Purchasing a property for the purpose of renting it out can be a lucrative move for many individuals and families. Whether your rental home is meant for renting out during special occasions like the Derby, or you’d like a year-round steady stream of income, these tips will help you attract the best tenants.
To have a successful rental business, you’ll need the right tenants, and you’ll want to retain them to avoid costly turnovers. If you want to charge premium prices and attract premium tenants, you’ll need these tips in your arsenal.
Marketing in New Places
Don’t rely on drive-bys and singular Craigslist ads to find you the high-quality tenants you seek. To expand your pool of tenant candidates, you’ll need to expand your marketing efforts.
Post your listing on all of the big players, like Trulia and Zillow, and then expand to outlets like Hotpads.com. These filter-friendly sites make it easy to post your photos and information and reach an entirely different audience of desperate renters seeking their perfect place. The wider your search, the more chance you have of finding great tenants that you’ll want to stay with you for a long time.
Allow for Personalization
If you want someone to stay in your property for as long as possible, allow them to see the potential of their own space. Everyone wants to put their own mark on living space, and rentals often enforce strict guidelines that make ultimate personalization impossible.
In your lease, allow for paint changes, offer reward renovations for lease renewals, and allow for your tenant to use nails and change the inside of the space as much as they want, provided that details about returning the space to its original form are included in the lease.
New Amenities
There are certain amenities you can include to make a better impression on prospective tenants, and these updates are more than worth the investment. As the market is competitive, you’ll want to make sure your place stands out above the rest, and these amenities can make that happen.
On-site laundry is a huge draw for renters. If you have a building with obvious space meant for laundry, don’t hesitate to invest in a laundry/dryer duo.
If you own a multi-unit building, you might choose to create a community laundry space. These additions are welcome in the eyes of searching tenants and could see you charging a higher price. If it comes down to coin-operated versus free machines, opt for the free if you can afford it. Tenants will appreciate it.
Window treatments are an easy fix, and this amenity is cited by renters as a draw more often than you might think. It can easily upgrade your décor, keep down heating and cooling costs, and is an inexpensive way to draw the eye to a great view from any of the windows.
A final amenity to consider is community gathering spaces, in the case that you’re renting out a multi-unit property. Younger renters are looking for spaces in which they can cultivate a sense of community, which might mean a communal barbecue area or outdoor leisure area. The happier they are on your property, the more likely they are to stay longer.
Always Screen Extensively
This should go without saying but landlords must be dedicated to screening anyone who applies to live in their rental property. Instead of just using their social security number to check out their credit score, use a company that specializes in background checks for renters. Check out tenant background checks from MySmartMove. It’ll give you information on their criminal history and let you know if they’ve ever been evicted in the past, in addition to their credit score.
It’s very important to credit check your potential tenants before signing a lease agreement or you will have a great deal of additional work trying to collect rent from folks who don’t have the money.
Make the most out of your rental business by attracting and retaining the best tenants around. Implement these strategies to attract high-quality tenants to your rental home and form great relationships that will see you keeping your tenants for the long term.
If you’d like more information on this topic, check out The Landlord Guide to Rental Applications to help you create the best applications for your business.
