To be a successful landlord, your primary goal is to fill your rental property with tenants as soon as possible. Vacancies can cause income loss, and the longer your property stays vacant, the more money you will lose. However, the process of filling in vacancies can be a bit tricky, especially if you have not yet established an effective marketing strategy.
Marketing your rental property efficiently is crucial since it determines how soon you can find a tenant. However, many landlords make mistakes when marketing their rental properties, making it hard to attract potential occupants, let alone properly screen tenants. Worse, these mistakes attract the wrong tenants, which is one of the reasons for rental-related stress and financial losses.
To help you market your rental property effectively, we have listed the most common marketing mistakes that you should avoid:
Neglecting a Property Marketing Plan
If you start marketing your rental unit without a strategy, you will end up with oversights and problems. Before you list your property on the market, you should strategize how to position your rental and decide what approach to use.
Identify your target market based on the rental demand in your area, and make sure that your marketing materials are geared towards attracting your target audience.
Lacking Market Research
Creating a marketing strategy without proper market research and analysis can also be detrimental to the effectiveness of your marketing process.
As part of strategizing a marketing plan, you need to study the market first, identify the current rental trends, and analyze market insights to understand the demand for rental properties in your area.
Using Poor Quality Photos
Most tenants depend on photos to evaluate potential properties before scheduling a viewing. Thus, it's essential to have quality photos of your rental property. Ensure that the photos are clear, well-lit, and show every important detail of the house.
Hiring a professional photographer is a worthwhile investment that will help your rental property stand out among the competition.
Writing Poor Descriptions
Your rental property's description should be compelling and detailed to capture a potential renter's attention. Ensure that your description is free of grammatical errors and typos, and highlights the property's unique features. Be honest and transparent about the property's condition, so you don't mislead potential tenants.
Relying on Word-of-Mouth
While word-of-mouth can be a reliable method of finding tenants, it's often not enough. Ensure that you market your rental property through different channels to increase its visibility.
Your goal should be to reach as many audiences as possible. This way you can easily pick the best tenant for your rental unit. Relying solely on word-of-mouth will only limit your reach, and it may take longer to fill your vacancies.
Neglecting Online Listings
The internet has revolutionized the rental property market business, and most tenants now resort to online listings when searching for rental properties. Landlords who overlook online listings miss out on a significant number of potential tenants.
Ensure that you register your rental property on popular rental listing sites and use other social media platforms to increase its visibility.
Not Using Virtual Tours
One of the best things about technology is that it allows us to do more things without having to leave our home office. Some prospective renters want to see how the property looks in a 360-degree visual, and sometimes, photos will not suffice.
Fortunately, most online listings allow landlords to include virtual tours of the property so that viewers will get a better idea of how the property looks. Virtual tours are a great way to encourage renters to visualize themselves living in the rental unit. Failing to include virtual tours is a huge marketing mistake that can easily be avoided.
Not Emphasizing the Property's Best Features
Using high-quality photos can help you bring attention to your property’s best features. Make sure to highlight the unique and desirable features of your property by adding descriptive language along with the photos.
Features such as a stunning view, a large backyard, or new appliances should not be disregarded when marketing your rental. Failing to emphasize these features in your advertising materials can be a big mistake since some renters will be willing to pay extra for these amenities that keep them happy.
Missing Information about the Neighborhood
When advertising your property, do not just focus on describing the rental unit. Make sure to provide sufficient information on the neighborhood as well. Include nearby amenities such as parks, restaurants, library, and shops.
Also, highlight the advantages of the property's location, such as proximity to public transportation, schools, or employment opportunities.
Failing to Respond Promptly
Promptly responding to inquiries and requests from prospective renters improves your reputation and increases your chances of finding occupants.
Failing to answer phone calls, reply to emails, or attend arranged meetings in regards to your marketing can hurt your chances of renting out your property to quality tenants who will keep your property safe.
Not Having a Clear Call to Action
Missing a strong call to action makes your marketing unclear to potential tenants. They can struggle to understand what their next step should be if they're interested in your rental property. As a result, they may move on to other properties that have a clear and actionable message.
Ensure to include a clear call to action in your listing or marketing materials, such as "schedule a showing today" or "apply now." This can help motivate potential tenants to take action.
Bottom Line
Marketing your rental property effectively is crucial to finding tenants quickly. Avoiding the mistakes listed above can help you save time and money by ensuring that your rental property is occupied within a reasonable period.
If you think you cannot perform the marketing process efficiently, it’s recommended to work with a professional property manager to help you get your property rented out in no time. Contact Nelson Property Management today to learn more!
