If you’re a real estate investor with an Idaho Falls rental property, you probably understand the importance of good marketing. In order to keep your property occupied with well-qualified renters, you need to launch an advertising strategy that will attract them to your rental home, even in a crowded and competitive market.
Working with an Idaho Falls property management expert is critical. With our expertise in leasing and our access to reliable data, we can advertise your property in a way that quickly attracts and pre-screens qualified tenants.
There’s more to it than posting pictures and waiting for your prospective residents to get in touch.
In today’s Idaho Falls rental market, we’re working with a large pool of tenants, and they’re all eager to rent well-maintained units in great buildings and desirable neighborhoods. The goal of any good advertising plan is to limit vacancy loss, reach the best qualified tenants, and bring in the highest possible rental rates.
We’ll talk to you about our extensive marketing plans before we begin working together. You should know what your ads and listings will look like, where we’ll be sharing them, and how we’ll respond when prospective residents get in touch.
Here are some of the efforts you can expect when advertising an Idaho Falls rental home.
Before We Advertise Your Rental Property: Pricing and Preparation
There’s no reason to be hasty or rushed. While getting the listing published the buzz generated is important and comes with a sense of urgency, it’s important to create an advertisement that works the way we want it to. You need to advertise a property that’s actually ready for the rental market.
There’s no sense in advertising a rental unit that isn’t ready to be occupied. Tenants will want to see a property that’s move-in ready.
We want prospective tenants to immediately imagine themselves living in the unit we’re advertising.
Qualified residents are seeking properties that don’t need a lot of work and cleaning before they begin moving in furniture and unpacking boxes. They don’t want to hear your promises that a new refrigerator is on the way or you’ll definitely replace the torn window screens before they move in.
We won’t advertise a property until it’s ready.
That’s only a waste of time, and it turns away good residents.
Another important first step in the advertising of your property is pricing.
Pricing is a big part of your advertising strategy because tenants will begin their search for a rental home by looking only at what they can afford. They’ll set filters and sort based on rental price.
Understanding the market is essential. We need to know your competition in order to price your property for maximum profitability.
As your property managers in Idaho Falls, we’ll begin the advertising process by walking through the property and recommending a few key updates that may be needed, such as fresh paint or new fixtures. Then, we’ll price the property in accordance with the market and what similar homes have rented for recently in the neighborhood.
These are the first steps in effectively advertising your rental home.
Advertising Idaho Falls Rentals Requires a Great Listing
Once we can be sure your property is ready for the market, accurately priced, and in perfect condition for showings, we are ready to create a listing that gets it noticed.
Here is how this part of the advertising process works:
- Professional-Level Photos
Photographs in your online rental listing are the best opportunity to make a great first impression. This is the digital curb appeal that initially attracts tenants to your vacant unit. You can be sure those tenants who are looking will scroll through your pictures before they read the description or the rental requirements. It’s impossible to gain any traction with your listing if we don’t have great photos.
We need a lot of great photos for your listing, and before we take those photos, we decide what we want to photograph and what your listing needs to showcase. Maybe your unit has a great patio space or a balcony or updated stainless appliances. These are the things we’ll be sure to capture in the photos. We’ll also want every listing to include pictures of:
- Every bedroom in the unit.
- Every bathroom in the unit.
- Kitchen and appliances.
- Dining areas.
- Living room and family room spaces.
- Outdoor spaces, including parking.
If your neighborhood is especially attractive, we may include some photos of the street and the area, to give prospective tenants an idea of the area that your property is in.
Sometimes, a walk-through video can help advertise your property. This gives prospective renters an idea of how the place looks, and while your description and written information are important, the photographs and videos will reach new tenants on that emotional level. The videos are especially beneficial to out-of-state tenants who may not have an opportunity to physically see their property before they rent it. A walk-through video is the next best thing.
- Concise and Detailed Descriptions
We create an accurate and engaging description to accompany the photographs we post of your property.
Here’s what we know about the descriptions we write:
- It’s not necessary to be wordy. The prospective tenants reading these listings aren’t interested in long paragraphs and flowery prose. They’ll respond to descriptive phrases and highlighted property features.
- Good headlines are attention-grabbing. Many people will decide whether or not they want to continue reading the advertisement based on the headline. We try to mention the price, location, and number of bedrooms and bathrooms in the headline.
- Additional advertising copy that’s direct, accurate, and interesting. We will include information about rental price and security deposit amounts. We’ll mention square footage and we’ll indicate whether pets are accepted or considered. Our listing will also state when the property will be read for move-in. This helps to eliminate renters who may be looking to move much sooner or much later.
The advertising is also a good way to pre-screen by listing and summarizing rental criteria. Prospective renters will get an early idea about whether they’re likely to be approved for your unit. We’re careful about fair housing laws and follow all the restrictions, requirements, and best practices.
- Contact Information
The listing is almost complete, with incredible photos and a well-written description. This leaves our contact information, which we provide for any tenants who may have questions or need additional information. We’ll also want to be available to prospective tenants who need instructions on how to schedule a showing.
Choosing Rental Websites for Your Online Advertising
Deciding where to place the listing requires some understanding of where prospective tenants are likely to look for their next rental home. We have our own well-trafficked website, which is very useful to us and our owners because there are fewer properties to scroll through than are found on large sites that advertise everything that’s available in Idaho Falls.
Outside of our website, there are thousands of rental websites that tenants use when they’re looking for a new home to rent. Listing your property on each site can be incredibly time consuming and frustrating if you’re doing it on your own. We leverage our technology and utilize the syndication systems that we have in place; allowing us to share your listing across various platforms.
We ensure your property gets the exposure it needs on rental sites like Zillow, Zumper, Trovit, Trulia, PadMapper, HotPads, and Rentals.com.
Social media can help, too. Sharing your listing on various social sites will ensure that it’s not only seen, but also shared.
We will consult with you on how aggressively we believe we need to advertise your home. This will depend on the market, the competition, and the speed with which you’re hoping to get your unit occupied. We want your property to be on the top of every potential renter’s mind. Some sites will let us bump up your listing for a fee. This is something worth considering, especially in a tight and competitive rental market.
Idaho Falls Rental Property Showings
The advertising doesn’t stop when we list your property for rent. The showing process still requires us to market and advertise your property. When interested prospective tenants contact you, we’re responsive.
We understand the importance of being accessible. Good tenants have plenty of options, and they won’t waste their time chasing us down. We are quick to schedule showings and facilitate easy applications.
Tracking your results is also part of what we do. You need to know how many leads you should be expecting from prospects weekly. This will tell us if there is a problem. If your property isn’t getting any interest, we might have to adjust the price. If it’s getting plenty of showings but no one is applying, there might be a problem with its condition or the way it shows.
Advertising seems easy enough with all the tools and technology that’s currently available, but the process requires some work and strategy. We’re here to provide that for you.
If you’d like some property management help or investment advice in Idaho Falls, Pocatello, or the surrounding areas, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Jacob Grant Property Management.
