How Do I Find Tenants For My Rental? Information provided by All Property Management http://www.allpropertymanagement.com/faq/how-do-i-find-tenants-for-my-rental_p44.html.
If you are new to the rental property business, you?re probably wondering how to attract and secure quality tenants for your apartment or office complex. The level of involvement you will have in this process will depend on whether or not you decide to hire a property manager or property management company. If so, the property manager will take over the responsibility of securing tenants, and you will only be involved for consultations on marketing methods and final approval of prospective tenants. If however, you have decided to take on the responsibility of running the rental property yourself, you will be in charge of finding tenants for your rental property.
Make Your Rental Property Known
The only way that people will know you exist is to tell them. Advertising isn?t just for multi billion dollar corporations. You have to think beyond halfhearted attempts at spreading the word- placing a For Rent sign in the window of the building is not enough to attract prospective tenants. Effective advertising should be both on and offline and the local classified ads are a great place to start. Many newspapers also have an online classified section- if you advertise in both of their mediums, you might be privy to a better discount. There are also free publications, magazines and websites where you can post your ad, such as Craigslist, Yahoo groups, and Google groups. The ad should be brief, and contain the most relevant information about the listing, including size, price and any outstanding features (such as a swimming pool or new appliances).
Feature Your Rental Online
You should also feature your property on your company's website. If you have a limited number of rental properties that are privately owned, you can create your own website to feature the property. Your classified and other ad placements should all reference the website for additional information as well as photographs of the property. When taking photos of your rental property, keep in mind that you want people to see the pictures in the best possible light, and include every room in the property. If your property has any outside area that is included in the rental cost, exterior photos should be added as well.
Promote Your Rental Through Flyers
You should also create a flyer, completely with photographs, alerting potential tenants of your available property. You can use the same copy from your classified advertisement, and be placed in public places such as Laundromats, grocery stores, and academic campuses. Make sure that the phone number you list on the flyer is one that will be answered when a prospective tenant calls, such as a cell phone. Many people have a list of potential rental units, and will simply move on to the next advertisement if no one answers.
Set A Realistic Rental Rate
Be realistic and competitive with the price of your rental property. Unless you have substantial experience as a landlord, you are probably not knowledgeable when it comes to settling on a monthly price for your property. Start by looking at other comparable rental units in the classified sections of the local paper and see how much their units are renting for. Remember, the cheapest available unit is the one that is going to get the most prospective tenants. If your rental property is not listed at a competitive price, you run the risk of the unit going vacant for a period of time. This can be extremely costly and have a significant impact on your monthly cash flow. In addition, you are leaving yourself at risk for vandalism and increased utility bills.
*Please add me to your blog subscriptions and visit me at http://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishyzy
Thank you,
Chris Hyzy
BG Properties
Director of Property Management Relations - Realtor
chrishyzy@realtyagent.com
Comments (3)Subscribe to CommentsComment