Tips to Find Great Tenants for Your Rental Property

Tenants aren’t all the same. So, the goal of any successful landlord would be to find great tenants that are going to keep your property in great condition and pay their rent consistently. A great tenant possesses the following desirable qualities:

• Pays rent every month, without fail, at a competitive rental rate.
• Is respectful to both the landlord and any neighbors.
• Cares for their property like the real owner would.
• Keeps wear and tear on the property minimal.
• Regularly alerts the landlord when maintenance issues crop up.
• Renews their lease at least once.

Such a tenant will not only make your career as a landlord significantly easier but will also ensure you maximize your ROI.

In this article, we at MN Property Nerds will provide you with some proven tips on how to find great tenants for your rental property.

Use Yard Signs

Yard signs are still one of the most effective ways to market a vacant rental unit. What’s more, they are very inexpensive compared to other rental marketing methods like social media or newspaper ads.

However, for yard signs to work, they must be as easily visible as possible, as cheaper models tend to be small, and difficult to tell the difference from the road.

Successful landlords know that investing in nicer, more appealing, signs have a great effect. If your sign can feature a box that holds flyers of the property’s important information, the more likely a prospect’s interest will be sparked.

Leverage Listing Sites

The internet has made marketing a rental listing very efficient. Plus, if you’re working with a tight budget, you can use free listing sites such as Craigslist.

Aside from Craigslist, other popular sites include Zillow, Postlets, and Trulia. Just like Craigslist, listing on these sites is free of any costs.

That said, keep in mind that there is a lot of competition for visibility on these listing sites. As such, you’ll want to ensure your rental ad stands out from the competition. The following are some tips to help you stand out:

• Write a headline that grabs attention.
• Use only high-quality photos.
• Ensure the description highlights the property’s best features.
• Keep the ad as succinct as possible.

Ask Your Personal Contacts

Using your personal contacts isn’t something you should forget when marketing your rental property, in fact, all great landlords do it. Thanks to social media, reaching your personal network doesn’t have to feel like tasking. A quick post on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter can reach hundreds of people at a time.

Target Your Local Neighborhood

When it comes to marketing your vacant rental property, your local neighborhood should be your priority. So, invest some time in creating an attractive flyer. Then, start placing it on front doorsteps, in local shops, and on bulletin boards.

A successful flyer must be attention-grabbing. So, the following are some tips to help you make the best flyer:

• Keep the content on the flyer as brief as possible.
• Use bullet points and infographics.
• Create an attention grabbing headline.
• Include your contact information.
• Add a call-to-action.

Host an Open House

One of the most important steps in your marketing campaign is hosting an open house as most tenants would never rent a property without seeing it first. So, make sure you have ample time to show the property to prospects.

However, things get trickier when you have an existing tenant. So here are some things you can do to make sure the showings go smoothly:

• Coordinate with your tenant and give them notice.
• Ask them politely to tidy up or you could even offer to pay for a cleaning service.  
• Ask them for a convenient time.
• Seek help from current tenants.

You can also leverage your current tenant to help you find a new occupant. Make sure to double-check first that the existing tenant isn’t interested in renewing their lease.

If you’ve built a great relationship with them, then they may be more willing to spread the word on your behalf. Any of their coworkers, friends, or family that have visited them could be a potential target.

Leverage Social Media.

Most landlords don’t realize the marketing power of social media when it’s used correctly. All you’ll have to do is create an attractive ad and post it on your social media handles.

From then on, your connections can help you spread the word by sharing the post with their connections. Within a few days, it’s possible for your post to have reached hundreds of people.

Ideally, post the ad once a week. Doing so daily can quickly become a nuisance and your connections may ignore the post as it overcrowds their feed.

Bottom Line

Finding great tenants for your rental property is a recipe for running a successful investment business. If you still find the process daunting, a property management company like MN Property Nerds can help. Our topmost goal is to help property owners like yourself enjoy being a landlord, less the hassle.