It’s renting season again and you know what that means, time to list ads for your rental properties. However, making the perfect rental ad involves more than just stringing together a few generic phrases. Here are some tips on how to create the perfect apartment rental ad and attract your ideal renter, as well as a great apartment rental ad example.
What Is the Purpose of an Effective Apartment Rental Ad?
Understanding what a well-designed rental advertisement should achieve is very important. These include:
- The ad should be informative, yet straight to the point.
- Attracting the right type of renters and generating genuine leads.
- An effective apartment rental ad should be visible to the widest number of potential renters as possible.
- The ad should be accurate and honest.
- The right ad should invoke an emotional response in the reader and encourage them to inquire about the property.
Tips on How To Write the Perfect Apartment Rental Ad
Here are some useful tips you can follow to craft the perfect ad for your apartment rental property.
Step 1: Start With a Great Headline
A property rental ad headline should be straight to the point and capture certain relevant details about the property. This helps attract the right type of renters and saves you the time of having to deal with unlikely prospective tenants. While there is no fixed formula for creating a great rental listing headline, some of the key elements which should be included are the number of bedrooms or baths, the type of property, the neighborhood within which it is located, and any unique features which you wish to highlight.
Step 2: Offer Relevant Basic Information
The body of a rental ad should contain enough information to give the potential renter a clear picture of the property, yet should be brief enough to prevent them from losing interest. This means that you should offer basic information such as the number of rooms, bathrooms, floor space, rent value, and any special feature which you wish to highlight. Special features could include anything from a lakeside view to a desirable trendy location or even proximity to popular landmarks and historic sites.
Step 3: Be Upfront About the Cost
Aside from simply listing the rent value, it is useful to list other charges or hidden costs that renters would be expected to pay if they lease the property. This includes things such as moving fees, parking fees, HOA fees, security deposits, parking fees as well as which utilities they would be responsible for. This allows you to attract interested renters immediately and generates genuine leads. It also avoids future disagreements over costs or potential litigation.
Step 4: Specify Your Lease Terms
At this point, it would be prudent to specify the terms of your lease. This means whether the rent is paid month-by-month or a 12-month lease is preferred. It is also important to state at this point the option for renewal as well as the specific terms attached to this.
Step 5: Add Other Relevant Details
This includes information such as any unique features offered by the property, your pet policy, your contact information, whether you live on-site, security features, smart home specifications, parking arrangements, recent upgrades, and neighborhood features such as a nearby car wash, a community pool or a tennis court.
Step 6: Paint a Scenario of What the Renter’s Life Would Be Like
Increase emotional attachment by crafting a unique scenario of what the potential renter’s life would be like if they lived on the property. This includes describing the neighborhood, shopping centers, bus stops, train stations, nearby highways, bike lanes, and other important commute options.
Naming a few local attractions and recognizable landmarks is a great idea (as well as stating how far these landmarks are from the property using time e.g. a 5-minute walk). Always keep your ideal renter in mind. For example, if renting out your apartment to college students then the distance from the university, local libraries and casual hangout spots is important to mention.
Step 7: Be Mindful of the FHA
The Federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) is an important piece of legislation that helps to protect potential renters from discrimination. It does this by prohibiting the discrimination of protected groups, which means that you cannot disallow a person from renting your property based on race, national origin, or the number of children they may have.
Step 8: Always Be Professional
Avoid mistakes such as excessive capitalization or punctuation, keep the language simple and easy to understand as well as avoid the use of generic terms which offer no specific value such as cozy, charming, spacious, quaint, and newly painted. Instead use energizing words such as a great view, comfortable, key intersection, nice neighborhood, and so on.
Step 9: Review Your Work
Once you are done with your ad go through it to make sure that you have followed the tips listed above. After that, take some time away from the ad and then come back in a few hours to re-read it. Have a friend review the ad as well and run it through a grammar checker (such as Grammarly).
Step 10: Add Some Flattering Visuals
Images and videos are an important part of any rental ad. There is no fixed number of images that you should add, however anywhere between 10 to 15 photos is adequate. Before adding videos or images, clean the house thoroughly, use natural lighting especially just after sunrise or just before sunset, avoid shots with mirrors, shoot from waist height to avoid distortion, do a bit of editing, and ensure that you highlight special features and let a friend review the images or videos. 3D tours are becoming increasingly popular and it would be wise to explore this option if available.
Step 11: Add a Strong CTA
A good call-to-action is meant to prompt the reader to carry out the required action. In this case, this is to contact you for further information concerning the property. It should be unambiguous, direct, invoke an emotional response, use a strong command verb, and take advantage of the renter’s fear of missing out (FOMO) on the perfect deal.
Step 12: Advertise on the Right Platforms
Listing your rental property ad on the right platforms is one of the key steps in ensuring that you reach out to the widest number of potential renters. This means widely popular platforms which allow users to search for properties based on location, price, special features, and so on. Some great examples include:
- Zillow
- Craigslist
- Apartments.com
- Rent.com
- Trulia
- HotPads
- Apartment Finder
- Zumper
- PadMapper
If you’re having trouble listing your rental across all the different platforms, use a rental channel management software tool to streamline the process.
Here’s an example of a great apartment rental ad template.
Beautiful, Spacious, and Affordable 2-Bedroom Apartment in the Heart of the City
Welcome to your new home! This beautifully renovated 2-bedroom apartment is located in the heart of the city, just steps away from some of the best restaurants, cafes, shops, and entertainment options that the area has to offer. Here are some of the highlights of this wonderful apartment:
- Spacious and open floor plan with plenty of natural light
- Brand new kitchen with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops
- Large living room with comfortable seating and a flat-screen TV
- Two bedrooms with comfortable beds and ample closet space
- Modern bathroom with a walk-in shower and plenty of storage
- Hardwood floors throughout the apartment
- Air conditioning and heating for year-round comfort
- On-site laundry facilities for your convenience
- Pet-friendly building
This apartment is perfect for anyone looking for a comfortable and convenient home in the heart of the city. With easy access to public transportation, you can easily explore everything that the area has to offer. Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity – schedule a viewing today by contacting 555-0100!
Conclusion
Writing a great apartment rental ad might not be easy at first. However, by following these simple tips you will be able to craft an engaging and informative ad that will have renters rushing to your property in no time.
