Attract and Retain Great Tenants With These 5 Marketing Tips

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Finding and keeping quality tenants is fundamental to running a successful rental property business. While many landlords focus on marketing vacancies to fill them fast, a comprehensive marketing strategy should include attracting the best tenants from the beginning. By implementing a targeted marketing approach, property owners can not only limit vacancies, but also minimize turnover, and generate a reputation that automatically attracts higher-quality applicants.

Whether you’re tired of dealing with damage and unpaid rent, or you’d like to attract less problematic tenants in general, the following marketing tips will be helpful.

1. Hire a property management company

The easiest way to market your properties and generate high-quality tenants is to leave the task up to professionals. When you hire a property management team, they’ll have the experience required to attract and retain only the best tenants. After years or even decades in the industry, professional property managers know exactly what qualifications to require and when to make exceptions (if any). For example, Houston property management company, Green Residential, screens tenants to high standards, which improves tenant quality and helps property investors retain tenants long-term.

Marketing a rental property, whether it’s a house or apartment, isn’t easy. You not only have to follow strict marketing laws, but you also have to write copy that directly targets your ideal tenant, provide good photos, and know where to publish your ad both on and offline. Since marketing for landlords is legally complex, you’ll benefit from hiring a professional.

2. Know applicable marketing laws

Taking on the task of marketing comes with great legal responsibility. It won’t matter if you make a mistake out of ignorance – you can still be sued by a tenant and lose if you violate their rights.

When writing ads for vacant properties, it’s essential to follow the law to the letter. If you don’t know how to write a legally-compliant housing ad, consult with an attorney to get a template.

Housing ads can’t include phrases that indicate you have a preference for or against a legally-protected class, like age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability. These rules apply to ads in print, online (including social media), and verbal communication.

Avoid phrases like:

·  “No wheelchairs” (even if your property isn’t currently accessible, you can’t reject applicants who use a wheelchair, and you might be required to make an accommodation under the Fair Housing Act)

·  “No children” (unless your property is officially a senior living community)

·  “Ideal for single people”

·  “Perfect for young families”

·  “Close to such-n-such church” (this implies you favor a particular religion)

There is an exception for age-related phrases. If the property you’re renting is a valid senior housing complex, you can advertise it as “senior living,” but otherwise, avoid mentioning anything that indicates your property is ideal for anyone of a certain age.

3. Know if you’re exempt from the Fair Housing Act

Many tenants believe the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) applies to all landlords and properties, but that’s not true. Many landlords are exempt from the FHA. Exemptions include:

·  Owner-occupied buildings with no more than four units

·  Single-family homes rented without an agent

·  Religious organizations that limit occupancy to members

·  Private clubs that limit occupancy to members

However, even when you are exempt from the Fair Housing Act, your ads can’t be discriminatory. Ads must include an equal housing opportunity logo, statement, or slogan that tells potential tenants the property is available to everyone regardless of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. This is where many landlords make mistakes.

For example, say you’re exempt from the FHA because you own a 3-unit apartment complex and you live in one of the units. You aren’t legally required to accept service animals. However, you can’t advertise that service animals will not be accepted. You have to give everyone the chance to apply, and then move forward with applicants who meet your requirements.

4. Advertise high screening standards

Making your standards known from the start is a great way to attract quality tenants while discouraging unqualified people from applying. First, make sure you have high standards. Set the bar high and require a credit score of at least 650, and three times the rent in income. Publish these requirements in all of your ads. You’ll get fewer responses, but that’s the point. The goal is to deter people who know they don’t qualify so you don’t have to waste your time and energy on credit checks and income verification for nothing.

The better you screen applicants from the beginning of the process, the more likely you are to attract high-quality, long-term tenants.

5. Take amazing photos for your listings

People will judge your property by the photos in your ad. Low-quality, poorly taken photos will attract a lower-quality tenant. When a property looks stunning, low-quality tenants are more likely to tell themselves, “this isn’t for me,” and most won’t apply. That’s exactly what you want. The best rental ads will weed out low-quality applicants naturally.

Make it your goal to attract tenants with high personal standards. This type of tenant is drawn to pleasing aesthetics, upgraded features, and a pristine look and feel. If your carpets look worn, don’t match, or your property looks run down, even the best photos won’t help. In this case, it’s worth investing in some upgrades even if they don’t increase the value of your property. Some upgrades are worth it just to attract better tenants.

Preserve long-term profitability with strategic marketing

Attracting and retaining ideal tenants involves more than posting ads and sifting through applications to find the right people. You need to disqualify people from the start, but without violating anti-discrimination laws. This is accomplished through strategic marketing.

Vacancies need to be filled, but not at the cost of attracting the wrong people. With the right marketing approach, you can attract high-quality, long-term tenants who will take care of your property, follow the rules, and be a pleasure to manage.

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