How to Market Your Rental Property to Stand Out
People are becoming increasingly particular about choosing a rental home, which can make it difficult to market your property. This is especially true given the competitive nature of our current housing market. While you will have to compete with hundreds of different properties in your area, there are ways that you can make your property transform into a highly sought-after home. To help, here are 10 ways you can market your rental property to stand out.
1. Make Sure Your Property is in Good Condition
Before you even consider putting your rental property on the market, make sure that it’s in good condition. This is especially important if you’ve just vacated a tenant or if you haven’t been keeping up with basic maintenance over the years. You may need to invest some money to get the property back into shape but doing so will exponentially improve your efforts when you go to list it. Some things to add to your to-do list include professionally clean any carpets, seal holes and update the interior paint, ensure that all appliances included in the rental property are in working order, clean the baseboards, windowsills, ceiling fans, and everything in between, and fix any minor repairs that could deter renters.
2. Make Small Upgrades with Big Impressions
During your maintenance overview and deep clean, you may notice a few things that are outdated or in desperate need of an upgrade. Consider investing in these upgrades or renovations to help improve your property’s value. This could be as minor as updating the ceiling fans and window treatments or changing out faucets to more modern designs. Attention to detail is paramount and when you commit to making some of these upgrades, you’ll be able to list your house for more and increase the exposure that it gets. You don’t need to tear down walls or add an additional bathroom to your home—small upgrades make a big impact.
3. Look Into Professional Staging
After you’ve gone through and cleaned, repaired, or upgraded the necessary aspects of your home, consider hiring someone to professionally stage the property. This is especially important when providing high-quality pictures and videos as it allows potential tenants to see what the livable space looks like with furniture inside. This takes out guesswork for size comparison and reduces the chance of providing misleading information. Professional stagers are great as they know how to manipulate your home to highlight all of the property’s best assets while diminishing any drawbacks. If you are interested in going this route, just make sure that your listing clarifies that your property comes unfurnished. While staging is an investment, it can reduce the time your property is vacant thus allowing you to earn more over time.
4. Respond and Engage with Interested Renters
Whereas a professional stager will help you showcase your property’s best features, you’ll need to make sure that you’re responsive and engaging with interested tenants. The more professional you are at this, the more likely someone will choose to rent from you. Even if someone finds their dream property, when a potential landlord was unresponsive or aloof, most prospects continue their search elsewhere. Be early to showings, make sure that you get your property ready to be seen, and enhance the ambiance with a candle or seasonal scents.
5. Solidify Strong Curb Appeal
How your house looks from the outside is almost as important as what it looks like inside, so don’t skimp on curb appeal. Trim your shrubs and keep up the landscaping on your lawn, cut any low-hanging trees that may be blocking your property, and take the time to repair external fixtures that are visibly broken or deteriorating. Consider hiring a professional landscaping company if your yard needs some extra work, otherwise spend a weekend on DIY projects.
6. Reinforce Security
Many people are beginning to prioritize safety and security when searching for a new home, so do what you can to reinforce the security of your property. If your neighborhood is in a safe area, that’s great. It’s likely still going to be foreign to the tenants moving in. You can install a home security system that tenants can activate if they see fit or have an ongoing account with your preferred company—simply having the hardware available is a big plus. Just make sure that any cameras or monitors don’t make potential tenants feel uncomfortable. For example, internal cameras that are pre-installed in rental properties often make people feel like they’re being watched, which is not something that anyone enjoys. If you have cameras installed, keep them pointed outside towards main entrances.
7. Take Professional Pictures and Video
Arguably, the best way to market your rental property to stand out from the competition is to take high-quality, professional pictures and videos. Most renters use online platforms as their first step in finding a new home and if they don’t find the pictures to be appealing, they won’t give your place a second thought. This is even more important in today’s world, as many people are still trying to limit unnecessary, in-person contact. If you want to stand out, you’re going to need pictures and videos that are better than what your smartphone can deliver. Pictures and videos should also accurately reflect the space to avoid problems later on. For those who don’t have a good camera, consider hiring a professional real estate photographer.
8. Determine the Market Rent
After making sure that your rental property is ready to be advertised, do some research on the current market rent. Rental rates fluctuate depending on the supply and demand within a market. There are plenty of tools available online to help you understand what homes and apartments in your area are being rented for. Right now, the market is hot so you may be able to fill vacancies with higher monthly rents than before. However, that may not always be the case. If you want to stick to the higher end of the average rental price, you should be prepared to wait longer for vacancies to be filled.
9. Include Perks on the Listing
Aside from the standard specs, renters will want to know what makes your property unique. If someone is looking for a basic two-bedroom, one bathroom home, they’ll come across thousands of different listings in any given area. Take the time to highlight some extra perks of choosing your home. If you have a nice gardening space, access to a rooftop patio, pet-friendly premises, free Wi-Fi, or are located right next to public transportation, include it in the listing. The stronger you can make your listing, the better.
10. Be Active on Multiple Platforms
The strength of your marketing efforts will make a huge difference on the number of applicants you receive. In addition to traditional platforms commonly used for renting—like Trulia and Zillow—be creative and share your rental property across a variety of platforms. Today, social media is being used for more than just staying in touch with friends. With 72% of American adults active on social media, it’s a great way to market your rental property to engaged users and potential tenants. By curating different ways to share your property on social media, you’ll increase the overall awareness of your property and help get cheap or free exposure. Just make sure that you’re marketing your property to the audience you want to inhabit your home. If you don’t want your home to be filled with college students, make sure that your rent and requirements reflect that.
For those who’d prefer to stay off social media, that’s okay too. There are hundreds of different websites designed to help connect landlords and tenants. You can also work with a trusted real estate agent to help target your search and find you the best match.
If you’re ready to purchase your first rental property, or if you’re looking to add to your growing portfolio of homes, First Star Realty is here to help. Our real estate agents are dedicated to helping you find exactly what you’re looking for in an investment property, primary residency, or secondary home. We’re committed to providing five-star realtor services to Northwest Arkansas and will work with you throughout the entire buying or selling process so that you have the peace of mind you need. First Star Realty’s team of highly seasoned real estate professionals is dedicated to providing exceptional, personalized service to all of our clients. Call us today at 479-267-1600 or fill out a contact form on our website.
