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Jul 07
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Advertising is one of the most important things you can do as a landlord in the field of commercial property management. You simply must advertise. There are plenty of good people and businesses out there who all need a place to live or work; usually, there is no shortage of places. If you don’t take them in to your home or office, then somebody else will. YOU want to be sure that you are the one who is taking them. Otherwise, you might get stuck with bad tenants.
First thing you must do in commercial property management when looking to advertise your property is to walk outside and take a good look at your property. Does it look like junk? If it does, then you have your first advertising project in front of you. Make sure your property looks good. So often, prospective tenants will come to examine your property, but if the property looks bad, they will be turned away, even before entering the property. Nobody wants to live or work in a shoddy home or building. So, if your property looks bad, fix it up. Make it pretty. You don’t have to overdo this, but you should make it comparable to other properties in the area. In fact, it is disadvantageous to you to make it much more attractive than the average. It will cost you money and give you little gain. Fixing up property is truly one area in life where you should strive to be average.
So, you’re going to advertise. You have the internet, real estate agents (not all of them will help you find renters), bulletin boards, housing offices (at colleges and other various places), the newspaper, etc.
How do you construct your advertisement?
Use the KISS rule: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
You want your advertisements to be short and to the point. Few people enjoy reading long advertisements when they are pouring through more than a hundred of them. Also, your advertisement is going to cost you money (except for possibly on the internet), so the less lines you use, the better. Don’t use words like “call” or “phone” before you list your number. It’s obvious what the phone number is there for. You don’t need to say “for rent;” you can say “rent.” Dont say “off of main street;” say “main street,” or better yet, “main st.” You don’t even need to say bed/bath, just list the numbers. 3/2. People know this means three bedroom, two bath. Here is an example:
rent 3/2 Main st.
No pets. 555-555-5555
Remember, when you are advertising, make sure your property looks good, and keep your advertisements short and to the point.