Promote Your Investment Property (and Find Great Tenants) With These Tips

Claire Wentz

10/9/20243 min read

Photo via Unsplash

Investment properties are an excellent way to generate income, but the rental process is anything but passive. Property owners must learn to promote their rentals, source applicants, and screen prospective tenants. These tips from Entrusted Property Management can help you get started.

Highlight Property Features

Creating a space that renters will love is the first step in promoting your investment property. Since almost half of renters say features are more important than affordability, focus on updating units and offering as many amenities as possible. Highlighting these amenities and perks in your marketing materials and social media outreach to ensure you’re catering to the right prospective tenants. Good-quality listing photos, social media shares, and paid advertisements can help you reach the right audience.

Switch to Digital Contracts and Leases

Landlords who use digital leases and contracts benefit from increased efficiency and convenience. Digital agreements can be signed and stored electronically, reducing paperwork and simplifying document management. They allow for quicker processing times, enabling landlords and tenants to finalize agreements without the need for in-person meetings. If you’re not sure how to request signatures effectively, click here to learn more!

Promote Your Property for Free

When most property owners think of promotion, they jump straight to paid advertisements. Yet there are free and low-cost ways to advertise vacancies both online and through in-person interactions. For example, social media platforms are free and reach multiple demographics in specific geographic areas.

Using geotags can boost social media reach and connect you with locals. Also, if you decide to use social media platforms for ads, geotagging those advertisements is a way to target your tenant search.

You should also use search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to push your posts and listings up in search results. While mastering SEO takes time, you can learn basic practices (like adding keywords and utilizing headings) through free online resources.

Don’t forget in-person or word-of-mouth advertising, either. Rental properties are often a hot commodity, so spreading the word could help you find a great tenant. Something as simple as posting a “for rent” sign can attract leads, but there are other ways to fill vacancies.

Screen Tenants Carefully

Screening tenants is often the most stressful part of filling a vacant property. Even with a long list of applicants, it’s challenging to determine who is the best fit. However, landlords must adhere to state and federal law when soliciting information from tenants and making rental decisions.

For example, property owners may not ask whether tenants have children or if they have ever been under arrest. Asking for employment, credit, and income information is fair game, as is requesting information on past evictions and bankruptcies.

Verifying applicant-reported information is an essential step in the screening process. Property owners can run credit reports with credit bureaus such as TransUnion, Equifax, or Experian for a fee; you can pass the cost on to the applicant in most cases.

Checking references is also a must-do and could help you avoid selecting a tenant who looks good on paper but has a poor tenancy history.

Streamline Property Management

Whether you plan to manage your property solo or have a team to handle daily responsibilities, consistent management is crucial. With an involved property manager or owner, tenants are less likely to break rules and more likely to take good care of the property.

Setting aside a maintenance budget is the first step in caring for the property and ensuring tenants don’t go the DIY route. Investing in repairs and upgrades can raise the property’s value and reduce your overall property management cost. Having someone on-call to support tenants’ needs helps ensure that your renters notify you of any issues and keeps your property in good repair.

Get Your Property Rented

Finding good renters is half the battle when you own an investment property. The other half comes with advertising vacancies and processing applications, plus myriad other administrative tasks. But with these tips, you’ll feel better prepared to become a landlord and build mutually beneficial relationships with responsible tenants.

If you own a rental property and you’re looking for property managers you can trust, contact Entrusted Property Management today at admin@entrustedpropertymgt.com.