Investor · Madison Heights, MI · Member since 2015 · 7 posts · 2 votes
What is the best way to Advertise A Vacant single family Rental? Craigslist? Newspaper? Online websites like rent.com or apartments.com? I hear that putting a rental sign in the yard is not a good idea, since that can signal that the property is empty and can be broken into. I've very lost and confused as to how to do this. Thanks in advance for all of your answers!
San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 238 posts · 204 votes
8y
@Bobby H. - you should definitely have an online prescence. A third party survey showed that 84% of renters find their apartments on the rental listing websites.
If you understand SEO and look at traffic (where tenants are searching), you will see that the Zillow Group is gaining the most search volume from tenants looking for rentals. The place you list your property should include posting it to Zillow, as we do that and recommend that others do as well.
Note that I don’t work for Zillow, but I’m a huge fan as we work with them and notice that after advertising to over 40 rental listing websites (Realtor.com, Zumper, Zillow, etc), our data still shows the majority of leads come from Zillow.
Fairfax, VA · Member since 2017 · 183 posts · 58 votes
8y
All of them are good. The more the better. I used zillow, trullia, craiglist. Depending on the class neighborhood it might or might not be a good idea to put a sign.
We use Cozy.co for our rentals, and it synchs it up with hotpads.com, trulia, etc... and also make sure you're on Zillow.com, that's where we tend to get most of our leads. If you're okay with putting yourself out there, also do FB marketplace ads!
We do low income rentals, and 100% no chance in heck we'd ever put a sign up... it'd be like advertising it's vacant and someone can break in! I will say, when we do showings, it'd be a good thing to post it when you are there.
Portland, OR · Member since 2017 · 7 posts · 3 votes
8y
@Linda S. Just to clarify, Cozy will syndicate landlords' listings only to Realtor.com and Doorsteps.com, but you can use the link to your Cozy listing to post on other listings sites.
Rental Property Investor · Jersey City, NJ · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 876 votes
8y
I'm finding Zillow (hotpad,trulia) to be really low quality leads. I both email and text them back and rarely get a callback. It's probably because they just click to send me an email. Craigs, where they actually have to type an email, seems to be more serious interest. Still this is an awful month to find a tenant!
San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 238 posts · 204 votes
8y
@Bobby H. - you should definitely have an online prescence. A third party survey showed that 84% of renters find their apartments on the rental listing websites.
If you understand SEO and look at traffic (where tenants are searching), you will see that the Zillow Group is gaining the most search volume from tenants looking for rentals. The place you list your property should include posting it to Zillow, as we do that and recommend that others do as well.
Note that I don’t work for Zillow, but I’m a huge fan as we work with them and notice that after advertising to over 40 rental listing websites (Realtor.com, Zumper, Zillow, etc), our data still shows the majority of leads come from Zillow.
Property Manager / Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2013 · 779 posts · 301 votes
8y
Advertise/market in as many places as you can. In my market CL provided most of the leads a year ago, now Zillow is better. Who knows what next year will be? For SFR in good areas, I find a professional sign in the yard providing good leads too.
Real Estate Professional · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2017 · 28 posts · 11 votes
8y
Hey @Bobby H.! I'd recommend looking into Facebook advertising as an additional way to market rental properties. @Linda S. had a great suggestion with using the marketplace in there. You can also create paid advertisements on Facebook using the carousel ad type to show multiple pictures of the house that you're marketing. Running a paid advertisement also allows you to market to more specific demographics. Since you're paying for impressions on there instead of clicks, a small budget can generate a ton of interest.
Investor · Madison Heights, MI · Member since 2015 · 7 posts · 2 votes
8y
Thanks for the answers everyone! How do you work the leads? Do you call them back or email them one by one? That wold seem pretty time-consuming. Do you have them call into a 24/7 voicemail? Please advise on how you deal with and manage the leads.
Real Estate Agent · Cupertino, CA · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
8y
Everyone has his way of finding a rental. If it is free why not list with all? Signs are OK so long as one is out there watching it. Do you have camera and internet to document those pass your home?
Rental Property Investor · Derwood, MD · Member since 2017 · 33 posts · 23 votes
8y
When I was a renter I would always use Trulia or Zillow. Although, as someone that is in the military I know a lot of people that use AHRN to advertise rentals. Although, I don't think there are any military bases near you so I wouldn't use their website. If you have other properties on your portfolio I would give your other tenants a discount on one months rent if they refer you a renter. I hope you get your property rented out soon.
Thanks for the answers everyone! How do you work the leads? Do you call them back or email them one by one? That wold seem pretty time-consuming. Do you have them call into a 24/7 voicemail? Please advise on how you deal with and manage the leads.
You will get a lot of people who just clicked the "send more info" button on Zillow. We have a prewritten email response we send out that details our requirements, total move-in monies required, app fee. The goal is to get the unqualified to self screen out. We ask them to reply to this email if they are still interested and believe they qualify.
If they reply a second time, they are then invited to a group showing. They are asked to bring a copy of their government issued photo ID and a recent pay check stub to the showing. We bring a copier to the showing, and if they want to apply we copy the ID and paycheck stub right there. I prefer paycheck stubs that show YTD earnings.
They then apply, we screen. We meet again at the apartment to collect move in money, sign the rental agreement and hand over keys. We send out the Dodd-Frank required letter to those who did not pass the credit check and keep their app fee. We refund app fees to those who qualified but we only had one vacancy. We have a feel good rejection letter we send them.