Marketing Your Property

Curb Appeal and Property Presentation

First impressions matter, the exterior of your property is the first thing tenants see when attending a viewing. Think about maintaining lawns, weeding paved and shingle areas and the external décor of the property. The interior of the property should be equally well-presented, clean and well maintained. Think about whether the flooring is clean and well fitted, is the décor in good order and are all fixtures and fittings clean, functional and to a modern standard.

Equally, by ensuring the property is well presented, maintained and more modern in appearance you are setting the tone for the standard of maintenance and management that is upheld and the ongoing care and maintenance of the property by you as the landlord, your agent and any prospective tenants. A well-kept property signals to tenants that you care about their comfort as well as the condition of your investment being maintained. Not only will this ensure that you appeal to excellent tenants, but this will limit vacant periods by attracting more enquiries from potential tenants and, as such, gain a higher overall yield in value and lower ongoing costs and empty periods long-term.

We are happy to offer advice regarding the presentation of the property during our consultations and have on hand local, independent and suitably checked reliable contractors to quote for and undertake any potential works. Remember, we don’t add any additional commission to our contractors invoices either!

Competitive Rental Pricing

Research the local rental market in order to set a competitive monthly rental value. This doesn’t mean looking at what is on the market, this means checking those properties that are directly comparable and have recently let and being objective about the comparative amenities and condition. Overpricing your rental property will send the wrong message and will certainly deter potential tenants, especially during an increase in the overall cost of living! Equally pricing too low can raise other concerns about the properties condition. Striking the right balance will certainly attract the most interest and give you a better choice of tenant.

When we attend our consultations we bring reports on the local market with real-time examples to provide correct market comparables and take time to explain the reasoning behind the market rate we suggest.

Professional Grade Photography and Virtual Tours

In the digital age visual appeal is crucial, it is the ultimate lead generator when it comes to your property standing out and is one of the biggest contributing factors to maximising good quality enquiries from potential tenants. It is important to invest in professional grade photography that provides clear visuals and highlights the best aspects of your property. Equally, virtual tours that allow potential tenants to explore the property from the comfort of their own homes help relocating tenants or those with busy schedules explore the property without feeling forced to find the time to attend an in-person viewing in the first instance can be helpful. We have also recently added AI imagery to our advertising options, giving potential tenants visual inspiration regarding how a property could look or be styled with their belongings in situ.

We only provide virtual tours to pre-qualified enquiries for security purposes, this also maximises our ability to follow up potentially interested parties for their feedback which can be invaluable in the marketing of your property. Matterport are our provider of choice when it comes to virtual tours as the quality of the 3D spaces and 2D imagery give the best possible overview of the property remotely, a sample tour is available here https://youtu.be/PyJx7EOLnFw

Accurate and Compelling Property Descriptions

When marketing your property to be sure to create an accurate and compelling property description that highlights the unique selling points of your property such as unique original features, modern fixtures and fittings, storage space, etc. Be sure to mention the number of bedrooms and bathrooms and nearby amenities that may be of interest to potential tenants, such as schools, public transportation and/or shopping facilities.

You’ll probably notice online that our descriptions tend to be more detailed than many, it’s because we want to ensure we convey more than just the basic details! Houses create feelings and, when curating our listings, we try to encapsulate this for the reader. Also, for individuals relocating to the area with no prior knowledge this information can be invaluable.

Social Media Marketing

Leverage the power of social media marketing to reach potential tenants directly. Create engaging posts with attractive visuals and share them on Facebook and Instagram. Share virtual tours, videos and infographics to generate excitement and show key features and the benefits of your property. Engaging content adds value to your marketing efforts and engaging with people on your posts will promote them further. Utilise relevant hashtags and groups to maximise engagement, expand your property’s reach and visibility.

Online Listings & Portals

Our research shows that, for lettings in the Cambridgeshire area, Rightmove is not necessarily the portal of choice. Thanks to our research into our data and where the best leads were achieved a few years ago we discovered that OnTheMarket and Zoopla are more successful in producing excellent tenant leads in the area at one fifth of the cost of Rightmove. Indeed if you Google or Bing ‘number 1 portal for rental listings Cambridgeshire’ Rightmove does not appear top of the list in either search engine!

This has been proven a number of times and we can share a number of examples to demonstrate this, but most notably with one listing where a former colleague and friend questioned this, so we did a little experiment. They asked agent and friend to list the property to Rightmove and to pass us any leads received whilst we obtained leads from Zoopla and On The Market. A number of leads were generated from every platform, but, after pre-qualification, the successful let was produced from a Zoopla lead, whilst Rightmove produced a high volume of leads, many of these were poor quality and not from motivated potential tenants. Whilst being on Rightmove won’t hurt for exposure, there are more time and cost efficient ways to successfully market. Equally, you want an agent that isn’t portal reliant, but rather more proactive in their approach to finding the best tenants.

Recently OnTheMarket has also been bought out by the CoStar Group who have impressive development and investment plans for the portal, watch this space!

Responsive Communication

Be prompt and responsive to enquiries from potential tenants. Respond to emails, calls, messages and online enquiries quickly and professionally. A proactive and friendly approach will create a positive impression this demonstrates your reliability as a landlord.

Once we have received initial enquiries from potential tenants we go through a pre-qualification process designed to whittle down the mass of initial enquiries to only those that are proceedable and ensure their requirements match all that the property has to offer and that they will be good, reliable tenants who will take good care of your investment.

In a busy market it is very important to maximise time and efficiency and avoid unnecessary disappointment for everyone by having a robust pre-qualification process.

If you would like any further information please do not hesitate to contact us, we would be delighted to support you and ease the burden of finding your next great tenants!