A rental real estate investing professional’s worst enemy is a vacant property. Fall is a notoriously hard time to rent vacant properties, as most people have just finished settling in to new homes after big summer moves. If you’re trying to find someone to fill your vacant rental home, follow these tips to market your property as effectively as possible:
- List your property online. Sure, you can list it in print media, too. But if you don’t advertise your vacancy online somewhere prominent, you’re going to miss out on the vast majority of home seekers. Craigslist is a must-list website if you’re trying to fill an apartment, and you should also make sure that you’re listing on any regional sites that locals in your area trust. For example, in West Los Angeles, the go to resource is westsiderentals.com.
- Make sure your listing is accurate and flattering. You want to emphasize the best features of your vacant property without giving any mis-information. Updated bathrooms or kitchens, a lenient pet policy, patios, and new windows are highly sought after features that will set your listing apart.
- List your property at a fair price. Make sure that your asking price is on par with similar properties in the neighborhood. Renters are smart. They know how much they should expect to pay, and if you ask too much, they’ll skip right over your ad.
- Include photos. This is a big one. No photos, no chance your ad will get responses. Good photos are so easy to take and post these days that a house hunter will automatically see a lack of pictures as a red flag. On the other hand, high quality pictures of each room will draw potential renters in.
- Put a “For Rent” sign in front of the property. You’d be amazed how many buy and hold investing pros overlook this one. Particularly if you’re renting a property surrounded by other apartment buildings or rental homes, drive-by traffic can be the difference between a vacant home and a long-term tenant.
If you’re looking to get into the buy and hold market, learn more about ZINC Financial’s rental real estate financing and how we support our clients with market information and insights by giving us a call today at (559) 326-2509.
