Good web listings for your investment properties make your job as a landlord easier and reduce the time your property is vacant—and therefore losing money. The following pointers about listing your rental property online will help you create the most effective ads.
If for some reason you’re not listing your rental properties on the web, it’s well past time to start. Millennials and Gen Z rent significantly more than previous generations, and you can be sure they rely primarily on websites and apps to find their rental homes. They certainly aren’t flipping through a newspaper, and probably aren’t driving around neighborhoods looking for for-rent signs in front yards.
Use these tips for listing your rental property online to find tenants as quickly as possible by reaching a large pool of prospective tenants and compelling them to get in touch with you.
Creating Effective Rental Property Web Listings
- Research listing sites and apps to find your target market. If you’re listing a 4-bedroom single-family home in the suburbs, you probably don’t need to reach college students. If you’re listing a 1-bedroom apartment that’s not in a good school district, don’t worry about families. Different sites and apps are favored by different demographics, so home in on the right people.
- Use language and mention features that appeal to your target market. Effective advertising speaks directly to the target audience. Don’t forget that when you’re listing your rental property online, you’re creating an ad for it. Think about your word choice, and be deliberate about which features you highlight up top.
- Be honest. Sure, it’s fine to refer to a small place as “cozy,” but don’t mislead people. You’ll just waste their time and yours when they view your property and realize that it’s not what they expected and not what they want.
- Post lots of quality pictures of the entire property. Photos can really help sell a place, and they also give browsers a much better idea whether the property is what they’re looking for. And that means less wasted time showing it to people who simply aren’t going to fill out an application. For more on this subject, read these tips for taking pictures of your rental property.
- Post virtual tours or 360-degree images. These are even better than static photos for giving prospective tenants a good sense of whether your property is right for them. They also send a signal that you’re with up with the times, which reflects well on you as a landlord and your investment property.
- Make sure you include all the relevant details. Users want to know the monthly rent, how much the security deposit is, the application cost, what the screening process includes, what’s included with rent (if anything), when the home is available, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the square footage, which neighborhood the home is in and what’s nearby, whether it’s a pet-friendly place, the best way to get in touch with you, and so on. If you leave out important details, many people will just move on to the next listing.
- Have a catchy headline. At the very least, it should include the rent amount, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the home type, and the location.
