When you are located in a competitive rental market, great prospects are always looking for a good property to rent. But the question is how do you find and attract them?
To guide you, we at Peak Residential have compiled a few tips to help you land the perfect tenants.
Understand the Market
If you have some experience in the rental market, you will agree that each market and sub-market is unique. So, you have to perform some kind of assessment to determine the type of tenants whom you should target.
The kind of amenities offered in the area might guide you to the kind of tenants who will be interested in your property. If your neighborhood has parks and schools nearby, the ideal tenant might be young professionals, couples, and families.
If a college is nearby, you might enjoy some solid returns by leasing your property to the thousands of young graduates in the area.
Marketing and Advertising the Property
You might have the best property on the market, located in a prime area, and in a great condition. But if you don’t properly market your property, no one will know about it.
When looking at marketing online, you can make use of affordable online advertisement options. Some of the best online companies include Craigslist, Zillow, Kijiji, and more. You can gain the interest of a variety of prospects by posting high-quality photos of your property together with an enticing description of the services and amenities.
If your property is near a known attraction such as parks, a five-star resort, or close to the downtown area. Make sure that you highlight such features. You want to attract a tenant’s interest at first glance.
For you to maintain the interest of a prospect, you might need to optimize content regularly through use of SEO tactics. If you don’t have the time and energy to do so, we recommend that you hire a property management company.
Make a Great Impression
Think of an advertisement like an interview. You only have one chance to make an impression and win over the interview. The same applies when you advertise your property online. Make sure you put your best foot forward.
If your property was rented to another tenant before, make the necessary renovations and upgrades. Ensure that the floors are sparkling, the bathrooms are spotless with grime and dirt, and don’t forget about the landscaping.
Open Your House
You will be surprised by the effect that an open house can have on your chances of landing a tenant. You can choose to advertise your vacant property by using a sign in your yard or hand out fliers.
An open house is a big ask for anyone, even a veteran property investor or landlord. Provided you do the marketing right, you will have a lot of walk-ins on the big day. It might be ideal for you to ask for help from a few friends and relatives to manage the potential renters.
If a potential renter shows enough interest in the property, you can take down their details and also give them a rental application to fill in.
Price the Rent Correctly
These days, more people are keen to curb how much they are spending on housing. So, optimizing your rental pricing is integral to you gaining rental property tenants.
Should you fail to do your due diligence, you might choose to lease out your property below or above the normal rental rates in the neighborhood and minimize your ROI. If you lease at a higher than normal price, it will be hard to get a tenant for the property.
On the other hand, if your rental price is too low, you will get a good response from the tenant pool. But in the long run, you may be unable to meet the financial obligations that come with property leasing.
Screen Your Applicants
A key part in finding good tenants is carrying out a comprehensive tenant screening solution. Screening allows you to identify tenants who have the ideal characteristics of a high-quality tenant. A high-quality tenant is defined as one who pays their rent on time, maintains the rental unit reasonably, plays well with other neighbors, and adheres to the terms of the agreement.
As mentioned above, you will have to issue out rental applications to potential renters. They will offer both personal and financial information on their rental history, employment, and financial information. Using this information, you will then perform background checks to confirm.
But most landlords lack the resources and network to perform tenant screening checks. What we recommend is that you get in touch with a local and reputable company with the resources, experience, and expertise to select the best tenant’s pool.
Communicate Clearly
Tenants value a property landlord who discloses the all the information from the start. This allows them to make the decision on whether to rent or not from a knowledgeable perspective. When you hide things from a tenant and then reveal them once they have signed the lease agreement, they will feel cheated, leading to a sore relationship.
Bottom Line
If you follow the tips that we have offered above, you should find yourself with a great set of tenants. But that’s the first step in the journey of property ownership and leasing. You must be ready to put in the necessary time and resources to manage your tenants.
An alternative solution to managing your property alone is hiring a third-party management company. If you are a Sacramento rental property owner, consider Peak Residential. We are a full-service property company with a reputation for offering quality solutions.
At Peak Residential we manage single-family residences, apartments, condos, and multi-rentals. Get in touch with us today and receive a free quote for our property management services.
