How to market my property better to find renters.

[Darryl E Johnson]

Hey Everyone! 

I have a great 3 bed, 2-bathroom (B) property in a (B) Location. I am needing to find renters and have used Zillow, Apartment.com, Trulia, Hotpads, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and have used my real estate agents email list. My property is 2178 Bowley Brook Drive, Columbus, Ohio, 43219. I am hoping someone can give me more advice or guidance on how to better market my property to find great tenants. 

Thank You

[Will Fraser]

Hi @Darryl E Johnson!  Welcome to the Bigger Pockets forums!

I'll assume that by "Better" you mean faster, more effective, more efficient, and possibly even more profitable.

Hire a really ridiculously good Property Manager. 

That should do the trick.

[Darryl E Johnson]

Thank you! I will do some research on some property managers. 

[Jon Puente]

Hey Darryl, 

Definitely reach out to a solid property management company to help you! Also, maybe your rent price is too high for what you are offering?  

I know dropping the rent price is not something that is helpful for cashflow, but having no tenant is not helping either. You never know if dropping $100/month entices someone.  But go the property management route first, unless you really want to self manage. 

[Rich Hupper]

I am pretty sure rent.com, apartments.com and zillow allow you to make free accounts to post your listing. Lots of rental traffic on those sites.

[Eliott Elias]

You don't have realtors looking for you, put it on the MLS.

[Drew Sygit]

@Darryl E Johnson The changing market will make finding good tenants more challenging in 2023!

There are really only two main reasons a property doesn't rent out:

1) Not enough exposure to the right target audience

2) The audience doesn't like the price-value relationship

To drill down on what the problem is:

How many views are you getting?
---Not enough is a sign that the property is not getting enough exposure, has a bad initial view or is priced way to high

How many inquiries are you getting?
---If a decent amount of people are viewing it, but not inquiring for more info or a showing, then they are not liking what they see when they view the ad. Either price is too high for what it is, or has bad pics or bad description or not enough showing availability.

How many showings are being scheduled?
---Not enough is another sign that price is too high for what it is or has bad pics or bad description or not enough showing availability.

What percentage of showings actually happen?
---If too many showings are cancelled, curb appeal may be an issue or may be part of the market and more confirmation is needed.

Lots of showings but few applications?
---Usually a sign that price-value is perceived to be out of line. Need to lower price or improve the product.

Some more ideas:

1) Is it on the MLS so other agents can show it?

2) Are they offering self-showings?

3) Have you reviewed the ad type and pics on your phone (how most prospects will look at) to verify acceptable?

4) What MoveIn Specials do they suggest?

5) What Along with 3-D Tour, what about a floorplan?

Ask your PMC a LOT of questions about what they are doing and try to brainstorm fixes.

Please send us any feedback via email, as we do not use the DM feature here.
Also, if you like our response, please don’t be shy about giving us a vote😊

[Bob Stevens]

Quote from @Darryl E Johnson:

Hey Everyone! 

I have a great 3 bed, 2-bathroom (B) property in a (B) Location. I am needing to find renters and have used Zillow, Apartment.com, Trulia, Hotpads, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and have used my real estate agents email list. My property is 2178 Bowley Brook Drive, Columbus, Ohio, 43219. I am hoping someone can give me more advice or guidance on how to better market my property to find great tenants. 

Thank You

 Hire a PM, and stay out of their way 

[Remington Lyman]

Quote from @Darryl E Johnson:

Hey Everyone! 

I have a great 3 bed, 2-bathroom (B) property in a (B) Location. I am needing to find renters and have used Zillow, Apartment.com, Trulia, Hotpads, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and have used my real estate agents email list. My property is 2178 Bowley Brook Drive, Columbus, Ohio, 43219. I am hoping someone can give me more advice or guidance on how to better market my property to find great tenants. 

Thank You

 I would recommend lowering your price. It seems like it is on the higher side at $2,100

Here is a rentometer report for it https://www.rentometer.com/ana...

[Steven Foster Wilson]

Quote from @Darryl E Johnson:

Hey Everyone! 

I have a great 3 bed, 2-bathroom (B) property in a (B) Location. I am needing to find renters and have used Zillow, Apartment.com, Trulia, Hotpads, Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and have used my real estate agents email list. My property is 2178 Bowley Brook Drive, Columbus, Ohio, 43219. I am hoping someone can give me more advice or guidance on how to better market my property to find great tenants. 

Thank You

 You have to look at what other places are going for in that area. If I was a renter I would not want that color on the walls. Neutral is almost always better. You might say they can paint it whatever color they want but are they really going to want to take that time to do so? Or spend the money? It looks a little dated for that price if I am being honest. The property that I am getting 2,400 for is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, and everything is newly renovated.

[Andrew Carlson]

@Darryl E Johnson

This question comes up from time to time. Every time i say the same thing…get a FOR RENT sign and stick it in the front yard. Don’t complicate it.

[Miller McSwain]

There have been some great tips posted.
In addition, we have a video tour of the property that we upload to YouTube and share in the listing description.
We are renting by the room, and all 4 of our tenants moved in without taking a physical tour. Most of them were coming from out-of-state, and if we didn't have a video tour that they could view remotely, they likely would have passed on our property.

So having that video could open your listing up to people moving from out-of-state 👍

[Darryl E Johnson]

Quote from @Jon Puente:

Hey Darryl, 

Definitely reach out to a solid property management company to help you! Also, maybe your rent price is too high for what you are offering?  

I know dropping the rent price is not something that is helpful for cashflow, but having no tenant is not helping either. You never know if dropping $100/month entices someone.  But go the property management route first, unless you really want to self manage. 

Thank you for the tip!

[Darryl E Johnson]

Quote from @Drew Sygit:

@Darryl E Johnson The changing market will make finding good tenants more challenging in 2023!

There are really only two main reasons a property doesn't rent out:

1) Not enough exposure to the right target audience

2) The audience doesn't like the price-value relationship

To drill down on what the problem is:

How many views are you getting?
---Not enough is a sign that the property is not getting enough exposure, has a bad initial view or is priced way to high

How many inquiries are you getting?
---If a decent amount of people are viewing it, but not inquiring for more info or a showing, then they are not liking what they see when they view the ad. Either price is too high for what it is, or has bad pics or bad description or not enough showing availability.

How many showings are being scheduled?
---Not enough is another sign that price is too high for what it is or has bad pics or bad description or not enough showing availability.

What percentage of showings actually happen?
---If too many showings are cancelled, curb appeal may be an issue or may be part of the market and more confirmation is needed.

Lots of showings but few applications?
---Usually a sign that price-value is perceived to be out of line. Need to lower price or improve the product.

Some more ideas:

1) Is it on the MLS so other agents can show it?

2) Are they offering self-showings?

3) Have you reviewed the ad type and pics on your phone (how most prospects will look at) to verify acceptable?

4) What MoveIn Specials do they suggest?

5) What Along with 3-D Tour, what about a floorplan?

Ask your PMC a LOT of questions about what they are doing and try to brainstorm fixes.

Please send us any feedback via email, as we do not use the DM feature here.
Also, if you like our response, please don’t be shy about giving us a vote😊

 This was great advice. I am getting views but not enough inquiries. It has only been up for 2 weeks as well. Potential renters who have viewed like it and the price was within range. I have not had luck as of yet. Lowering the rent is my last option but a PM might be my next step. 

[Darryl E Johnson]

Quote from @Andrew Carlson:

@Darryl E Johnson

This question comes up from time to time. Every time i say the same thing…get a FOR RENT sign and stick it in the front yard. Don’t complicate it.

i bought for rent signs today

[Josie Brown]

Hi Darryl! I would suggest using a property manager who has a solid leasing team and marketing team. Ask what the average days on market is for properties they manage and see if they can get you a rental estimate on the property to ensure it's at market rent. 

Keep in mind that it is a slower time of year for renting. You can also consider the condition of the property and how updated it is. Typically, neutral-colored walls, cabinets, etc. are more appealing to potential tenants. 

[Phillip Austin]

@Darryl E Johnson The price seems reasonable to me based off a quick glance at comps. 

Two things come to mind:

1. The interior color is off putting -- tenants prefer neutral colors. They'll most likely take a quick glance at the online ad then move on to the next ad due to the wall color.

2. Time of year -- we're still in "low leasing season" meaning the pool of applicants is smaller and properties, on average, stay vacant a little longer compared to the high leasing season in summer.

[Scott Allen]

@Darryl E Johnson  if you're in state and self managing, I would recommend lowering the price to $1,800. I think painting the walls a neutral color would also help a lot as well. Set 1-2 periods of time each week that you'll be able to show prospective tenants to save your on time - if you can, get them to apply before showing to make sure they meet your qualifications. 

If you're not local - find a solid PM

[Darryl E Johnson]

Quote from @Phillip Austin:

@Darryl E Johnson The price seems reasonable to me based off a quick glance at comps. 

Two things come to mind:

1. The interior color is off putting -- tenants prefer neutral colors. They'll most likely take a quick glance at the online ad then move on to the next ad due to the wall color.

2. Time of year -- we're still in "low leasing season" meaning the pool of applicants is smaller and properties, on average, stay vacant a little longer compared to the high leasing season in summer.

 Surprisingly, i have had every person who saw the house love the color. They were just looking to rent later in the year which i need to rent sooner.

[Darryl E Johnson]

Quote from @Scott Allen:

@Darryl E Johnson  if you're in state and self managing, I would recommend lowering the price to $1,800. I think painting the walls a neutral color would also help a lot as well. Set 1-2 periods of time each week that you'll be able to show prospective tenants to save your on time - if you can, get them to apply before showing to make sure they meet your qualifications. 

If you're not local - find a solid PM

 The price and color have not been the problem. It really is just the slow season. I have received a lot of compliments on the color. I am looking for 2 year tenant. This is a home not a rental so i am not trying to attract heavy turnover tenants.