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I UNDERSTAND You Found My Listing on Zillow*Trulia*HotPads, etc....

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Property Manager with Gibson Management Group, Ltd.

...I did not put it there.  

Somehow, I am now the EDUCATOR of rental prospects using migration sites to find their new rental home.

These sites RARELY provide a link to my website but they do provide my phone # which is why my outgoing voicemail message directs them to my web site....I also have a MightyText app that I can use to send text messages to cel phones providing information on how to access my listings on my web site.

Many of these sites also do not indicate when the property will be AVAILABLE....SHAME on them....Unlike a home for sale, the majority of my rental homes are currently OCCUPIED so letting prospects (site users) know when properties will be AVAILABLE is very important!

 

I really feel like I am HERDING CATS.....

I recently changed my primary and secondary (Craigslist) e-mail signatures to include:

 

Wallace S. Gibson CPM

View our available rental homes online with photos and floor plans

NOTE to Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com & HotPads users...these are migration sites for listings placed on OUR web site....you should click on the above link to find the property you are interested in under PREVIEW OUR LISTINGS and use the Contact/Inquire option on the listing for additional information and to schedule a viewing.

Here Kitty! Kitty! Kitty!

 

 

Posted by

Wallace S. Gibson is a Certified Property Manager with over 50 years of property management experience and expertise.  She maintains a specialized property management business in Central Virginia serving Albemarle, Greene, Fluvanna and Louisa counties  

LandlordWhisperer

View our available Charlottesville, Albemarle and Lake Monticello rental homes online with photos and floor plans

"...to be a Virginian, either by Birth, Marriage, Adoption, or even on one's Mother's side, is an Introduction to any State in the Union, a Passport to any Foreign Country, and a Benediction from the Almighty God...." Anonymous

 

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Lenn Harley
Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate - Leesburg, VA
Real Estate Broker - Virginia & Maryland

How do we manage to keep our sense of humor?  Must be in our DNA.

Apr 23, 2014 07:46 AM
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA
LandlordWhisperer

Rental prospects who search for a rental home like they would for a home purchase are really having a hard learning curve......property managers and DIY landlords are not wasting our time with these sites when we can post on Craigslist and Facebook and get our units rented.....

Apr 23, 2014 08:08 AM
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA
LandlordWhisperer

I don't mind the "placement" on these sites; however, because they have not bothered to actually differentiate between a sales listing and a rental listing, their users have to jump through more hoops to get information that they actually need to find a rental home..

Apr 23, 2014 09:28 PM
Wayne Martin
Wayne M Martin - Oswego, IL
Real Estate Broker - Retired

Wallace, as we enter this age of transparency why is the water so cloudy?  Enjoy your day!

Apr 23, 2014 09:29 PM
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA
LandlordWhisperer

John * thank you * YOU MAKE MY POINT....AVAILABILITY means * in the rental biz * WHEN THE PROPERTY CAN BE OCCUPIED...it DOES NOT MEAN IF the property is available.. rental listings on HEROPM are ACTIVE or INactive and listings on POSTLETS are ACTIVE/EXPIRE - not Available....the DATE THAT A TENANT PROSPECT CAN MOVE IN is ALMOST as important as the rent amount and location....a prospect who can't see the DATE THE PROPERTY IS AVAILABLE...just keeps clicking the CONTACT ME button which wastes EVERYBODY's TIME!.....just put a DATE AVAILABLE in the rental listings or take it from my HEROPM listing.....

Apr 24, 2014 07:31 AM
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
Gibson Management Group, Ltd. - Charlottesville, VA
LandlordWhisperer

John- DEactivation of my listings has NEVER been the issue * NEVER...I control that and take them off myself PERSONALLY....it is prospects finding my listings on migration sites that do not ACKNOWLEDGE that knowing when a property will be available to OCCUPY is important...it's IMPORTANT..I start renting homes in FEBRUARY for July occupancy....YOUR site users are getting po'd about not having the DATE AVAILABLE on your site and having to click several more times to find this information....that's why I have the wording in my e-mail signature........I would think that this is an issue that would keep these prospects on your site LONGER if they could SEARCH by DATE AVAILABLE 

Apr 24, 2014 08:13 AM
Jeff Jensen
The Federal Savings Bank/Lending in 50 states - Greenwich, CT

Sometimes social media serves to cloud the acquisition process.

May 02, 2014 07:50 AM
John Mosier
Realty ONE Group Mountain Desert - Prescott, AZ
Prescott's Patriot Agent 928 533-8142

Hello, Wallace! I hope all is well with you. I do not depend on the syndicated listings and would stomp them all out if I could. Many fields that are important for me and my clients are not passed through or kept in the syndicated information. For me these parameters are "is there electricity?" or "is there a well or water source?"

May 25, 2014 06:51 AM
Jim Paulson
Progressive Realty (Boise Idaho) www.Progressive-Realty.info - Boise, ID
Owner,Broker

You are much better at herding cats than I am as noted in your photo.  I think I showed that property and the bottom of my shoes have never been the same.

May 06, 2015 01:06 AM
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