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It’s the dream of every rental property owner to get a great tenant. With a quality tenant in place, you can rely on timely payments month after month without the hassle of dealing with ongoing problems and damage to your property.
The task of getting a great tenant starts with an excellent rental advertisement. You want as many people as possible to be drawn to your rental, so you can pick and choose from those applicants to settle on one that is the right fit. If you have been struggling to properly promote your rental, we’d like to lend some advice in this article by highlighting some of the key elements needed for a great ad. It’s not as hard as you might think!
#1 - Start By Building a List
To get your mind around this task, the best place to start is to simply list out everything about the rental that you would like to convey to potential tenants. At this point, don’t worry about how it will be formatted or anything like that - you are just going to make a big list of every relevant detail.
Some of the things you’ll want to include in this list are obvious, such as the size of the property, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and where it is located. But that’s only the start of your list. You can also call out anything that will make this rental more appealing than other area options, such as extra parking, a large entertaining space, a modern kitchen, a nice patio, and on and on.
Other notable features away from the property itself could include proximity to schools, nearby shopping and dining, parks in the area, and more. Think of this as a brainstorming session where you just dump everything that there is to like about the property out of your head and onto a piece of paper.
In addition to describing the property and the surrounding area, also make some notes about the policies and expectations that come with renting this property. This can include things like outlining late fees, when a tenant could move in, whether or not pets are allowed, and more. Featuring these points in the written description will help you screen out people who aren’t a good fit and you’ll wind up with more qualified candidates when the applications start to arrive.
#2 - Giving It Some Shape
You’ll find that you already feel a bit better about creating this advertisement now that you have the best attributes of the property listed in front of you. The next step is to break up your list into categories that you can pick from when doing the actual writing.
The first category to create is what we’ll call the “basics”. This is the monthly cost of renting the property, its size, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the layout (rambler, two-story, etc.), and important notes like if it has air conditioning. Any items that fit into this category get pulled out of the list and put under this heading.
Next, make a category that contains other selling points about the property that didn’t qualify as basics. Once a potential renter has checked the basics and confirmed that the property could work for their needs, they’ll move on to this next set of points to really be sold (or not). For instance, this is where you might note that the kitchen has lots of cabinets and a large island, which would instantly grab the attention of an avid cook. Load up this category with any points that you think would grab a potential renter’s attention and cause them to want to see the property in person.
Finally, your last category is going to be the selling points that exist in the nearby area around the property. From great views to good schools and beyond, renters are going to want to feel like not only are they going to live in a comfortable home, but they’ll have an enjoyable area around them to explore.
#3 - Take Great Photos
The photos that you include with your listing are going to be just as impactful, if not moreso, than the words you write. In fact, most people are going to start their review of the listing by scrolling through the pictures, and they’ll only move on to read your description if they like what they see.
If you take your own pictures for the listing, be sure the property is neat and tidy before you get started. Less is more, in this case - meaning you want the rooms to be largely empty so everything looks big and the possibilities seem endless.
While you can go ahead and take the DIY approach to taking pictures, hiring a professional would go a long way and may be a wise investment. Reserving a real estate photographer for just an hour or two won’t come with a huge cost and you will be amazed at the quality of the images they can collect. Experienced professionals have an understanding of concepts like lighting and cropping that are difficult for an amateur to grasp on the first try.
#4 - Bringing It Together
At this point, much of the hard work is done. You have neatly categorized the best features of the property into three columns, and you can use those points to create an ad that covers all of the appropriate bases. Without doing that groundwork, the actual writing would be quite a challenge.
Of course, if you aren’t an experienced writer, you might still feel intimidated by this task, even after getting organized. Use the following tips to overcome any writer’s block and produce an ad renters will love.
It’s also important to include a “call to action” within your ad, just like any other type of marketing material would feature. This is the instructions on what to do next for people who are interested. So, if you want them to call a phone number to set up a tour of the property, provide that number and ask anyone interested to call to learn more. Being direct with the action that you want interested parties to take is the best way to get the results you desire.
One Final Note
If you don’t do a lot of ad writing, it’s hard to know for sure if the ad you produce is conveying the message successfully. You already know what you are trying to say, so just reading it back to yourself doesn’t really help.
Before you publish this advertisement in places where renters can find it, ask a few friends or family members to read it and provide their thoughts. You might realize that some of the sections aren’t as clear as you thought, or they might notice that you missed something about the property entirely. A bit of quick feedback can go a long way toward making sure the ad is successful.
Turn It Over to Marble
While producing a quality rental advertisement is certainly possible for any property owner, you might not have the time to do this work - or you might simply prefer to hand it over to the experts. If that is the case, Marble is the right partner.
As an affordable virtual property manager, Marble can not only produce property listings that appeal to the right renters, but also handle every other piece of the management puzzle. From screening applicants and creating leases to collecting rent and dealing with maintenance, Marble makes rental property ownership a breeze. You can get started today for free or you are welcome to contact us directly for more information.
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