Thursday, June 23, 2011

Trouble Finding Renters for your Apartments?

By Jeannine Richardson – Landlord Connection, Inc.

Don’t limit your ads to Craigslist. There are many other avenues to explore. Here are some ideas to increase the number of people seeing your ads.

Location, location, location!

·Post a sign on your property in a visible location. Try to include as much information as possible so you only get calls from people who are serious and already know basic information (i.e. price, number of bedrooms, utilities included? are pets allowed?)

·Is your rental within walking distance to shopping or restaurants? Speak with the employees and see if they know anyone looking to move closer to work.

·Near public transportation? Add this convenience to your ad.

· Are your apartments located near a college campus, hospital or large business? Contact their Human Resource Depts. and see if they have a bulletin board system where you can post your rentals.

Get the Word Out
Send out an email to co-workers, neighbors, friends and relatives letting them know you have a rental available. Also post on Facebook or Twitter.

Offer something that no one else is offering
· Free High-Speed Internet (cable/DSL)
· First month of rent for free
· Washer/Dryer Unit in the unit
· Paying moving expenses or moving truck fees
· Discounting first month’s rent
· Paying utilities, etc.
· Free renters insurance.
· Free Wi-Fi

While others may believe that “keep‘em happy” gifts are a waste, I think it's always a nice gesture of goodwill. If a great tenant is considering leaving, perhaps offering one of these incentives will work to keep them. One of the most important things to remember is that landlords are in business, and must treat it as so. What tenants basically want is a landlord who takes care of things and leaves them alone.

The main reason to use these incentives is to get people in the door and to occupy your vacant units. If you’re unable to attract tenants because of a slow rental market, maybe these ideas can help you to either bring in people who weren’t considering the unit in the first place or attract people deciding between someone else’s apartment and yours.

Widen Your Audience AreaWeekly papers are a good way to increase the number of people seeing your ads. Their advertising rates are typically much lower than the daily newspapers. Here are several other avenues to explore.

Local Weekly NH Newspapers
More people read the weeklies than you realize. Here’s a link to NH weekly newspapers:
http://www.nhliving.com/newspapers/weeklies.shtml

NH Daily Newspapers
Newspapers are still read although usually online.
http://www.nhliving.com/newspapers/index.shtml

Property Management Companies

http://www.allpropertymanagement.com

http://www.peloquinrealty.com/

http://www.realpropertynh.com/

http://www.metropolispmg.com

More Websites
The following websites also offer free posting of your ads:

http://craigslist.com

http://rent.com

http://rentalads.com

http://findmyroof.com

http://rentals.com

http://forrentbyowner.com

http://rentalhousehunter.com

Finding someone to rent your property is only the beginning. When you finally locate renters interested in your property, don’t forget to screen your potential tenants. If you think you can screen them on your own – think again. The only information you have about them is what they have chosen to tell you. Landlord Connection’s Decision Report can fill in the gaps. Visit our website at http://landlordconnection.com for information.

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