To be a successful property manager, you need to be skilled at managing numerous resposibilities. And, among those things is knowing how to successfully market your clients’ vacant rentals.
In fact, one of the top reasons why property owners choose to hire professional property managers has to do with filling vacant units.
Besides honing your marketing skills, a good online reputation is a must in this digital age. Take a minute and think about it. What does a prospective tenant do when eyeing for a new place to live? Well, the most obvious thing they will do is make a quick Google search about the apartments in the area.
A savvy renter will look at various things, including the location, rent costs, amenities, and even the online reviews of the property manager. If you aren’t rated highly, then chances are that prospective tenants will be very reluctant to rent your property.
In this article, you’ll learn 5 things on how to successfully market your properties and improve your online reputation.
Tip #1: Improve your online reviews.
Improving your online reviews as a property manager is one of the most efficient and effective ways to take your business to the next level.
How easy it is to post and access the online reviews is perhaps what causes many headaches to property managers. What’s more, online reviews are the biggest source of social proof and are the modern incarnation of word of mouth.
It, therefore, goes without saying that the online reviews your tenants have left you can either make or break you.
So, form a habit of monitoring them from time to time and encourage your favorite tenants to leave you good reviews about living in your property. For tenants that leave uninspiring reviews, try responding to them and offer to resolve any outstanding issues. Doing so will make you look like the bigger person.
Although it’s never possible to please everyone, just do your best to cultivate great relationships with your tenants.
Tip #2: Do your best to rent to high-quality tenants.
The best way to improve your online reputation is by renting to high-quality tenants. That is, tenants that pay rent on time, cause fewer issues, rent long-term, and care for the property like their own.
This is also the caliber of tenants that is more likely to leave you a positive review at the end of their stay.
To get the right type of tenants, you need to have a thorough screening process. A good screening process checks for various things, including the prospective tenants’:
- Creditworthiness: A tenant who has a good credit rating cares about their finances and is unlikely to default on rent or cause property damage. A credit report will help you get some insights on severing things, including the tenant’s collection accounts and history of late payments.
- Background: Running a background check on a tenant will give you a detailed report of the tenant’s past. You’ll be able to learn about the tenant’s history of evictions, and criminal and public records.
- Rental History: You also want to contact previous landlords and ask a few questions about their stay with the tenant.
- Employment History: You’ll also want to contact their employer to verify that they have a steady, reliably income source.
Tip #3: Treat all tenants equally and fairly.
In other words, don’t discriminate against tenants: existing ones or those applying. All forms of tenant discrimination practices are illegal in all fifty states.
As per the Fair Housing Act, tenants are protected against discrimination based on 7 classes at the federal level. These are sex, color, religion, disability, race, familial status, and national origin.
Most states also have additional protected classes. In California, for instance, it’s illegal to discriminate based on things like age (40 and older), citizenship status, genetic information, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, political activities, medical condition, AIDS/HIV, gender identity, and military status.
Tip #4: Amp up your presence on social media.
Do you have a profile on top social media sites, like Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram? If not, start now.
Social media is not only a great place to create a buzz about your vacant rentals, but it’s also a great place to keep in touch with current tenants.
You can share anything, from the latest news to property features that might impact existing tenants. Posting on a regular interval is key.
Tip #5: Start blogging.
Blogging is a great way to send some traffic to your property management website. Ideally, do so one to two times a week.
When writing content, make sure to use relevant keywords and mention your property every now and then.
The property management industry is a service industry. And being one, you need to understand the concept of hospitality. Basically, be the best property manager you can be, and dividends will start rolling in when you most need them.