the exposure, remove any shadows and enhance colors. The result is about 15 to 20 photos that really showcase the property.
Description
Write the best property description you can. It doesn’t have to be very long. The primary goal with your description is to make sure the property lands on someone’s list of homes to see. Renters are searching online through sources like Trulia, Zillow and Homes.com. They will make a list based on photos, price and description. You want to be on that list, so write a description that is short, to the point and full of good adjectives.
Syndication
Syndicate your ad to the broadest possible base of websites you can. Without being an agent, you won’t be able to get it on Realtor.com or the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), so maximize your other options. Post on Zillow, Trulia and a couple of times a week on Craigslist. Respond to incoming calls quickly and make the property available on all days and at all times. Track your feedback. You want to see between three and six, maybe even seven or eight showings a week. That’s how you’ll know it’s priced correctly. The goal is to get a tenant in your property within 30 days. Any longer than that, you’re wasting money with a prolonged vacancy.
These are just a few tips on how to market your property like a professional. There is a lot more to talk about on this subject, so contact us at Mark Brower Properties if we can help you with your marketing plans in any way.
