One of the primary ways that we find potential renters is through placing an ad in our local newspaper. We’ve learned over the years that we need to include some key information to get the right people interested in calling us about our property.
Include the best features of the property.
You might know that you have to put in that you are renting a three bedroom, two bathroom house, but what is great about this place? Does it have a nice level fenced in yard? A large two-stall garage? Make sure that you are including key features that will make your rental stand out from the others.
Let them know the best way to communicate with you.
I always say in the ad that people can call or text at the specified number. There are many who would rather text and that is fine with me. It can save me a lot of time fielding calls for basic information.
Include pictures.
This takes a little more time to set up, but is worth it in the end. We take pictures of the property and then post the pictures to a blog. It can be a free WordPress or Blogger blog if you like. Then we will make a tiny url link to the post with the pictures. We add this url to our ad, so that people can view pictures of the property before they call. It can help answer questions that the potential renter may have without having to call you.
Be specific about things you will not allow.
If you do not accept HUD, put it in the ad. If you do not accept pets, say that as well. Unfortunately, you will have people that will still call and ask if you will do the thing you specifically said you will not do, but it does cut down on the amount of those people.
Set your ad to run through the weekend.
Ideally you want your ad to run Thursday though Wednesday. This will give you the first day to check to make sure the ad is running properly and make any changes that need to be made before the weekend. The weekend is when the majority of the people are looking in the paper for a rental, so us that to your advantage.
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