In a competitive rental market, it can be difficult to find quality tenants for your rental property. Often, a competitive market means there are more rental properties available than renters are looking to lease.
So, how do you make your rental property stand out amongst others while not compromising your ROI to attract high-quality tenants?
We’re diving into actionable tips and tricks to help you find quality tenants in a competitive market.
What is a Quality Tenant?
Whether you’re new to being a landlord or have had years of experience, you’re familiar with bad tenant stories. These stories often result in late or unpaid rent, property damage, and overall stress for the landlord.
Landlords must prioritize finding quality tenants to lease their properties to avoid costly and stressful situations. Luckily, there are methods to verify whether a potential renter is considered a quality tenant, which we will explore later.
Tips to Find Quality Tenants
When struggling to find tenants in a competitive market, try these actionable tips and methods.
Analyze the Rental Market
The real estate market changes all the time. One season it could be a buyer’s market and the next, a seller’s market. When listing your rental property, analyze the current rental market in your area to determine if there is more or less demand for rentals.
If there is less demand for rentals, it can be more difficult to find quality tenants because there are so many options for them to choose from.
Analyze the available rental properties and how they compare to yours. Determine if you can compete with them in terms of offering a lower rent price to attract tenants.
It’s also important to consider the season in which you’re finding a quality tenant. The most popular time to rent an apartment is between May and September, which means you can increase the price due to higher demand.
Create a Great Rental Listing
Most renters search online for their next home. Websites like Apartments.com, Zillow, and Trulia are great places for landlords to advertise their rental property to quality tenants. Avoid marketplace websites, such as Facebook or Craigslist.
When creating a great rental listing, make sure to upload high-quality photos of the property and write an enticing description highlighting features and amenities.
Creating an attractive rental listing will gain your property more attention from potential tenants.
Set a Competitive Price
In a competitive market, you’ll have to set a competitive rental price to attract quality tenants.
Calculate the different rent prices you can offer and how it affects your ROI and profit overall. Test these prices to see which is more favorable to tenants.
Avoid listing your property for too low as it could seem suspicious amongst renters or “too good to be true.”
Offer Favorable Incentives
Sweeten the deal of renting your property with move-in specials and incentives.
For example, if a quality tenant is interested in leasing but is still on the edge of committing, offer an incentive. This could include:
- Discount on move-in deposits
- Include a utility in the rent
- Referral bonuses
- Flexible lease terms
Just a little extra benefit could help them make the decision.
Thorough Tenant Screening
When you have a potential tenant interested in signing a lease and living in your rental, the most important step is to conduct a thorough tenant screening process.
This process will bring up red flags that could signal the person isn’t a quality tenant. These could include a lack of employment, past evictions, or unreliable references. You can even use social media to verify information during the screening.
A tenant screening will ensure your new tenant can pay rent on time, is respectful of your property, and overall easygoing.
Set Up Virtual Tours
To filter through tenants who are reliable and serious about renting your property, set up virtual tours of the rental.
There are many programs that can create 3D renders and virtual walkthroughs of your property. Or you can simply take a video tour and post it to your rental listing.
This gives potential tenants a better idea of the size, layout, and condition of your property before they make an appointment to see it in person.
Update Amenities
One of the best things a landlord can do to find quality tenants in a competitive market is update amenities and appliances.
Having the latest and greatest kitchen appliances or washer and dryer is a huge benefit for many renters – and they’re often willing to pay more in rent just to have them.
Expanding storage areas, including a parking space, or updating the air conditioning units could put your rental above others on the market.
The Importance of Quality Tenant Retention
Finding a quality tenant in a competitive market is not an easy task. So, once you find a great tenant, hold on to them tightly!
Tenant turnover costs are high, especially when considering the vacancy time finding a new one.
Prioritize keeping your current quality tenants through timely repairs and maintenance, a friendly relationship, and keeping the property in good condition.
Find High-Quality Tenants in 30 Days or Less with Lotus Property Services
Finding quality tenants in a competitive market takes a lot of time and energy for landlords. That’s why many choose to work with a property management company like Lotus Property Services.
With professional tools and real estate experience, the team at Lotus Property Services finds quality tenants for all of our owners’ properties. Through advanced marketing strategies and an impressive tenant screening process, we guarantee great tenants for your rental!
Plus, we’ll take care of everything else, such as maintenance requests, collecting rent, and even strategizing ways to maximize your ROI.
Are you ready to find quality tenants in less than 30 days while relieving the daily tasks and stress of managing your rental property?
Contact Lotus Property Services to see how we can help fill your vacant property today!
If you found this article helpful, make sure to read Proven Ways to Attract Millennials to Your Los Angeles Rental Property next!