As a landlord, one of your biggest challenges is filling your open living spaces with reliable, responsible tenants. While you can’t simply go out asking for nice-looking people to rent out your property, you can put a number of practices in place to better attract the type of renters you’ve been dreaming of.
While no screening process can guarantee that your tenants are complete angels to work with, there are ways to help yourself reduce the risk of chancy tenants. At the end of the day, good renters are priceless—it’s a mere matter of tracking them down. Great tenants flock to you by design, not by accident, which means you have to be strategic in your pursuit of drawing them in.
Using the tips below, we’ll teach you how to attract great tenants, and make your dream of easy renting an attainable reality.
1. Write a descriptive listing
The first step to attracting quality tenants is through an expressive rental listing. As a potential renter’s first interaction with your space, you want to make sure the first impression is one that sticks.
Living amid the digital age, it should come to no surprise that a whopping 91% of renters use an internet listing service to find their next home. Writing a compelling listing that includes a catchy, well-written, and enticing description with great photos is a must. Your goal should be to impress renters enough to get them to schedule a showing.
To get started on an expressive and effective rental listing, use these tips:
- Start with the best features (skyline views, beach access, spacious backyard, tall ceilings, etc.)
- Select alluring descriptor words (warm, modern, cozy, charming, classic, quiet, spacious, etc.)
- Describe the neighborhood
- Highlight nearby attractions (parks, bars, shopping centers, coffee shops, etc.)
- Provide high-quality professional photos of the space
2. Understand your target market
What type of people occupy the neighborhood your property is located in? Is it young, hip college students, quiet families, or working professionals? By focusing on who lives in the area, you can better gauge what kind of person would be most attracted to joining the community.
You can also figure out your perfect target tenant by surveying the space and the nearby attractions. Larger properties are great for families or young renters who will live as roommates. Properties located near parks or nightlife are great for younger, more active renters. Consider everything when dialing in the picture of your target market.
3. Detail your tenant criteria
How can you attract great tenants without a vivid conception of what your perfect tenant looks like? Don’t underplay the importance or your needs when finding a renter to live in your space. Narrowing down your tenant criteria helps you focus on the qualities to look for when sifting through piles of applications.
Amid the final stages of the process, you should be prepared to ask questions about smoking, pets, noise, and minimum income. Having all this in writing can better streamline the process and protect you from future run-ins about undisclosed rules or expectations.
4. Screen potential tenants
Believe it or not, one of the most common property management mistakes landlords make is skipping rental background checks. Not only can you gain more accurate insight into a potential renter’s history, but you can prevent any future headaches that inevitably come with shady renters. Take advantage of these effective tenant screening procedures to weed out tenants who don’t meet your list of desirable qualities.
5. Advertise in the right places
Once you’ve hammered out the type of tenant you’re looking for, the next step is understanding and posting your listing where they might search. To best ensure your advertising dollars are going to a good place, do a bit of research to better understand where your target market can be reached. There’s no denying the fact that most of that advertising will be done online, but it’s also important to weigh the value of magazine or newspaper listings to reach older renters who may not be as internet-savvy.
The vastness of the internet can be intimidating when trying to figure out which sites are best for your listing. Everything from Trulia and Craigslist to Zumper and Zillow allow you to post your rental and connect searchers with your property with a few simple clicks.
Make 2020 your year of renting success. With these tips in your back pocket, you’re just steps away from finding the easy-breezy tenants you’ve always dreamed of.
