Advertising a property can be a daunting task, especially in popular areas like major cities. To make sure your property receives the most attention, here are a few things to consider:
Basics
You should already know how much you roughly want to charge to let your property. You should also know what way you would like your property to be advertised – local letting agency website, larger websites, etc.
Make sure you have a clear understanding of the property running cost – Council tax, utility bills, etc.
Note: Since November 2013, regulations have required property advertisements to provide information on non-optional fees, often those linked with letting agencies.
Target audience
Who is your target market – families, professionals, students? Having a good understanding of your target market will allow you to advertise your property effectively and appropriately.
Check out local competition
Before creating an ad, you should review how other landlords are marketing their properties to see how much competition you have. Search letting websites for similar properties in the same area as your own. Find out the going rates. An overpriced property will not gain many enquiries.
Property description
Try to give potential tenants as many details as possible in the property description.
Key features to include:
- Number of bedrooms
- Size of bedrooms
- Condition of property (must be accurate and honest)
- Whether there’s a garden
- If there’s an allocated parking space/garage space
- Who is responsible for bills
- Double glazing, etc.
Constantly refresh your advertisement on websites
In popular areas such as London and other major cities there will likely be hundreds of properties uploaded to property websites daily. Your ad may be at risk of being buried beneath competition.
Once your ad is made it is vital you keep it updated. Websites like Gumtree display search results in order of freshness, so all the new content is at the top of the search results. If you want your property ad to get the most exposure make sure you update it as often as possible.
Note: Gumtree charges landlords for refreshing (known as “bumping”) their advertisements.
Upload great pictures
Make sure uploaded pictures are good quality, showing the best features of your property. First impressions are vital.
Generally, pictures of the front of the property, the kitchen, the bedroom(s), and bathroom(s) are best. Making sure that the property is held to a high standard will give you the best chance of attracting the right tenants.
Provide your contact information
To allow for the largest number of enquiries, make it as easy as possible for someone to contact you. Make sure you provide both an email and a telephone number. A telephone call is always quicker than an email; people needing a property in a hurry may choose to call a landlord rather than wait for an email response.
