Rental Marketing Tricks

[Runum]

Post up your tricks to getting your rentals filled.

Mine:
For Rent sign in yard with phone number
Open all blinds so they can see inside
Post all rental conditions on fliers taped in the windows
Also post pics of interior areas that can't be seen through the windows
Post on Craigslist
Post fliers in local laundromats
Ask large local employers to post fliers in the employee break room
Have a recorded message on phone with rental details and conditions

Any other suggestions?

I know this is kinda slow lane but you gotta get them rented for cashflow to pursue bigger and better deals.:cheers:

 

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[Runum]

Oh yeah, local newspaper ad(didn't work for me but may for other people):cheers:

 

[Jito]

Plenty of photos on craigslist. When I looked for a place, all I used was craigslist, and if there weren't any photos I didn't even read the post...

 

[SteveO]

Lay out some items in the closet, counters, and bathroom just to add conversation and color. Put together a gift basket of goodies and display it in the kitchen or on the breakfast bar. Leave it for the residents when they move in.

Offer a choice of colors for an accent wall. Have some color choices for them and allow them to select a wall in the home to accent.

Make sure that each person that views leaves a name and phone number for your follow-up. Even if they don't rent, you can get valuable feedback afterward.

 

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[MsMoney]

I would also play up on people's senses when showing it. Sight, Smell, Sound. Make sure all window coverings are open to let the light in....bake cookies to have it smell nice (and offer it to them to eat too!)...or have those plug in air freshners about the home to just have it smell nice....if the property doesn't have surround sound in it, then maybe have a boom box there set up to play nice music (nothing too hard, more classical type music...soothing is best...)

Also, what I've done is given a "credit" for people to move in, people like thinking they are getting something for nothing....

An example of this would be: If you want to get $1200 a month in rent, advertise it at $1300 a month rent and let people know that if they have "good credit" AND pay BEFORE the first of every month they can get this credit...otherwise they pay $1300. I've done this for a few of my rentals and that works pretty good!

Another trick....is to offer a "discount" (using the same scenario as above)...but let people know that in lieu of you making repairs, that it is up to them to do it....with the understanding that you will be checking on the property every 6 months. If there are items that aren't fixed, you will charge them the cost of you getting it repaired....and the discounted rate is null & void. I call this my "pain in the a$$ remover" discount! I don't want to get those 3am calls that the toilet has flooded, etc....they take care of it because I've given them a $100/month discount! Understand??

I agree with the others about LOTS & LOTS of pictures. Craigs List has always been the best place for me to advertise too....although, it's gotten to a point where I'd rather have a property manager handle it (I just add their cost into my rents to cover the expense).

Right now in California we have an influx of renters. With all these people losing their homes, they have to go somewhere....

I hope these ideas help you! I wish you much success in your endeavours!! Let me know how things go and what worked for you too! I'm always interested in new ideas.

 

[MrPink]

I have had great luck using university off campus sponsored websites.

 

[Runum]

Wow great ideas guys. Thanks for your input. All my rentals are filled right now. Just getting new ideas for the next round of vacancies. +++speed to all of you.:cheers:

 

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[hakrjak]

If it's really slow and I'm desperate for a renter, I'll include a free gift with rental like a weed whacker for the yard, or a lawn mower to use for free while they live there. Maybe I'll add a washer/dryer if the unit doesn't have one already.

Cheers,

- Hakrjak

 

[Allthingznew]

Disclaimer: I am not a Landlord so this is just my idea.

I think video is something that is way under utilized and as such is still unique. Pics are HUGE and there never seems to be enough of them, and the few that have more than two set themselves apart.

Imagine making a video tour, you show them the entire house and tell them about it as you go. Paint the same kind of picture a RE agent does when they show a house, but do it with video and cover everything. Put the ad up on Craigslist, with some pics and a link to youtube. I think this can work for selling as well as renting, and would really set someone apart from the competition.

 

[Runum]

Very cool ideas. Thanks. ++++speed.

 

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[rcardin]

So far a for rent sign in the front yard and a simple ad on craigslist has worked for me. I have had about 30 phone calls over the last week and had two people take applications and pay app fees yesterday. Should be rented by the end of the week.

 

[JesseO]

I would say 90% of our traffic comes from Craigslist. We generally post an ad 5-10 times a day there in order to have our listing up near the top. It can get tedious at times, but it works. Also, there is a company called V-Flyer at vFlyer - Redirect that makes templates for you that look amazing. You can then copy and paste their html code into your Craigslist ad. It really makes it look professional. They will let you make up to 5 of these templates with a free account. Just make sure and post all the details you can so you don't get 100 phone calls asking if you accept felons or 60 pound dogs when you don't. Good luck =)

 

[NoMoneyDown]

All of these are excellent ideas. Craigslist is my main source for leads, also - along with a yard sign. I also open the blinds to the house and tape a flyer to the front window, and place my flyer box next to the house (so the people will get out of the vehicle and walk to the house, which generally gets them to view it, too) as well as post plenty of pictures in the Craigslist ad using my own template (if anyone wants a free copy just PM me).

What's interesting is that my last rental got a lot of calls and several applications, but the winner ended up being a couple transferring from California. They signed an app, gave me the app fee, signed a lease, gave me the SD and first month's rent, and even paid me a holding fee ALL without even seeing the place. They said the Craigslist ad and pictures "sold" them on it.

 

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[RealOG]

For marketing my units, I tend to focus on the end benefit to the renter rather than stating the list of features. Here are some examples:

Easy access to major roads, never be late again! - Close to highways
No more counting quarters and lugging bags of laundry down the hallways - W/D in unit
Large walk-in closet space to accomodate even the largest of wardrobes - Large walk-in closet
Open kitchen, great for entertaining friends - Open floor plan

Just a few of the marketing tricks. I find people tend to understand concepts and ideas better than straight features. An extra $50/month just for a W/D? No way! But an extra $50/month so I dont have to haul all my kids laundry up and down the stairs and wait while the laundry dries, hell yeah!

Dont use too many or go too overboard, or you may have an opposit effect (people will think you are FOS). Use it sparingly, like salt on a tasty meal. Just enough flavor to really make it great.

RealOG

 

[NoMoneyDown]

Also, I wanted to add that in addition to plenty of pictures (the more the better - including pictures of community points-of-interest, like parks, pool, lake) in the Craigslist ad, I also include a copy of the floor plan, including dimensions. I add this to the flyers as well. This gives people a better idea of what the layout is like without going inside the house. Some people frown on giving out TOO much information, but I figure the more info the better as too little info can deter a good tenant.

 

[rcardin]

I tried to re-post my ad on craigslist today. It told me I had already posted this ad and would not let me post it again. I had to change all of the wording and the title to get past this. Anyone else experience this?

 

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[Runum]

Yep, just a couple of weeks ago. Only thing I know to do is delete the old ad and post the new one or do as you did and change it all up.:cheers:

 

[rcardin]

Been on the market for a whole 12 days and I am worried about getting it rented now.

 

[Runum]

Yeah I know the feeling. If it takes more than a week I start to get anxious.

 

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[msa1]

Not really a trick, but you will get much better tenants if you have good properties. By good I mean location, cleanliness, and things in good condition. My criteria before I rent any house is would I bring my family there.

I think that's important. You are providing what will be someones home and they will treat it as such if it presented in a clean professional manner.

Craigslist work great up here (S.E. Michigan). I get tons of calls.

 

[StreetsofSilver]

In addition to what everyone else has mentioned, I am a big fan of staging. It creates a lifestyle and makes the prospective tenant imagine what it is like to live there.

If you do not want to hire a stager, you can buy some cheap things that you can always use again in other rentals. Some examples:

-Candles
-Towels in the bathroom
-Plants and flowers

You can also use stuff that you already have. For example, take an old table and throw a nice cloth over it and set it with dishes.

 

[erikko]

what i do is i post the property in classifieds with the best pictures of the property and a very catchy title

 

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[JesseO]

rcardin, to make more than one listing on Craigslist you have to change the body of the text at least a little bit. I have probably 30 postings that I just copy and paste to make new ones. After you have a bunch of posts, you can just start cycling through them without getting the message about similar postings.

 

[Runum]

Revive an old thread. I have posted a diagram of the floor plan with the room measurements in the window. That way they can figure out is the oversize, monster bed will fit in the 10'x10' bedroom.

Also, for my second story unit, they can't look in all the windows. So I mounted some plexiglass to the side of the building with all the pics, dimensions, conditions taped underneath the plexiglass. When the unit is rented I remove it and put the screws back in the wall and store the plexiglass for next time.

 

[JesseO]

Here's one of our four floorplans:

View attachment 801

 

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