Where are tenants looking for rentals online?

Question

I haven't listed my personal property for rent for 15 years.  Where do you feel people (students) are looking online nowadays to find their rental options.  I have a great property next to a University and want to make sure I am posting the property where they'll be looking.  I will likely geo-target the area on Facebook ads, but didn't know if there was a new "Craigslist" type place people are posting nowadays.  Speaking of Universities, what's the best timing during the year to lock students into a lease?  Thanks a trillion!

Mark Sewell · Answer

FB market is the new craigslist.  Free.

Thomas J Ellefson · Answer

Madison WI - I use Zillow, Madisonrent.com, Apartments.com.  Facebook Market Place is also great,  Our software Appfolio post our units to websites I've never even heard of.  Good luck!

Felicia Hamilton · Answer

There are also some college student specific sites, www.uloop.com and also www.studentrent.com.

Merle Brubacker · Answer

100 percent,  In my small town it's almost exclusively FB marketplace. Free, easy to post. A lot of folks have it or know someone that does.  What's not to like?

Ashley Pimsner · Answer

@Jim Canull I use www.rentlinx.com which posts to over 40 sites like zillow, hotpads, apartments.com etc.

Ravinell Wilson · Answer

I think we have covered the fact that zillow and all the sites that they syndicate to  do a good job. This is one of the few times that children and parents will be working together. : )  if you do not get the attention that you believe you need you might consider pay per click   " campus apartments bloomington in"  only has two paid ads on google. . however as covered above zillow will most likely do what you need.

Ravinell Wilson

Alex Smith · Answer

It's goign to vary by area, but the most common ones are Zillow (which also does Hotpads and Trulia), Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, and Zumper.

If you can put a yard in the sign or window, even in today's age, that's still a good thing to have. Outside of that, you want to make sure that your listing(s) are going to be accessible to potential tenants via an app or mobile website.

Will Fraser · Answer

Hi @Jim Canull!  Zillow and Hotpads in my market work like gangbusters for the students.  A friend of mine who does exclusively university rentals swears by the "sign and online" strategy, telling me that it has to be both.  Without a sign up near a university you'll miss a good number of potential tenants (through friends and other Word Of Mouths), but still the primary driver of university rentals will be online, but not usually Craigslist.  Facebook Marketplace may be a good one to test out, too.

Where are tenants looking for rentals online?

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