Keeping a rental property occupied with tenants is a must if you want it to continue generating income. An unoccupied rental property is more of a liability than an asset—it doesn’t generate income, but you still need to pay for the costs that come with owning it. To get your property occupied soon after the previous lease term ends, you need to have an effective marketing strategy in place.
Some landlords think that all they need to do is snap a few pictures, get it listed on different rental listing platforms, and wait for prospective tenants to call. However, the truth is that marketing a rental property effectively is more complicated than that.
If you want to be a successful rental property owner, you need to ensure that your marketing strategies are in line with your target market. You also need to study and analyze the market first to ensure that you’re pricing the rental property correctly. Furthermore, you have to ensure that you stage your rental property properly in order to make it look appealing to a wide range of tenants.
A lot of rental property owners make mistakes when marketing their rental properties. Using the wrong methods can result in ineffective marketing, and you risk not getting your property the exposure that it deserves. Plus, ineffective marketing makes it more difficult to find the right tenants and get your property filled in as quickly as possible.
Here are the common mistakes you need to avoid when marketing a rental property:
1. Failing to Plan Strategically
It’s essential to strategize thoroughly to get the marketing results you want. To start, it’s important to plan how to position your rental property. Marketing is all about attracting tenants, so think of what makes your property unique and what your target tenant demographic desires. Highlight those selling points in your rental listings to make the rental more attractive to renters.
2. Targeting the Wrong Audience
Dealing with vacancies is one thing, but getting your property occupied by the wrong tenant is one key problem that you don’t want to deal with. The success of rental property marketing will greatly depend on your ability to identify the right audience and to target them specifically, using the right marketing strategies.
Knowing who your target tenant base it allows you to market on platforms they engage with most. It also helps you provide the amenities they desire, thus making your unit stand out from the competition.
3. Failing to Study and Analyze the Market
One of the most common mistakes many landlords make is their failure to study the market. You have to know what your target market needs, and what will appeal to them. Spend time doing your research to identify the right people who would be interested in your property.
What’s more, analyzing the market will help you understand your competition. Your goal here is to make sure that your property stands out among the competition to attract quality renters.
4. Using Poorly Taken Photos
Using the right pictures is vital to your success. Keep in mind that photos are the first thing that prospective tenants would look at before they decide whether or not they’re interested in the property. If you want to pique their interest, it’s crucial to use professional photos to make your rental unit look attractive and worthy of a visit.
5. Not Writing a Good Copy
Aside from the photos, your property descriptions are what interested renters would most likely look at. Using an overused copy to advertise your property will not make your rental unit stand out. When writing a copy, make sure to be creative yet accurate. Describe your property accurately, using adjectives that will entice would-be tenants.
6. Advertising to Only One Channel
If you want to increase your property’s exposure and reach a wide pool of audience, you have to use a variety of marketing channels. For instance, advertising digitally is the norm these days, so make sure to use several rental listing platforms and social media sites to advertise your vacant units.
Note that if you want to advertise your rentals online, you should keep an eye out for rental property scammers. They may copy your listings in an attempt to collect money from tenants. This could negatively impact your business.
To improve your marketing plan and protect against scams, it won’t hurt to use other advertising methods like listing in a local newspaper and posting a “for rent” sign within the general vicinity of the rental unit.
7. Forgetting to Include a Call to Action
The goal of marketing a property is to get interested tenants to call you and inquire about the property. But no matter how attractive your property is, if you fail to include a strong call to action, you will likely not get as many calls as you’d like. It’s best to include a phone number and an email address, as some people prefer one form of communication over the other.
8. Not Familiarizing Yourself with Anti-Discrimination Laws
Anti-discrimination laws prohibit landlords and other housing providers from discriminating against individuals who belong to protected classes. Before creating your advertising material, make sure to know these laws to ensure that you don’t inadvertently commit any violations.
9. Failing to Update Your Marketing Materials
After a few weeks of listing your property, if there are no good leads, it’s a sign that you need to adjust and update your marketing materials and strategy. Failing to do so will only extend your vacancy periods.
10. Doing this on Your Own
Seasoned landlords know that getting professional help is crucial if you want quick and efficient results. That is why the best way to market a rental property is to hire the services of a professional property management company who have sufficient industry experience.
Bottom Line
By avoiding these common marketing mistakes, you can increase your chance of filling vacancies quickly and with quality tenants. If you would like help marketing and/ or managing your rental properties, consider working with the experts at Real Canadian Property Management Solutions.
Contact us today to learn about our services!