The rise in the number of single-family REITs as well as property owners holding on to their homes until the market recovers means there’s a lot of intentional - and unintentional - landlords out there. With the high demand for rentals right now, it’s a great time to get into leasing. Here are few tips on how to start your rental agency off on the right foot.
The rise in the number of single-family REITs as well as property owners holding on to their homes until the market recovers means there’s a lot of intentional - and unintentional - landlords out there. With the high demand for rentals right now, it’s a great time to get into leasing. Here are few tips on how to start your rental agency off on the right foot.
Get credentialed. Are you licensed to oversee real estate transactions in your state? Common requirements to obtain a real estate license include a fee for application, licensing, and coursework. You may also need to be assigned to a broker in order to be issued an ‘active’ license status. Once you’re a licensed agent, you’ll be able to request access to and pull complete credit reports from screening companies.
Build your inventory. In order to begin leasing, you need rental properties. Contact local landlords and property managers, check MLS search engines, and renter search websites to find available properties. Reach out with the contact information you find in advertisements and see if the landlords and property managers need any assistance filling their vacancies.
Build an online presence. Start a website for your business as well as social media accounts to accompany it. This will give your rental office an online presence, help you brand your business, enable you to be found, and let you interact with renters. Post up-to-date information and photographs on listings and availabilities, as well as information about the community. Make sure you give renters the information they’re searching for so they’ll reach out to you.
Start advertising. Market your listings so renters will be able to find you. A survey by Apartments.com found that 90 percent of renters search multiple websites when they’re looking for an apartment. Post your listings on the most popular rental websites such as Craigslist and Apartments.com. Make posting on multiple listing sites easier by using applications or software that will help you syndicate your rental database.
Use software to manage it all. Use rental marketing software to manage all your leads and rental properties. You’ll be able to track your client’s progress, monitor ad effectiveness, match your renters to listings faster, and coordinate e-mail marketing campaigns quickly. It’ll make your life a lot easier and free up time for you to concentrate on the important stuff.
Jennifer Chan is the Marketing Coordinator at RentJuice and manager of the RentJuice blog, The Rental Standard. RentJuice makes easy-to-use software that allows rental professionals to manage the entire leasing process, from getting listings to closing deals, in one place.
