Do rental sites with a BBB logo offer a better sense of security?
A few months ago, our rental listing site, Off Campus Network joined the BBB online program. We wanted to let landlords and property managers know that when they list an apartment or house for rent on our site, they are dealing with a creditable organization that will protect their privacy and address any concerns they may have.
Yesterday, I was looking at a few of the other online rental listing sites and was surprised to see many of them are not members. This does not give a rental owner a lot of confidence that they have someone to go if an issue arises. We have seen so many rental sites come and go over the years. Perhaps they were just not able to build a level of trust with rental property managers to get them to list their properties.
The next time you go to list a rental online, check what assurances exist that your personal information is safe.
- How long has the company been in business?
- Do they offer a phone number and address on their contact page?
- Is your credit card information secure?
- What is the privacy policy?
- Can you update or cancel your listing at any time?
All of these things are very important. The BBB logo is also a very good sign.
How do realtors find tenants?
I had a great conversation with a landlord yesterday. He had a condo for rent North East of Philadelphia and wanted some information about advertising his rental. After we spoke for a while about the features and benefits of listing his property, he told me that he looked into hiring a realtor to find tenants, but did not want to pay a whole month’s rent as a fee. He questioned me as to how a realtor goes about finding tenants.
Well, it’s not like a realtor typically has a list of available tenants. They run ads in newspapers, and on web sites that will likely attract tenants looking in that area. Perhaps they even put a sign on your lawn. But, with nearly 70% of renters searching for properties online today, it is easy for a landlord to use a search engine to find a few sites that will provide the best results. These are the same sites that realtors will be using too!Create a budget that will allow you to list your property on a few good websites.
- Use search engines to find the top sites for your area
- Check various combinations like Phoenixville apartments, Phoenixville home rentals, rentals in Phoenixville. Look for sites that appear frequently.
- Make sure you have a good feel for where your property will be listed on a site. If a renter has to page through dozens of pages or listings to find your rental, odds are it may not get seen as often.
- List your property on these sites (be sure to include photos of your rental).
- Sites that let you list for free are a good as a supplement to paid listings on quality sites.
Cleaning Tile Grout in a Rental
This weekend, I worked on re-grouting the tile in the shower of our spare bathroom. Some of the old grout had come off and we did not want water to get behind the tile. So I bought a small grout knife and some premixed grout and went to work.
In a few hours I had all scrapped away the old warn and stained grout and applied the new grout. It took a few tries to get the hang of wiping away the excess, but it soon became easy. When the grout dried, the shower looked like it was brand new!
This project took a few hours and cost about $15 but made a huge impact on our home. For a rental property, this simple task could be the difference between finding tenants fast and having a vacancy.
When you show your home or apartment to a potential tenant, they will look at your bathroom and think either “this bath is dirty” or “wow, this looks like new”. Obviously the more positive things a renter finds with your property the better. It could only take one negative thing to have them to looks somewhere else.
If your bathrooms are looking a little grungy, consider re-grouting the tile.
Here are the steps I took:
- Bought a small grout knife at the Home Depot
- Scratched the old grout away as much as possible.
- Brushed off the old grout the remove particles.
- Cleaned up old grout dust with a vacuum.
- Wiped down tile with wet sponge.
- Applied grout with trowel, removing as much excess as possible.
- Wiped the title lightly with a wet sponge.
New photo display for rental ads
A new enhancement was just implemented to the photo display on OffCampusNetwork.com. Landlords can now include up to fifteen photos with there rental ads and the photos are added to the listing immediately. We have also added a rollover effect so renters can see each of the photos quickly right from the ad.
Since having photos on a rental ad significantly increase the chance of renter inquiries, we felt it was important to ad these features to our site making it an even better place for landlords and property managers to advertise their properties.
New design for our rental site
Last month, we unveiled the new site design for www.offcampusnetwork.com. Along with a new look, we changed the navigation to make it easier for renters to find properties and easier for landlords to list them. The search results are now right on the city pages so renters don’t have to go through multiple pages to see the ads. We think this will be a big benefit to landlords who list their rentals because renters will be able to get to the details quickly.
Please take a look and let us know what you think
New Rental Search Feature
Another major enhancement was completed on the OffCampusNetwork.com site today. We have enhanced the search on the top of every page so renters can find properties easier. Now a user can enter a city and state or zip code in the same box and get right to the rental listings.
In-site search is one of the biggest problems most web sites have because if a user does not get what they want quickly, they will move on. Various obstacles such as feature sorts, neighborhood selections and rental types will slow a user down, when they are looking for information quickly. When you list an apartment or house online, make sure that a renter does not have to go through a bunch of pages in order to get to your ad. A good portion of the renters who make it to the first page may never get to see your listing.
Rents to increase in 2007
According to an article on CNNMoney, rents are expected to rise by 6.5% during 2007 based on a forecast by Marcus & Millichap. Although rent in some areas of the country is already very high, this may be a time to verify the amount you are charging to make sure you are getting the highest income from your rental.
Here are a few tips to make sure a rent increase won’t leave you with a vacancy:
- Advertise your rental early enough to find tenants. Start looking two months before existing tenants will be leaving.
- Get the word out by listing your property on many of the top rental listing sites. Spending a few dollars ahead of time can help you avoid months of lost rent.
- Keep your rental in good shape so when a renter compares your property to another, there is nothing about your rental that turns them away.
- Make your tenants happy.
Rental Maintenance Time
One idea that professional property managers use to cut maintenance time is to get tenants to do work for them! How do they do this? They ask. That is right. Most rental property managers place simple signs throughout their units to help guide tenants to complete simple tasks that help reduce calls for maintenance. You can use the same strategy.For example, post a sign by the garbage that tells tenants your policy on garbage and recycle removal. What days will they be picked up? Where are they allowed to store garbage and recycling until then?
How does your furnace and air condition work? Give tenants simple instructions on how to operate your thermostat and what is expected of them. As soon as it starts to get cold, you will be glad your tenants know what to do.
Some other ideas include:
· Who to contact for repairs
· Emergency numbers
· Alarm systems
· Security practices
· Smoking and pet policies
Think of other things that tenants may call you about. Putting this information in front of your tenants will help take care of these maintenance items before they become an issue for you.
You can make these little reminders by laminating a sign or printing stickers. Be sure to use a durable sign that won’t come off easy and looks professional. Make your signs only as big as needed and place them where they make sense.
This simple tip can save you a lot of time and help keep your apartment or rental home in top condition with little effort by you.
Renting a house near Disney World
Our family recently planned a trip to Disney World in Orlando Florida. We had a short discussion on whether to stay at one of the Disney Resorts, or get a place off site. Eventually, we agreed to save some money by renting a condo or house a few miles from the park entrance.
My wife checked several websites that listed vacation rentals in the area and we were able to find a 6 bedroom house for a reasonable price. There were several reasons we selected the property, but two of the main benefits were a high speed Internet connection and use of a child stroller. As it turns out, it costs $10 per day to rent a stroller at Disney, and we were there for seven days. That is a $70 savings to us!
If you are trying to rent a house or condo, consider what benefits you may be able to provide renters that make your property more desirable than other alternatives. If you can save your renters time or money, that may make the difference in getting them to rent from you. This simple strategy can create a win-win situation that keeps your rental income coming in.
Renting through Referrals
Last week I spoke with the manager of an apartment community in Charlotte, North Carolina. We talked for a while on the advertising his company uses to find tenants. I was a bit surprised when he told me that nearly 80% of their vacancies are filled from referrals. This means that existing tenants are recommending their apartment building to their friends and families.
This company used the information to employ a new strategy to keep their tenants happy. They decided that if they treat the tenants better, they will continue to get more referrals and spend less on advertising. While this referral rate may not represent every area of the country, it sure seems like a sound business policy to make your tenants happy. Your tenants are your clients and if they are not happy with what you have to offer, they won’t continue to rent from you. Getting off to a good start with your tenants, being responsive to their needs and keeping up with maintenance will help make your tenants happy to refer you to others. Just like professional property mangers, private landlords should sill rely on good quality advertising to find tenants. But if you can reduce your expenses by get some referrals, you will earn more profit in the long run.
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