Advertising to Executing: The Basics of Renting Your Property
Part 1: Identify your product and your ideal tenant
When it comes down to renting your property there are a lot of steps to procuring a quality tenant, I am going to be breaking this down into several bite sized chunks that will hopefully get you ready to find yourself the best tenant available.
Real estate, like any other commodity is a product that is being offered to a consumer. Just like Apple, Nike, and any major retailer, you have to know what kind of product that you are offering as well as what kind of need your product fills. This is where you have to identify your product and define what kind of business you are going to operate. While this may seem elementary, there are big differences in advertising a high end home, an apartment or a short term vacation rental. Also, there are differences in the type of people that live in different situations so a general rule of thumb is: Know the wants and needs of your ideal tenant. If you have a good grasp on what these are you will be able to cater to them hopefully be able to sign them to a lease.
You should know what kind of tenant your property attracts and who you want in it, or you might find yourself with a tenant you never wanted and a set of problems you might not be prepared for. Is your dream tenant a working professional or a college student? There are big differences in the type of housing both occupy and different issues that come with each.
- Here are a few simple things to think about when you are getting to rent your property:
- Do you have a large rental with multiple bedrooms beautifully suited to a large family?
- Is your rental’s size better suited to one person?
- Is there a large yard waiting for a dog to run or children to play?
- How do you feel about smokers?
- Are you looking for a long-term renter? Or would you get a higher rent marketing your rental as a vacation property? .
- What do you need for income? 1, 2, 3 times the rent?
These are just some basic things to consider when you are getting your property ready for the market. I will be covering a full rental criteria in a later post so that you can clearly define what you need from your tenants what is going to qualify and disqualify them from renting your property.