One of the most important jobs a property manager has is to attract quality tenants to the properties they manage. Though landlords have little to no control over things like rent price and location, they do have other ways to make a property appear desirable. By highlighting a property’s best features and representing themselves as a good and capable landlord, property managers like Martin Feinberg can attract good tenants and serve their rental property owners well.
Some ways that experienced property managers attract good tenants are:
- They know their tenant criteria beforehand
When a property manager has an idea of the kind of tenant they are looking for, it can provide a target market to focus on when writing the vacancy ad.
Also, when a landlord is prepared for the kinds of questions they are likely to get, such as about smoking, pets, minimum income, and/or credit, it makes it easier to streamline the application process while protecting themselves from accusations of discrimination.
- They write a good listing
Most perspective tenants find their rental options online so writing a good listing is the first step in attracting quality tenants. Listings are the first way that property managers entice potential renters to view the property so they need to be able to pique the interest of the desired tenant, be descriptive, informative, and concise while also making it easy for potential tenants to make contact.
- They often professional photography
No listing is complete without great pictures, and studies show the more pictures a listing has the longer perspective tenants will consider the prospect. The pictures used don’t necessarily need to have been taken by a professional photographer, but they should always look like they were. Videos and virtual tours are another great way of attracting quality tenants to a rental property.
- They keep up on maintenance
Maintained properties naturally attract more and better tenants than unmaintained ones. Plus, keeping up on maintenance helps to ensure that when the property needs to be rented again, there will be less to do to get the space ready for showings.
- They thoroughly screen perspective tenants
Thoroughly screening all perspective tenants is the best way to get quality renters into a property. Effective tenant screening procedures such as doing background, credit, and income checks, speaking to references and prior landlords, and asking a lot of questions can help to filter out those tenants that are less likely to pay rent on time, keep their lease agreement, follow rules, and keep the property in good shape.
