7 Tips To Market and Rent Your Oregon Rental Property
1. Take Great Photos.
Take photos of every room so prospective tenants can get an idea of the space and layout. In addition, take a quick video walking through the home as you would if you were giving an in-person tour. Pro Tip: Create a 360 degree walk through tour.
Photo/prep tips:
- Open all blinds and curtains to let natural light in and turn on all the lights.
- If your home is furnished, put away personal belongings and remove as much clutter as possible.
- Clean so surfaces are shiny and sparkle.
- Show off the outdoors.
- Do not take photos at night.
By giving people a good idea of what your home looks like, the more motivated they will be to rent before they see it. Quite a few out of state renters are looking for Oregon Rental Property. Show off the outdoors and the area around the home. Give a since of living there. That will attract tenants with a lifestyle that fits. Better to determine they don’t like it from the photos, or by watching a video than by scheduling a viewing and wasting your time and theirs only to find out while viewing the property in-person.
2. Write a Thorough Description.
Does your property have a fenced yard, bedroom and full bath on the first floor, or other features that people might be looking for? Take photos and put that in your property description. Is it mostly tile and hardwood flooring and no carpet? This can be appealing to people with allergies. Window coverings in all rooms so tenants don’t have to provide their own, new appliances, or something else that you’re recently replaced? Make a note of it!
3. Set the Right Rent Price.
The best marketing in the world won’t overcome a rental listing that’s priced too high. If your property is priced too high, you may not get any calls, or people may call but end up not applying due to finding something similar for a better price or finding something better for the same price you have your property listed for. Pricing a home too high extends the marketing time and increases the chance that prospects will want to bargain down the price after you’ve already reduced it since they know it’s been on the market for a while.
4. Advertise Your Rental Listing Online.
There are many rental listing websites. Some are free and others require payment. Usually, paid websites do more marketing and are more established, and reach more people, so, you have a better chance of being found by your future tenant on them. Before you only list on free websites and skip the paid ones, think about how much a day of vacancy costs you.
For example, if your home rents for $1500/month, an extra two days of vacancy costs you $100 in lost rental income, which is more than most websites charge for your rental listing. Typically, the paid websites pay for themselves since they help you find a tenant faster potentially saving you hundreds of dollars.
5. Time the Rental Market.
If you’re in a seasonal market, try to time your vacancies to be during the busy time of year when people are looking to sign a lease. If you end up with a vacancy during the slow time of year when not a lot of people move, your home may sit longer on the market before renting, even with great marketing.
6. Post on Social Media.
Is your rental in an area where a lot of friends and people you know on social media live as well? If you post your rental on social media, your friends and family may know someone who is looking.
7. Respond and Schedule Showings in a Timely Manner.
Many owners market their property but fail to return phone calls or schedule viewings in a timely manner. Your property is not the only one on the market and prospects are calling other landlords and viewing homes on a regular basis so if you’re unavailable to show your property one weekend and your perfect tenant prospects end up viewing and applying for another, you just extended your vacancy period and marketing time and lost out on potential rental income.
Today, tenants expect responses within minutes or hours, not days, and expect to see your home quickly, not weeks later since they usually have a deadline and need to find a home so they can start scheduling their move.
If you would like to find out what Blue Roof Property Management can do to help you maximize income and reduce vacancy on your Oregon Rental Property, Give us a call at 503-420-8880. We will gladly show you our approach toward leasing homes quickly and for maximum value.