Property investment involves mastering many skills. One area that is often overlooked is how to effectively advertise your rental property once you are ready for tenants. This can help you avoid or decrease void periods, thus increasing occupancy and your bottom line.
Here are a few tips to help you advertise your rental property and find the right tenants quickly and efficiently.
When to Advertise
Picking the right time to advertise your rental property can vastly improve your chances of quickly finding high quality tenants. This is especially important if you’re renting to students who are of course governed by the academic calendar. You certainly want to be advertising the winter before the new academic year. For professional lets, advertising about a month before the property is ready is about right, although it does depend on your local market. any longer and it may be harder to get prospective tenants to make a decision, while any nearer and you may be forced to take less than ideal tenants.
Where to Advertise
This again depends on your target audience. Most property searches start online these days, so make sure your advert is optimised for the web with enticing descriptions and good quality visuals. Try your local university if you’re in the student market, while local facebook groups can also yield results with younger renters. If you’re renting out HMO rooms, sites like Spareroom and easy roommate are the best. You can get access to Rightmove through portals such as Upad, Speedy Lettings and Open Rent.
Photos
As mentioned above, making your listing stand out on the web is crucial. Make sure your photos are good quality and show the best bits of your property. Employ the services of a professional if you cannot take good photos yourself. Things like a floorplan and video walk through will increase engagement and get more views.
Extras
Make sure your text is easily digestible, use bullet points if necessary and make sure your contact details are correct. Once your listing goes live, respond promptly to enquiries and sending a reminder before viewings will help to let your property quicker.
