How to Find Good Tenants
Take some photos of the property, inside and out., Create a web page for your rental availability., Invest a little time on writing the copy for the site., Cast a wide net with your advertising.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Take some photos of the property
The photos needn't be terrific quality, but they should be in focus, well-lit (day-time with natural light makes for much better photos than flash-lit) and give a good sense of the property and space.
Use a decent-quality digital camera if you can; cell-phone cameras often lack the visual control and image quality you'll want.
Take more photos than you think you'll need; some tenants may move from out of town, and providing a more complete view than other properties they're considering could tip the balance toward yours. -
Step 2: inside and out.
Unlike most ads, a web page you control will give you unlimited space to describe the property, and (generally) the capability to post photos without limits in number or file size.
You could, of course, buy a domain name for the property (about $10 per year) and build your own site, but a quick-and-dirty page on Google's Blogger.com, using one of Blogger's default design templates, does quite nicely.
A good technique is to name the blog with the property address, which provides a URL like "123-main-street-ashburn-va.blogspot.com."
Remember, you want to attract tenants with stable jobs and/or reliable incomes.
That often correlates with higher levels of education and literacy.
Put yourself in their shoes: other things equal, would you be more likely to look in to a property with well-written, clear and descriptive copy, or a slap-dash, poorly-organized paragraph with spelling, grammar and typographical errors galore? If writing isn't your thing, ask a friend to review and/or write the copy for you.
Worse comes to worst, consider hiring a freelance writer to help.
You might spend $50-100, but it's a non-recurring expense, and you can use the copy every time you have to advertise the property. , Advertise on at least a few free sites, like CraigsList.org and Lycos.com (but beware of the spam and scam attempts that inevitably ensue).
But consider paying for ads, too.
You're not selling a used toaster, or even a used guitar, here.
You're trying to find a high-quality tenant to live in your house! Moreover, that tenant will be paying you $3.30 per day for every $100 in monthly rent you charge ($16+ per day for $500 per month, $33+ per day for $1000, etc.).
If advertising on more than one pay-to-post classifieds site finds you a tenant even a couple of days sooner, your return on investment will have been well-worth the effort.
Below are some alternative websites:
Roommates.com (if your space is a share) Rentals.com RentMarketer.com RentBeep.com. -
Step 3: Create a web page for your rental availability.
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Step 4: Invest a little time on writing the copy for the site.
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Step 5: Cast a wide net with your advertising.
Detailed Guide
The photos needn't be terrific quality, but they should be in focus, well-lit (day-time with natural light makes for much better photos than flash-lit) and give a good sense of the property and space.
Use a decent-quality digital camera if you can; cell-phone cameras often lack the visual control and image quality you'll want.
Take more photos than you think you'll need; some tenants may move from out of town, and providing a more complete view than other properties they're considering could tip the balance toward yours.
Unlike most ads, a web page you control will give you unlimited space to describe the property, and (generally) the capability to post photos without limits in number or file size.
You could, of course, buy a domain name for the property (about $10 per year) and build your own site, but a quick-and-dirty page on Google's Blogger.com, using one of Blogger's default design templates, does quite nicely.
A good technique is to name the blog with the property address, which provides a URL like "123-main-street-ashburn-va.blogspot.com."
Remember, you want to attract tenants with stable jobs and/or reliable incomes.
That often correlates with higher levels of education and literacy.
Put yourself in their shoes: other things equal, would you be more likely to look in to a property with well-written, clear and descriptive copy, or a slap-dash, poorly-organized paragraph with spelling, grammar and typographical errors galore? If writing isn't your thing, ask a friend to review and/or write the copy for you.
Worse comes to worst, consider hiring a freelance writer to help.
You might spend $50-100, but it's a non-recurring expense, and you can use the copy every time you have to advertise the property. , Advertise on at least a few free sites, like CraigsList.org and Lycos.com (but beware of the spam and scam attempts that inevitably ensue).
But consider paying for ads, too.
You're not selling a used toaster, or even a used guitar, here.
You're trying to find a high-quality tenant to live in your house! Moreover, that tenant will be paying you $3.30 per day for every $100 in monthly rent you charge ($16+ per day for $500 per month, $33+ per day for $1000, etc.).
If advertising on more than one pay-to-post classifieds site finds you a tenant even a couple of days sooner, your return on investment will have been well-worth the effort.
Below are some alternative websites:
Roommates.com (if your space is a share) Rentals.com RentMarketer.com RentBeep.com.
About the Author
Frances Parker
Enthusiastic about teaching hobbies techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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