Advertising Your Rental

There are two primary issues regarding advertising your rental, where you advertise and the way you advertise, in other words, literally the words you use in your ad.

Let’s talk about where you advertise first. There are really two schools of thought, do it yourself or get outside help. In smaller communities, doing it yourself may be enough, just by putting a sign in the window or in front of your rental. Other effective placements include placing signs in local shops, grocery stores or insurance offices. Using local newspapers is also smart. In college towns, you are sure to find housing boards and campus offices where you can list your rental.

Today, particularly in larger cities, most people go to the Internet first when looking for many things, including rentals. This means using an Internet listing service can be your best option for making sure your rental gets in front of as many people as possible. This increases the number of quality tenants who will see your listing and shorten the interval between your initial offering and happily rented property. Apartments.com occupies a strong niche in the on-line listing business as the site is easy to find and navigate, receiving over 4 million unique visitors per month. Through partnerships with major newspapers across the country, Apartments.com expands the reach of your ad, making sure that anytime someone is searching for a rental in your area, they will see your listing without costing you a penny.

Finally, be careful of the language you use in your ad. All landlords are subject to two federal laws; the Civil Rights Act and the Fair Housing Act when searching for tenants, both of which say that you may not discriminate against anyone on the basis of their race. In all cases the laws specify that you not discriminate or give the appearance of discrimination. Keep it simple; describe the property you have to rent, what the cost per month is and when it is available.