Key Takeaways
- High-Quality Photos Are Essential - Clear photos significantly boost a rental listing's visibility and appeal. Tenants rely heavily on visuals to assess a property's layout and condition, so investing time in staging, lighting, and capturing wide-angle shots from strategic points is critical.
- Craft a Compelling and Informative Description - A strong rental listing requires good photos and a well-written copy. This includes an engaging headline with key details and a concise yet vivid description that highlights amenities and paints a picture of what it's like to live there.
- Use Multiple Advertising Channels - To reach the widest possible audience, landlords should advertise across both online platforms and offline methods. Monitoring ad performance and making adjustments is also key to maximizing results.
To be a successful landlord in Houston, you need to know how to advertise your rental property successfully. Because, with successful advertising, you’ll have a high likelihood of renting to the right tenant. And the right tenant will care for your property, pay rent on time, and abide by all terms of the lease, among other things.
Despite its importance, rental advertising is an area where most landlords get it wrong. Fortunately for you, in today’s blog, we at Propertycare Property Management will cover some top rental advertising tips!
Take Quality Photos
The quality of photos you use in your rental ad can either make or break your efforts of trying to give your property maximum exposure. Prospective tenants will use most of their time looking at your photos as it’s the best way to get a realistic preview of the property’s size, layout, and condition.
What’s more, rental listings with photographs tend to receive significantly more views than those without. But, photos have to be of high quality for you to appeal to an array of prospective tenants in Houston. The following are some tips to help you in this regard:
Stage the Home
The goal here is to leave a blank canvas to help the tenant visualize themselves living on the property. As such, get rid of trash and debris that may be lying in and around the property and give everything a thorough cleaning. Make needed repairs, such as fixing leaky plumbing fixtures. Finally, depersonalize the home
Get the Lighting Right
Photos and lighting go hand in hand. It’s impossible to get high-quality photos without proper lighting. As such, make sure the lighting is great before going round the property taking photos for your listing. Ideally, take the photos during the day when there is enough natural light. That said, sometimes the weather won’t be on your side. On such days, make maximum use of the property’s lights.
Take Wide Shots
Once you have staged the home, the next thing to think about is the angles of your shots. For the best outcome, you’ll need to take the shots from the corner of a room. When snapping the picture, try to capture two walls. Avoid capturing three walls as this can close up a room in a photo. Also, avoid standing up too high as this can make the environment appear distorted.
Have a Shot List
This is simply a list of the areas you’ll be snapping during that day. This can help you stay organized and ensure that you capture all important areas of the home. Ideally, a shot list for a rental ad should contain the following areas: every bedroom and bathroom, as well as the kitchen, dining areas, living room, outdoor spaces, and special amenities.
Write a Great Copy
Once you have the photos, the next thing you’ll need your rental listing is a proper summary description. A summary description is what will help tie everything in the sales copy together.
A properly written copy can also help with search engine optimization (SEO). This means that your Houston rental property may be able to show up on search engines after a prospective renter searches online about vacant units in the area. Here’s what you’ll need to include in the written element of your listing:
A Headline
A good headline is vital when trying to rent out your home. A good headline includes certain crucial details. Such as, the property’s location, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and the property’s type. An example would read “A Spacious, 2-Bed, 2-Bath, Single-Family home, in Houston”. By providing this information upfront you can quickly attract tenant who desire these amenities while filtering out those who don’t.
A Summary
The summary description must be detailed, yet concise. Once you have written the headline, the next thing to get right is the summary description. This is where you help a prospective tenant visualize what living on the property will be like. Let prospective tenants, for instance, know what amenities the property will have.
For instance, an in-unit washer and dryer, air conditioning, modern appliances, high-speed internet, parking, and outdoor space. You’ll also want to mention key lease policies to ensure that only tenants willing to comply with them reach out.
Distribute the Rental Ad
Once you have a stunning rental listing, consider where prospective tenants will find it. For the best outcome, go for a combination of both online and offline platforms. Examples of quality platforms you could use include social media, as well as online rental listing sites.
You may also want to use traditional advertising methods, as some tenants may not search for vacant rentals online. For this demographic, you want to use yard signs, local dailies, and community bulletin boards. Once you have listed the home, make sure to follow up on the performance of the ads and adjust accordingly.
Bottom Line
With these proven tips on how to advertise your Houston rental property, you’ll be more likely to land qualified tenants more quickly. If you need assistance marketing or managing your rentals work with a trusted company like Propertycare Property Management. We are a leading property management firm in Houston and the surrounding areas. Get in touch to learn about our services!