Finding new tenants and advertising

Finding new tenants and advertising. Finding tenants to fill vacant units can be a real dilemma when the market is slow or the tenant pool is diluted, however there are lots of ways to advertise an available unit - some cost a little, some cost a lot, some don’t cost anything at all. One of the easiest ways to advertise for tenants when you have a ‘pet’ friendly’ unit is to post the information at the local vet’s office or with the ASPCA.  Allowing pets is a great way to expand your tenant pool.

My favorite is the old fashioned way - simply putting an “Available Soon” sign (I never say Immediately Available or Vacancy) in front of the unit with a PVC tube or covered box that includes information on the unit.  The flyer helps filter prospects that aren’t a good match - I include: floor plan, number of baths, bedrooms, what is/is not included in the monthly rent, pets not allowed/allowed (additional pet deposit & monthly pet rent & pet addendum to lease), security deposit and length of lease. 

I’ve found that this information really weeds out those individuals that ‘think’ they might be interested but, in fact, cannot afford the rent, deposit, etc.  Additionally, by making the information available, the prospects that are truly serious have already driven by the unit, are familiar with what the exterior looks like, the location, the schools, and come to the appointment prepared to apply for tenancy.  This really saves me time, headaches, and phone calls from unqualified renters. Another excellent and cost-effective way of getting new tenants is by referrals - particularly from my ‘good’ tenants. 

My good tenants are familiar with how I run my business, what I expect from my tenants and what my tenants can expect from me as a landlord and, by extension, my rental properties.  This doesn’t mean that you can overlook the screening process simply because they were referrals from good, long-term tenants – but this is always a great place to start the process. When a referral turns into a tenant, I make a point of thanking my existing tenant for their help…gift cards to grocery stores, cinema, restaurants, bookstores, or greenhouse/nursery, and in one instance I bought a month’s pass for the public transport system for an existing tenant who took the train to and from work.  The one thing I never do is offer rent credit.  Other advertising venues include the local weekly paper or using internet-based sites such as www.GOsection8.com, or the Real-Estate section of your daily paper.  Results vary as will advertising costs and the more you pay for advertising does not necessarily translate into a better pool of prospective tenants.  Remember to keep track of your advertising costs and use whatever provides the biggest bang for your advertising dollar and gets the best results.