Smart Rental Ads to Attract Quality Tenants

Tenants come in all kinds; responsible students, irresponsible students, young professionals fresh out of school, young people without a high school degree, elderly folk whose marriages have recently failed. The list goes on and on. Point being: the type of tenant you end up with can be a coin toss, and minimizing the risk of a problem tenant is crucial to your success as a landlord.

Alerting potential tenants of a vacancy is only half the battle. All too often landlords neglect to give their rental ads the time and attention that they not only deserve, but require, to attract a quality tenant. An intelligently constructed rental advertisement can very easily be the difference between a successful or an unsuccessful tenancy. Good ads attract quality tenants. Of course, there is no such thing as a sure-fire bet, especially considering the issues surrounding the tenant friendly board. But if you can mitigate the risk and improve your chances of a painless experience, why wouldn’t you? Of course, a thorough screening process is the most important aspect related to mitigating the risk, but you can make the screening process much easier by starting with an effective and savvy rental advertisement. A good advertisement will attract a larger group of quality tenants, and dissuade those looking for an easy target.

Consider for a moment two scenarios: scenario one has a landlord posting an ad with very little thought or craft. The listing includes very little information related to the property besides a few crooked pictures that were taken in poor lighting immediately after the old tenant moved out, the space is still a mess, and the listing simply states “available now”. Scenario two, on the other hand, is well thought out. It has quality pictures taken in good lighting after the space has been given a thorough cleaning and has undergone any necessary renovations. The listing says a lot more than just “available now”; it carries with it a 400-500-word narrative explaining the unit’s features, amenities, a walk-score, and it clearly and concisely states the all-important aspects of “credit check”, “background check”, “first and last months rent required upfront” and “previous landlord and employment history required”. Which ad do you think will attract more quality tenants?

The answer is obvious, yet too many landlords fail to think about this when it comes time to search for a tenant. Advertisement number two will come out on top, time and time again, whereas advertisement number one will consistently attract the type of tenant looking for easy prey. Make no mistake, professional tenants exist, and they are always on the lookout for poorly constructed advertisements suggesting that the landlord a.) doesn’t know what they’re doing, b.) won’t be following through with any sort of background check, and c.) likely won’t even ask for a deposit. On the flip side, advertisement number two is exactly what these tenants try to avoid. They do not have positive references, they have poor credit and they know that you’re the type of landlord who will put them on the spot. In turn, advertisement number two will make your screening process a breeze. The tenants who respond are not concerned, because they know they are good, responsible tenants. They have good credit, they have good references, they have steady income and they take their word seriously.

Again, there will always be a handful of tenants who slip through the cracks; people can be crafty and manipulative. But handling your rental advertisement with a savvy attention to detail will serve to make your landlord business easier to handle. Pay mind to the photos you choose to advertise your unit. Hiring a professional is of course a great idea if it falls within your budget. If not, be sure to take your shots during the day, with the blinds open. Lighting is key to an attractive photograph. Centre your shots, and don’t shoot random spaces. Every shot should be highlighting a feature of the unit. Staging the space prior to photographing may take some time, but you’ll end up with much nicer shots. At the same time, don’t oversell the unit. Overselling will result in disappointment when the candidates come to check the space out. Make sure your advertisement is representative of what you’re offering, while highlighting the selling points. Be sure to list your terms and expectations clearly and concisely as to weed out the underqualified, and avoid indirect or redundant language. If taking these factors into account, you’ll start to see your ads work for you, year after year.