Filling your rental property

December 5, 2012

Marketing your rental unit so that you can attract a lot of tenant prospects is a tough job. Although conventional routes of marketing – paper and online classifieds, lawn posters, etc – are proven to work, there are more creative things you can do to reel in new prospects. Here are three solid yet not so conventional ways to draw in tenant prospects.

Offer a Touring Gift

Offering a small touring gift to everyone who tours your apartment building not only draws people to check out your rental unit but gives them an extra push to sign up afterwards. It ups the likeability factor significantly. All you have to do is offer a simple $5.00 gift card to the potential tenants in exchange for their name, phone number and email information. The gift card should have the contact info and property address of the leasing agent attached on a separate card. Such a small token makes the potential tenant think that the property management company is friendly and welcoming and truly cares about its future tenants. The touring gift can also lead to more referrals and gives your offering an edge in tough neighborhood markets where supply outstrips demand.

Offer a Leasing Special

Offering prospective residents a leasing special or incentive is a surefire way to stoke interest in your rental unit vacancies. A free month’s rent with a year lease can be a very tantalizing prospect to potential clients who must pay for moving costs, which include paying the security deposit, property transportation and even packing material. With most tenants not getting their security deposit returned several days or weeks after they move out, the leasing special gives them a solid reason to sign the lease and move in.

Another option is to offer a split security deposit to tenants who have great credit and a solid rental history. That is, have them pay the security deposit in two installments.

Refer a Friend

Tap into the networks of your current qualified residents by offering them a referral fee for having a friend, family member or co-workers move in. The referral fee can be offered as a discount towards one month’s rent or as a gift card to a popular store.  This strategy makes for a killer leasing promotion because you are attracting other likely qualified prospects from your own free and valuable client base. Moreover, your tenants themselves would be keen to live near someone they know and who won’t cause problems.