How to Advertise Your Maryland Rental Property Successfully

Successful landlords in Maryland have one trait in common: great marketing skills. Great marketing and advertising ensure low vacancy rates which, in turn, means more profit.

You may have the best rental property on the market, but prospective tenants may not know of its existence. As such, your job as a landlord is to use your rental marketing skills to maximize your ROI.

When you’re able to advertise your property well, you mainly benefit in two ways. The first is that you’re able to attract a large group of prospective tenants. In turn, this can greatly raise your chances of your dream tenant signing that lease or rental agreement.

The second is that a robust and effective marketing strategy ensures that you attract tenants faster. This will lower the amount of time your rental property remains vacant.

In today’s blog, we’ll share three tips on how to advertise your Maryland rental property.

1. Invest in High Quality Pictures

Listings with quality pictures tend to get far more attention than those without. In fact, according to one statistic, listings that include photos get as much as 95% more views than those without.

It’s also worthwhile noting that rental prospects will spend more time looking at photos than anything else.

So, how do you ensure you take the best photos for your property listing? Here are a few tips we’ve found helpful over the years:

• Stage your home. Home staging is an art designed to show off your home in its best light. Start off by getting rid of all clutter and making the property rent-ready. Focus on one room, one space, or even one zone within a room to ensure you get everything right.

Besides decluttering your home, also make sure to depersonalize the space. Prospective tenants want to envision themselves living in your property so give them a clean slate they can work on.

Always make sure your home is spotless before scheduling any photo sessions. Removing cobwebs and mowing or watering the lawn can make a massive difference.

• Focus on lighting. Ideally, take photos during the day to take advantage of the lighting conditions. If taking photos during the day isn’t possible or if you happen to be taking photos on a bleak day, make sure to maximize on your property’s lighting. Lighting definitely impacts the clarity and sharpness of photos.

Once everything is ready, make sure to have a checklist of what you’ll cover. Incorporate all rooms in your shot list, as well as outdoor spaces and any other areas that provide excellent ambiance.

Taking pictures or even a video of the local community never hurts. This may help possible renters feel comfortable with the neighborhood they may potentially move to.

• Use a good camera. Of course, to get great results with your photos, you’ll need to have a good camera. That being said, this doesn’t mean you need to spend thousands of dollars on photography equipment.

If you have an SLR camera, that’d be great. A good smartphone can also get the job done, too. Preferably, 72 pixels should be the least resolution when you upload the photos.

2. Write an Attractive Rental Ad Copy

After taking amazing photos, the next step should be to write a great ad copy. Your description of your Maryland property should be accurate and engaging. After all, the marketing copy is what is going to tie your whole story together.

Just like photos, there are certain things that are necessary to have in a successful rental ad. The following tips should get you started.

• Get the headline right. The headline is obviously the first thing that prospective tenants will see when they view your listing. For most viewers, that’s what will determine whether they continue reading the rest of the copy or not.

Make sure to include the most relevant information so as to give readers a good enough reason to keep reading. Those are: the rental price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as the location and a desirable feature.

The following is an example: $1,500 1-BR 1BTH Apartment in Baltimore with stunning views.

• Tell a story. This is where you’ll need to give a summary of the description of the property. It allows a prospective tenant to visualize themselves living in your property.

If your property has unique features or amenities, this is the section where you should highlight them. You’ll also have an opportunity to tell prospects about what the neighborhood is like and any possible renovations you may have planned.

Also, don’t forget to talk about some policies you may have in place. A good example is the pet policy. If you have a “no pets” policy, then stating it can help you avoid renting to the wrong tenants. If you allow pets, you may also want to let prospects know of any restrictions you may have regarding the weight, breed and number of pets allowed.

3. Begin the Distribution Process

Having a stunning listing isn’t quite enough. It’ll only get to be effective if a large number of prospects get to view it. Put yourself in the shoes of a prospective tenant: “If I’d be looking for a place to rent, where would I go?”

Would you go to a rental listing site? If so, make sure to list your ad on the top rental listing sites. Examples include Zillow, HotPads, Zumper, Redfin, and Craigslist. Would you go to social media? Instagram is a popular app for rentals.

Also, think about prospects who may not go online. For these types of tenants, make sure to use yard signs, rental bulletin boards, and local dailies. The idea here is to ensure that all different types of tenants are catered for.

Bottom Line

Rental advertising is just one half of the re-leasing process. Next, make sure to screen prospective tenants to avoid renting to potentially difficult ones. If you need help advertising your property or management in general, McKenna & Vane Property Management can help. Get in touch to learn more!