Advertise your rental property
Tailoring your approach to target your tenants is key when advertising your property
Once you’ve identified your target tenant, prepared your property to meet their needs and tailored your messaging, you need to find your tenants.
But how should you reach them? Gone are the days when the main forms of advertising a property to rent were a ‘To let’ notice outside the property or a generic advertisement in the local newspaper.
That said, these more traditional forms of advertising may still have their place – it all depends on who you are targeting - but you need to tailor your approach. If you’re hoping to reach students or young professionals, for example, digital and social media marketing are likely to be a more suitable approach than print marketing.
The other key consideration is whether you’re planning on using a letting agent to find your tenants. First, let’s take a look at finding tenants without an agent.
If you are opting for a ‘do it yourself’ approach rather than using a letting agent to find your tenants, you will need a targeted and proactive strategy along with a solid understanding of the local neighbourhood. This approach may be less suitable if you are not in the same area as your rental property as you’ll need to be available to respond to queries and take prospective tenants on viewings, unless you arrange for someone else to do that for you.
If you have a portfolio of rental properties, it may be worth setting up a website where you can list the details of your properties with good quality images and floor plans. However, unless you can do this yourself, this will incur the costs of a website designer and you will also need to think about how you are going to attract traffic to your website. All of this is likely to cost more money, so you need to weigh up whether it would be cheaper and more convenient to use an agent.
You can list your property for free on platforms such as OpenRent, who, for a fee, will also advertise it for you on other property sites where landlords can’t advertise directly, such as Rightmove, Zoopla and PrimeLocation. For DIY landlords who don’t want to use a letting agent, the fixed-price advertising deals offered by third parties can be a cost-effective means of reaching a wide audience.
accommodationforstudents.com is the UK’s number one student accommodation property portal. As a landlord you can advertise directly to students across all UK university towns and cities and you don’t need to use a third party to advertise, so it’s a cheap and convenient way of reaching your target market.
If you are marketing a short-term let or a holiday let, you’re likely to be using a third party platform, such as Airbnb, to market your property.
Customers visiting the site will be looking specifically for a short-term let and you’ll need to make sure you highlight the unique features of your property and present it in the best light to stand out from competitors.
All you need to do is upload your photos and you can personalise your listing to suit your needs. Airbnb makes its money by charging a service fee when someone books your property.
Good quality photos and excellent reviews are the key to success when using Airbnb, so prioritise outstanding customer service and excellent communication by being responsive to guests.
Read our ultimate guide to short term let and Airbnb insurance for more information.
If you’re renting out a holiday home, remember that standard home insurance and most standard landlord insurance policies will not provide cover.
At Total Landlord, we can offer a tailored UK holiday home insurance policy that provides comprehensive cover, whether you use your home purely for your family, or you let it out for short term holidays. Our UK holiday home insurance provides comprehensive cover for up to 10 paying guests, including accidental and malicious damage.
Social media can be a very effective way for landlords to advertise their rental property – it’s free, quick and a great way to share photos and videos (which often rank higher than still images) of your property.
However, always bear in mind who you are targeting and focus your efforts accordingly. Younger people tend to use Instagram, which also has the advantage of being very visual, while the middle aged and older people are more likely to use Facebook.
Once you’ve set up social media accounts for your properties, make sure you keep them updated and encourage friends and family to share your listings. You might also consider some paid for advertising to boost your posts, otherwise, unless you have a high number of followers, you won’t reach that many people.
However, remember that you can also post on local buy and sell groups in your area and keep your posts active by responding to comments and adding high quality photos of the selling points.
Advertising property to let in the local newspaper used to be a no brainer. But in today’s digital age, where nine out of 10 tenants start their search online, the local press simply can’t compete when it comes to reach and engagement, and neither do they offer the opportunity to share videos and multiple images of the property.
However, depending on where your property is located and who you are targeting, an ad in the local paper might be worth doing alongside other activity. For example, this might be appropriate in a rural area where you are targeting an older tenant.
Asking friends to share details of your rental property both online and in person, and encouraging word of mouth is another way to get your property noticed. For example, if you have a family house to let, you could ask friends with children to spread the word in local schools and playgroups.
Don’t rule out the simple ‘to let’ sign outside the property. It might just work!
You also have the option of using a letting agent to find your tenants. Although this will cost you money, for busy landlords who don’t have time to manage their property, or live out of the area, a letting agent may well be the most suitable option, whether on a let only or a fully managed service.
UK private rented sector legislation is increasingly complex and landlords who don’t comply risk hefty fines, so in the long run, a letting agent may turn out to be a cost-effective choice. But it is important to choose your agent wisely and carry out due diligence on the agent to minimise risks.
Make sure that they are a member of a redress scheme such as the Property Redress Scheme and a client money protection scheme such as Client Money Protect, both part of the HFIS group. Don’t just choose an agent because they are the cheapest – ask about their fees and what services they offer for the fee.
Our Ultimate landlord guide to choosing a letting agent is packed with guidance to help you decide whether a letting agent is right for you.
Get a quote from Total Landlord online today or call the team on0800 634 3880 to discuss your insurance needs and make sure your rental property is covered.
