7 Steps for Writing Effective Rental Listings

Do you have properties that have been vacant for years? It’s time to get them on the market.

Writing effective rental listings is an essential skill that property owners and property managers must learn. A well-written listing, along with other marketing strategies, can attract a wide pool of prospective tenants to your property. You’ll be filling vacancies in no time!

If this is your first time writing a rental listing, we’ve put together seven tips to help you get started.

#1 Identify Your Audience

Basic marketing rules apply when writing effective rental listings. Before anything else, it is important to research the kind of tenants that you want your rental property to attract. One way to identify your audience is by looking at your current tenants. How old are they? Are they young professionals? Do they have kids? Asking yourself these questions can give you a picture of your demographic.

Identifying your audience will help you determine the ideal platform to post your listings. Top rental sites such as Zillow, Trulia, and HotPads are better-suited for younger tenants (Generation Z and Millennials) who are more likely to use their mobile phones to look for a place to rent. On the other hand, you might consider listing your property on Facebook and Craigslist if your target demographic includes baby boomers and Generation X.

#2 Write an Informative Headline

Tenants scan dozens of listings at a time. Chances are, they do not have the time to click each listing to view individual descriptions. Ideally, your rental listing should contain a title that tells your prospective tenants exactly what you have to offer. This helps them quickly go through the listings and narrow down their options.

Generally, tenants want to know the following things about the rental property: monthly rent, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, type of property (single-family home, duplex, condominium, apartment, etc.), and location. For example, your listing’s title could be “$1,500/month 3 Bed/2 Bath single-family home in Miami Beach FL.”

#3 Highlight the Amenities

Your listing’s headline will lay out the major details of the property. Other features should be found within its description. Be sure to include the property’s dimensions and if possible, attach a floorplan to allow your prospective tenant to imagine themselves living in the space.

Highlight the amenities that most tenants will be looking for in a rental unit. These include dishwashers, laundry rooms, swimming pools, balconies, patios, and so on. If your property is a unit within an apartment or condominium, be sure to highlight irresistible features such as great views and natural light. Add details that will make your property feel like a home.

#4 Talk About the Neighborhood

Tenants want to make sure that they will be living in an area that suits their lifestyle. Families with children will want to live in neighborhoods with schools nearby. Student renters will prefer affordable accommodation in areas that are close to their university, but also offer plenty of options for after-school leisure.

Talk about the neighborhood where your rental property is located. Be sure to include details about the modes of transportation available (buses, train stations, etc.), as well as nearby schools and universities, senior centers, daycare centers, shopping malls, and more.

#5 Use Attractive Photos

Descriptions are important, but photos are what can make or break your listing. People are attracted to visuals — in fact, people are more likely to retain information if it is accompanied by images. If you want your listing to stand out, you should make sure that your listings are paired with high-quality images. After all, it’s what your prospective tenants will first see when browsing vacant rental properties.

Consider hiring professional photographers who can show your property in its best light. It may be expensive, but you can always reuse the photos year after year — unless you conduct major home improvements, of course. Aside from photographers, you may also want to hire professional property managers who can stage your property.

#6 Show, Don’t Tell

While it is important to give prospective tenants basic information such as the number of bedrooms, size of the property, and so on, these descriptions don’t make the rental property feel like someone’s future residence. Descriptions such as, “The bedrooms have big closets,” offers little to the imagination. Instead, try to show your property’s attractive features by showing instead of telling.

Taking the earlier example, telling the tenant that the closets are big leaves plenty of room for guesswork. How big are the closets, exactly? It would be better to say, “Each bedroom has one walk-in closet that is spacious enough for two users, and features built-in shoe cabinets, drawers, and a vanity.” This kind of description shows your prospective tenant exactly how big the closets are.

#7 Provide Your Contact Information

Many property owners do not want to include their mobile number or personal email address in their listings. If you are concerned about privacy, consider creating a separate email that is exclusively for rental listings. That way, your personal emails won’t get mixed up with inquiries about your property.

Hiring a Florida property management company is the ideal solution if you don’t have the time to handle inquiries. Their property managers will manage all of your listings, including taking calls, responding to emails, and much more.

What’s Next?

Once you’ve written an effective rental listing, it’s time to make sure that prospective tenants see it. Aside from listing your rental property on high-traffic websites such as Zillow and Apartments.com, you may want to share your listing on social media. Posting on social media platforms is an excellent way to generate leads.

When your rental listing has gone live, be prepared to handle incoming calls and emails. If you don’t have a team that can assist you, now may be the time to work with a property management company such as Luxury Property Care.

Our property managers have years of experience in the real estate industry, helping property owners fill their vacancies through effective marketing and advertising. A hands-on team will take care of everything — including listing your property on high-traffic websites and the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

Contact us today by dialing (561) 944 – 2992 or by completing the contact form on our website.