When I have a new property to rent, I try to advertise my listing just about everywhere. And I mean everywhere online. Just like advertising for employment, more advertising for new properties for sale or rent are all done online these days. And I swear, in just the few months in between rentals coming on the market, one venue will disappear and another will burst on the scenes.

If I were to advertise a new property today, here’s what I would do:

  • Put Out a Sign with Flyers. First thing – put out a sign out front with a phone number and flyer listing all the details – cost per month, bathrooms, etc. We get so many inquires from locals that way who want to stay in the area or are looking for a loved one. If you don’t have a sign, you can get one printed easily through online services like Vistaprint or you can go to Home Depot and buy a metal one for the yard. Do not underestimate local traffic driving by and seeing the sign and calling.
  • Multiple Listing Service. As a Realtor myself, the first place I list my property is within the MLS. At the moment, when I post on the MLS, my listing then matriculates to places like Realtor.com. For a while, the Texas Realtors had a deal to push listings out to Trulia and Zillow. Now it seems like it’s a product called Avail that I haven’t personally used yet. Hiring a realtor will usually cost you one month’s rent — half your realtor and half to the realtor that brings the tenant.
  • Facebook Groups. I make a point to join the various Buy, Sell, Garage Sale groups in the areas where our homes are located. Then when I have a unit available, I post it in all the groups. Often people who live in the area like to stay in the area so if they are looking to move, they will look around the neighborhood first. Local people also are likely to pass the message on to an adult child or a friend they also want to live close by.
  • Facebook Marketplace. Different from the neighborhood groups, Facebook has a product called Facebook Marketplace that is just for buying and selling items. These days, I get most of my online traffic from there. I also get a lot of inquires from people who have either terrible credit and/or no money for a deposit or the rent listed (“can it be $600 instead of $1600?”) so they’re not really qualified tenant leads so it does take time responding to all of them. However, I do get a handful of good leads that way.
  • Craigslist. I used to get a lot more inquires from Craigslist, but traffic generally seems to have moved away from there in the last few years. It’s still free so I do always list it on the platform just to make sure all my (free) bases are covered.
  • Zillow. Zillow used to be my favorite for listing rentals as they had a really easy interface for both prospective tenants and landlords. Plus it always had a lot of data about the local marketplace so everyone knew (more or less) what was typical market rent. Then, the company decided to start charging landlords about $10 per week per listing. Listing with Zillow does syndicate to its other platforms Trulia and Hotpads. But since they started charging, I’ve stopped using them. It does still maintain a lot of good information about market rents, but with so many free services and a hot market, I usually don’t bother with paying for Zillow unless I’m getting few good leads elsewhere.
  • Specialty Organizations. Depending on where you live, there are lots of specialty places to advertise your rentals. For my friends in the DC area, MilitaryByOwner is a really great place to advertise. Since military often need special clauses in their leases in case they need to move to a new assignment in the middle of a lease, many military families prefer to rent with other military families who understand their situation. Similarly, if your property is near a college campus, foreign embassy or any large employer, try sharing your listing with them. Many are happy to promote resources that will help their people.
  • Get Creative. In addition to all the online stuff, it can’t hurt to put your listing on the bulletin boards of any local establishment that allows it. Some coffee shops or other local restaurants and community centers are happy to help out. Plus, my husband loves knowing about the local places near our rentals as he finds they’re great places to meet tenants for an interview, sign a lease, or collect rent. He has several “Signing Starbucks” in the area where he is happy to meet for a hand-off.

Another idea I didn’t think of? Email me.