So, you decided to rent your property out without a real estate agent. Now, you’re not only a landlord, but you’re also in charge of marketing.
Ineffective marketing leads to low exposure. Today we’ll cover how to decrease your vacancy rate by increasing your online exposure.
By maximizing your online marketing, you’re increasing your chances of having multiple in-person viewings of your property. Below you’ll find the seven ways we market properties and two bonus options that are exclusively available to property owners.
Before we get into where you should post, I want to tell you about listing syndication. When we, real estate agents, post a listing in the MLS, it automatically syndicates to hundreds of brokerages and third-party real estate websites.
Similarly, a few of the places included on our list below syndicate or feed their ads to other websites. For example, when you post your property on Apartments.com, it is also posted on Apartment Finder and Apartment Home Living. In fact, the parent company of Apartments.com, CoStar, owns a multitude of websites geared towards people searching for rentals.
9 Places to Post Your Rental Listing to Get the Most Views
- Zillow syndicates to Trulia and Hotpads. This will likely be your number one lead generator.
- Apartments.com syndicates your listing to Apartment Finder, Apartment Home Living, ForRent.com and a host of other sites.
- Craigslist used to be a huge lead source, but that isn’t the case anymore. However, we still post there. If you have a prospect relocating from the west coast where use is still prominent, this may be one of the first places they check.
- Facebook Marketplace recently opened up the ability for homeowners to post their listings. This will probably be one of your top 3 lead sources.
- AHRN.com* is a more obscure website. It is used primarily by members of the military. Not as well known by the general population, but since this is an area with a substantial population of military personnel, you don’t want to skip this step.
- Military Buyer Owner* can be a great source if you decide to use it. Again with the significant number of military families moving in and out of the area, this is one of the first places they search when moving to a new location.
- Private Community Websites can be a great source if your property is in an HOA or condominium. Check with the association and see if you can advertise your listing on their website.
- Geo Based Facebook Groups are one of the two places you, as a property owner, can advertise this is not open to real estate agents. If there are neighborhood groups on Facebook, join them and let the members know about your property. There’s a group in my community that has over 7000 members.
- NextDoor is a social media platform geared towards neighbors. They do not allow real estate agent advertisements, but as a member, you can post your property as a homeowner. Join the NextDoor community for your investment property and post your listing.
Each of these websites would be a great resource to increase awareness of your property. It can take upwards of 20 minutes to post each listing, so plan accordingly. You also want to stay on top of when listings expire on each site. Some listing will expire after seven days, while others need to be reposted every 21 to 30 days.
*Notes places that may charge a fee for listing your property.
Final Thoughts
So now you know the best places to post your rental to get the most views. If you aren’t already using these resources you should see considerable growth in the number of inquires you receive going forward. Remember to keep track of the expiration date for each post. I hope you found this information helpful. Don’t forget to check out our Ultimate Guide to Renting Your Home Without an Agent.
If you’re thinking about renting your investment property and want to enlist the help of a professional give, me, Abraham Walker, a call at 703-539-2053 or email me.
About the Author
The above article was written by Abraham Walker, Your Northern Virginia Real Estate Agent, helping clients market their homes to achieve high sales with a quick closing time is my main priority. He’s the co-founder of Ask A Walker and can be found on YouTube, Facebook, and HERE on this blog.
