I closed on a duplex in Buffalo, NY last week. The house (both upper and lower) was vacant, in great shape as the owner had done some minor updates to the flats. The numbers look great on paper and the rents I plan to ask for are reasonable according to Rent-o-Meter and what I am told by folks in the business. I placed an ad in Craigslist and scheduled an open house for Saturday and sat there by myself as no one showed. Seems so easy to get lost in the Craigslist shuffle. I plan to place an ad in Zillow shortly. When checking out the competition in the area, I saw an ad for an apartment a couple doors away from mine...having been on Zillow for approximately 60 days. UGH! I am up for the challenge and considering including incentives that would vary, depending upon the duration of a lease I secure. Incentives might include free internet, free utilities for a few months, etc. So my questions to you, my esteemed colleagues, are Craigslist and Zillow the most employed websites for posting available apartments - or are there others I need to include? What strategies do you use in order to find tenants quickly and how do you stand out in the crowd? Many, thanks!

@Russell Caraotta try Facebook marketplace

One thing to consider Russell, when you post a sign in the front yard, you are advertising that the property is empty. Depending on your neighborhood, this may be a bad idea.

Hi Russell, I recently had to find new tenants for a house in Los Angeles. I put up ads on both Craigslist and Zillow however Zillow's was far more successful. I may have had only one or two people who contacted me through Craigslist. I spent time taking nice pictures of both the inside and outside of the house and write up a detailed description. I scheduled two open houses during consecutive weekends and had prospective tenants contact me to setup a time and give them the address. So even though it was an open house, people who wanted to come and check out the property still had to contact me ahead of time, so I knew roughly how many people would show up.

@Russell Caraotta, you may not want to hear this, but sometimes it helps to have a property management company list your property. They usually have people contacting them looking for places. Plus they will list on multiple sources for you. It all depends on how quickly you want it rented. I have always used an agent or a property management company to list my properties, mostly because I dont have the time to do a bunch of showings and screenings, I just factor it into my costs. In the end, the $1000ish I pay them is worth it. I still manage the properties myself, just don't list them. Also, did you look to see how long rentals are listed for before being filled? I am not sure if Rentometer does that. It maybe normal for your market to have long vacancy periods, especially if you are in a smaller city.

Do you have a sign in the front yard too? ;-)

@Russell Caraotta The order of most inquiries for me: Facebook Marketplace, Yard Sign, Zillow, Craigslist, Apartments.com The order of BEST leads/actual applicants: Zillow, Yard Sign, Facebook, Craigslist Facebook gets me a ton of inquiries. Half don’t follow up. 90% don’t show up if scheduled. Zillow inquiries are generally real, and good. Yard sign inquiries rarely get past the price of my units (but when they do, it’s worked out well). Craigslist for some reason this year just hasn’t had very many inquiries at all. Nobody has ever called me based on my Apartments.com ad. I’ve tried the Open House routine. Fell flat. Now, if I already have somebody scheduled for a showing on the weekend, I’ll change my ad and call it an open house, since I will already be there. Bottom Line: Use them all.

The majority of mine come in from Zillow, but a yard sign and craigslist have also produced tenants. I would want to compare my rental with the one that has been on the market and see if there are discernable differences (from screening to space to price). Make sure you are very comfortable with your market- I achieve this by regularly viewing Zillow and knowing the benefits of each area, to the block, of my market. But remember- you just started this, so don't panic. Open houses in my market are an invitation for nosey neighbors and fellow landlords, I don't do them. Get some nice photos, get up on Zillow, Hotpads, Cozy, Realtor, Trulia, etc. and see what comes of it.

Account Closed Thanks, Elliott. Honesty is key or else you end up feeling it in the end!

Don't be discouraged, its not the greatest time of year to find renters and may take a little while. I have relied on craigslist and zillow in Clarence and usually fill a vacancy within a month, and Clarence is not very populated. Facebook marketplace and let go app will also bring activity. I particularly like online stuff because you can have the potential renters fill out a questionnaire before they come see the place, and that really saves you time and weeds a lot of them out. It's more difficult and time consuming over the phone. You also have it for reference which comes in handy.Here is my what I ask them before they come see, sorry the formatting is a little goofy:Hi ______, thank you for your interest in the property. Please fill out the following questionnaire that I send to every interested party before showing. If you have any questions please email back or call John at 716 XXX XXXFirst names and ages of all other people who will be occupying this residence:Current town you live in:Current rent being paid: Move in date of current residence:Reason for moving out of current residence:Why are you considering this property? Have you given notice for leaving? Current place of employment, position, salary, and number of years in this position: Any other regular income: Pets? Have you ever:Been evicted or asked to leave a residence?Committed a felony?Broken a rental agreement?Been sued for damages or non-payment at a rental property?

More than Craiglist or Zillow?

David Stevoff

Rental Property Investor · Detroit, MI · Member since 2018 · 39 posts · 34 votes

7y

@Russell Caraotta

A lot of good info here for tenant source. In my property management days I offered certain specials to fill units faster.

Below are a few suggestions to fill unit faster :

Offer a $199 security deposit special (make sure you state for qualified tenants only).

Be open to pets but charge an additional $25 a month per pet (you can limit any pet minus service animals).

Offer a free flat screen tv for a full year of on time rent payments.

Offer free internet for all tenants (I would go with a cheaper plan around 40 a month or less).

These are just a few to get you started. Get creative and do something no one else is, the ones who aren't afraid to stand out are the most successful.

More than Craiglist or Zillow?

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