The ultimate goal of every landlord is to find an ideal tenant – one who doesn’t cause conflicts with neighbours, pays on time, and maintains your property in good condition. While, many newer landlords may be confused on how to find their ideal tenant, the way you market your property has a significant impact on the type of tenant you get.
In a tight rental market, the most efficient way of getting great tenants is to advertise your property strategically. If you know how to advertise your rental property – and how to differentiate it from others – you will increase your chances of attracting good tenants.
Here are strategies that will guide you on how to find a tenant.
Write an amazing advertisement headline
Open up a word document, and start typing! Start with your headline. This is critical in grabbing the reader’s attention.
What is the best feature of your property? Is it near water? Does it have a rooftop pool? Is it in the heart of the city? Next to metro? You can pick the most important feature, and plug it into your headline to grab a reader’s attention.
There are several pitfalls that many new landlords fail to consider, yet these mistakes are costly. First, don’t mention the number of bedrooms or square footage in the headline. They clutter the headline with unnecessary information.
The best way to attract an ideal tenant is to have a clear picture of who will fit your rental property and communicate the message in a way that keeps away anyone else. You can develop avatars to help you in the process. What you need to focus on are the features of the house, property type, neighbourhood, and develop an innovative way of describing it. Then you can rearrange all this into your headline.
“Spacious studio with rooftop pool along Toronto’s waterfront.”
Or,
“Large family home with backyard in Vaughan, 5 minutes from GO Train.“
Put the benefits of your property up front, so people are immediately drawn to your advertisement.
Write the perfect advertisement
Moving on to the body of your advertisement, you should provide information such as the dimensions, location, amenities, and any special or features about your property. While your copy should highlight the uniqueness of your property, you should avoid any exaggeration and use of empty words.
What makes your advertisement stand out? Quality photos? A reader-friendly description? A 3D tour? Make sure the best information is up front, showing the potential tenant that you are a professional and have something valuable to offer them.
When drafting your advertisement, I have found that the following format works best.
- Catchy Headline
- Short description of highlights of the property (small paragraph)
- Bullet points about the key features and amenities of the property
- Map and location description
- Finally, a longer description of your policies, fees, and any extra features you want to highlight.
This final section is more of a catch-all for anyone who is seriously interested in your property; they can read on as needed.
Platforms to advertise your rental property
If you want to find a tenant fast, then you have to advertise on various platforms. The Canadian rental market has evolved significantly over the past few years. Much of the change is attributed to the convenience of the internet.
Yes, you can still list your property on Kijiji or other classified sites, and hope for the best. But, there are several other opportunities to find better and higher-paying tenants. Why short-change yourself?
The reality is, classified sites are not built for landlords or real estate investors to list their rental property. It’s meant as a classified marketplace, not a real estate platform.
So for landlords who want better, here are a few ways to advertise your property.
Rental sites
Alternative from traditional classified sites which focus on a number of categories outside of rentals is using specialized Canadian property listing sites like Rentals.ca which sole focus is to create the best rental marketplace in Canada. Rentals.ca is an apartment rental platform that is now available in over 100 cities across Canada.
Landlords love platforms like Rentals.ca because they go the extra mile to give potential renters an amazing experience. For instance, Rentals.ca recently launched 3D virtual tours of its properties, which can be viewed with virtual reality headsets or in 3D on your phone or laptop. How’s that for innovative?
Newspaper classified
Many people still turn to newspapers when searching for a rental property, especially the older generations (yes, looking at you Boomers!). If your ideal tenant is a retiree or an older demographic, don’t rule out this tried and tested method of advertising.
Local bulletins
Posting flyers on bulletin boards at community centers, libraries, places of worship, grocery stores, or bus stops can still be an effective way of advertising your property. Make your flyers stand out by using colored photos and bold headlines.
Other ways of advertising your property
Other practical ways you can use to advertise your property are using “For Rent/Lease” sign on the property itself. This way, when people walk by, they can see that the property is for rent.
Another great tool is to connect with people through local Facebook Groups, or with a local Realtor who can help you advertise your property. Please note however, that Realtors will typically charge one month’s rent if they find you a suitable tenant.
For new landlords, there’s no shortage of creative ways to advertise your property. The key is to maximize your potential tenant pool by leveraging online and offline means of advertising. Even if you have to pay a few bucks, you can’t put a price on quality tenants who could potentially be in your property for years.
Remember, being a landlord is a business, so don’t cheap out on the most important aspect of your business: finding quality tenants.
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