One of the biggest problems that most landlords face is trying to increase demand for their properties. Low demand means higher vacancy rates, which results in your property generating less income than you would like. If the problem persists, it can cause serious trouble for your finances.
So how do you attract more tenants to your property? Here are a few tips that should come in handy.
Treat Previous Tenants Well
For all of the marketing tools that are available to the modern landlord, there are still few that are quite as powerful as word of mouth. If you treat your previous tenants well, they’ll have nothing bad to say about you. This proves useful if prospective tenants decide to get in touch with people who’ve lived in your property before.
Furthermore, treating tenants well means they have no reason to go onto social media websites to talk negatively about you. Simply put, keeping your existing and previous tenants happy helps you develop a strong reputation that will help you to fill future vacancies.
Select a Good Location
Some landlords believe that any old property will do. However, you must pay attention to your property’s location. In particular, you need to know as much as possible about the surrounding neighbourhood, including any amenities or services that are nearby.
The location determines your target market. For example, a property near to schools and leisure facilities will prove more attractive to families, whereas one that offers easy access to the city will prove more popular among young professionals. Think about what the location has to offer and use this information to determine how you market the property to potential tenants.
Charge Realistic Rents
Though rents in London typically exceed those elsewhere in the country, you shouldn’t take this too far. Overcharging for a property always leads to lower demand, and even great features may not be enough to attract tenants who have a tight budget to consider.
There are several ways that you can ensure your rents are fair and accurate. For example, you could work with a lettings agent in London, who will have experience with the local rental property market and understands how much you should be charging. However, if you’re going it alone, you’ll need to look at similar rental properties in your area to see what other landlords are charging.
Advertise the Property Online
The internet is an extremely powerful tool, and it has completely changed the property industry. Today, most prospective tenants will start their searches online, and they’ll usually rely on the images and description in a property listing to help them decide whether to arrange a viewing.
As a result, you lose out on a massive chunk of the tenant market if you don’t get your property online. In the modern property market, classified ads and a couple of signs aren’t enough to raise tenant interest.
Happily, Hills Estate is here to help you with all of these issues. Contact our lettings agents today to get your property advertised online, and ensure that it has everything needed to attract new tenants.
