How to market a rental property

How to market a rental property

Before letting out your property, it’s wise to take out landlord insurance and ensure everything’s up to scratch. It’s also essential to market your house, flat, bungalow or studio properly to get the most appropriate tenants – here’s how.

Establish a realistic asking rent

If you’re hoping to rent your property, you must establish a realistic asking rent. You can do this by chatting to local agents and by browsing the internet to see what’s on offer in your area. Charge too little and you’ll be missing out on well-deserved cash, but charge too much and you might be left with a vacant property. Finding the right balance can be hard work, but you must do your homework, before releasing your advertisement.

Make sure the property is in a good condition

Make sure the property is in a good condition by redecorating (if necessary) and purchase decent furniture. There’s no need to provide vintage or top-end furniture (especially to students), but it’s a good idea to buy quality items that look impressive. Young professionals and families will often expect a high-quality property, so ensure you spruce up your place and create a good impression. Take an array of photos to attach to your advert and make sure each one does the property justice. Adverts with pictures often get more attention, so get snapping and find some new tenants.

Post your ad on respected sites

It’s a good idea to post your advert on major internet rental portals, as this will get your property noticed. Many websites charge a small fee, but it’ll be worth it if you get your house filled quickly. Once you’ve signed up to a site, you can usually contact suitable tenants yourself and arrange an interview. Selecting people you deem appropriate is a good way to fill your house and will stop timewasters from filling up your inbox.

Place your ad in the newspaper

Many people browse their local paper for a new home, so don’t forget to advertise offline as well as online. Similarly, if you live near to a university and want to rent to students, try to put your advert on a popular noticeboard. If you’re looking to let your house to young professionals, pop an ad up at the hospital (making it clear that your property is just a stone’s throw away) or put it in the nearest newsagent or supermarket. Make your contact number bold and you’ll hopefully receive a few interested phone calls from potential tenants.

Include all the relevant details

Always make sure your advert includes all the relevant details as this will help you find the right tenant. Write down the price, location and type of property and make it clear whether the whole house is for rent or just a single room. If the tenant will be sharing with other occupants, write a short snippet about the other housemates and state what type of tenants you’re looking for. Don’t forget to say if your house is near to a school, hospital, university, shopping centre, train station, or bus route (as these are excellent selling points) and describe the surrounding area.

Arranging cheap landlord insurance is simple, but advertising your property can be challenging – unless you know what you’re doing. Simply follow these five simple steps and you should be able to fill your property in no time.