If you decide to advertise your rental property on free sites, such as Craigslist, or other real
estate boards, there are a few things you should do to avoid headaches that
come with online advertising.
First, protect yourself against spam. Do not provide your
personal or professional email address in an online ad. Instead, have the
messages come to you through web host, either by method of a personal inbox on
the site or a forwarding system. You could also set up a designated email
address for each property listing and have it send out an “auto-reply” with
information about the rental, such as pet policies and tenant screening requirements. Also, attach an application. Only
after you have established a dialogue with a legitimate tenant applicant who seems genuinely interested in your rental property, should you then exchange
personal contact information.
Secondly, if the site doesn’t offer pictures (or even if
does), ask the tenant applicant if
they are familiar with the area of your rental property. Suggest they do a
drive-by of the home to see if they are still interested in it before filling
out an application. This will save you the time and trouble of conducting a background check and tenant screening if the person changes
their mind after seeing the place.
Lastly, always make sure to include the rental price in your
online listing. The first question on a prospective
tenant’s mind is cost. If you don’t want to answer fifty to a hundred
emails all asking the same question, make sure to include it in your property
listing.
Visit ATS Inc's homepage to find out more about our tenant screening services!
Follow ATS Inc on Twitter!
