You have a potentially profitable rental property, and you’re looking for tenants. The age of newspaper advertisements and flyers is over – so where on the internet should you post your listing? There are dozens of places to list rental properties and hitting them all would be a full-time job in and of itself! But fear not; we’ve compiled a list of the easiest and most effective places to list your Boston rental property.
Zillow
Listing a rental property on Zillow is free. All you have to do is provide the location and information, and Zillow will create a listing for you. Zillow will also help you estimate a rent price – you don’t have to take it, but it can be helpful to determine what to charge tenants. However, if you intend to use the Zillow rent estimate, be careful – Zillow’s “Zestimates” are not 100% reliable. The price you can list your property for should be judged mostly by the going rate for similar properties in the area. Despite these small discrepancies, Zillow is probably one of the most frequently used sites by serious renters, making it a prime venue to find eligible renters.
Craigslist
Craigslist is one of the most popular and wide-reaching platforms available, thanks in part to its ease of use and lack of cost. But the same qualities that make it popular also make it susceptible to spam and fake accounts. However, if you keep your wits about you when responding to emails, and make sure to be reasonably thorough when checking out possible tenants, you could make Craigslist work to your advantage. This platform appeals to younger generations and low-mid cost properties; if you have a high-end property you’ll probably find a more relevant audience elsewhere.
Apartments.com
Apartments.com has the advantage of entirely being focused on apartments. A listing on apartments.com is free, and the website provides articles and advice for property owners. The website also gets a high amount of traffic, and this traffic will be comprised of people looking either to rent or lease, and nothing more. However, apartments.com is skewed towards large complexes – so if you’re leasing a house, you might have to do some of your own promotion. Apartments.com also does not do any direct leasing – you will be responsible for vetting your renters.
Overall, each website has its pros and its cons. Look around on each one and see which one seems most suited to your needs. Fortunately, it’s free to put a listing on each of the three websites mentioned above – so if it doesn’t work out, you haven’t lost any money!
Are you looking for a residential renovation or management service for your rental property? R.H. Blanchard is a Boston Accredited Residential Manager with over 15 years of experience who can help serve you. Contact us and see how we can help you!
