rental

April 9, 2013

Rental marketing video

Following on from our previous video blog on creating your Letting Agency Video Channel, here we can see how to publish a property marketing video on your YouTube station. (by Rentviewsoftware)

Process for editing your rental marketing video

Here is 5 steps in uploading your rental marketing video to YouTube. You will need to create an account as outlined in the above link.

Step 1. Upload the video from your computer or device. If you are using a smart phone or tablet you can easily upload the video by just clicking the upload facility.

Step 2. Start to place SEO information relating to your rental marketing video. It is important to use keywords which you hope to rank with in the Title, Description and tags. For example if your property is located on Manchester Ave you may want the title as “Manchester Ave Apartment to rent” this should also appear in the description.

Step 2a. Include the text to appear in your Facebook or Twitter Feed if you have social media connected with your channel.

Step 3. Advanced settings, will allow you enter details such as location and options to include recording date etc.

Step 4. Once you have everything completed press save and now you edit some of the rental makreting video to include on screen texts and links etc.

Step 5. Promote your rental marketing video in order for you to generate traffic and views. The obvious places of promotion are all your social media channels but also on the description of your rental property.

Why agencies use rental marketing video

The strategy of using a rental marketing video by letting agents to attract tenants allows them to qualify the tenants to the highest level possible. By offering a rental marketing video any potential tenant viewing your property knows that location, price, layout & interior match their expectations.

By using rental marketing videos you are offering more in your marketing services to landlords. With increased competition within the lettings industry having more USP’s will certainly help you attract more listings.

Read more on Strategy in marketing a rental property – which discusses letting agents’ different marketing strategies.

by Andreas Riha

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

July 10, 2012

Infographic: The Dublin Rental market

With the rental market in Dublin approaching its busiest time of the year we take a look at the market and what is available.

Once again, a few quick notes on what we can take from this.

There is a huge supply of rental property in Dublin at the moment meaning the market is highly competitive for the agencies while tenants benefit from such a large supply with less demand. Interestingly enough I just checked Daft.ie to compare our figure as we created this early last week and they are identical, so not much movement for now.

Secondly, as expected Apartments are the dominant property type throughout the city, this is was obviously going to be the case in such a highly congested city with most house’s outside for the city having homeowners. Thankfully there is only 227 flats as I have a hatred towards them after my year long stay in Rathmines during college 🙂

Out of the 4756 properties currently on the market the majority (A total of 77.3%) are two and three beds, interestingly the number of 3 bed apartments available is just over three hundred less than two beds.

Lastly we breakdown the amounts of properties available at the various and most comment rental prices, starting with the bargain hunter @ 0-€500 they have a limited selection of 146 rental properties. From there the number of properties gradually rises through the next two rent brackets and peaking during the €800-€1,100 bracket with over two thousand properties on the market in that price range.

As always we would love to hear your feedback on this topic.

Other property infographics –

The NPSRA & Licensed property services providers

Landlords and tenants infographic

by Andreas Riha

April 13, 2012

Best Places to Market Your Rental

If you have a property that’s ready for rental, you need to find tenants for it. You want the property rented quickly; therefore you need the maximum amount of people possible to see it. The obvious place to market your rental on is the internet. But the internet is almost unfathomably large, so where exactly should you start? The first place is undoubtedly the property portals; daft.ie, myhome.ie etc. They are the first sites people think of when looking for a property. Next up, social networking sites. They are very much the ‘flavour of the month’ for marketers. The two key sites are Facebook and Twitter. Set up profiles on both, where you can advertise the property, share links to daft.ie or myhome.ie and generally engage with potential tenants. Twitter isn’t as good for providing a lot of detail on properties, so it’s more effectively used by giving brief updates or sharing links. Like or follow the profiles of other property management and estate agent companies. People who are browsing the pages of other companies will be looking for a whole range of companies and so will click on your page if they see it.

We could talk about the virtues of social media marketing all day, but in doing so would miss out on less tech savvy potential tenants. These people may be technophobes, just aren’t familiar enough with the internet and the technology needed to access it or simply don’t like the internet. For these reasons, attention should be given to the more traditional outlets. Newspapers, the radio and leaflets are all effective ways of communicating the message to people.A sign outside the property can catch the attention of passers-by, who either could be looking for a property themselves or know somebody who is. These signs should have your company logo, phone number and website to make it easy for potential tenants to get in contact. The same can be applied to notices in bulletins boards in local shops, community centres, libraries and colleges. Finally, if you want to be particularly creative you could wear a large sign around your neck with a picture of the property and some key details about it. It may get more laughs than potential tenant interest, but it certainly would be attention grabbing!

Please feel free to comment, tweet or follow us.

Thanks for reading!

info@rentview.com

February 13, 2012

Attracting tenants

Generation Yers or echo boomers … call them what you like but this group of professionals in their 20s and 30s make up a significant portion of the rental population and will probably therefore be a fair share of the potential tenant pool.

So how do you attract these tenants to your property?

Figure out their needs, match your property to them accordingly insofar as possible and market the property so the Gen Yers know you’ve got what they want! Sounds simple doesn’t it? But we all know economic conditions are not making life simple at the moment. However, here are some tips on attracting Generation Yers to get you started.

Attracting tenants with mod cons

Mod cons are a must. The property doesn’t need to have everything under the sun in it, but basic expectations should be met. Going above expectations such as having the latest model of a fridge instead of one from a few years ago or under-floor heating would be a plus, but of course may not be possible. Generation Yers may want to add their own mod cons as time goes by and of course it is at the landlords’ discretion whether or not they’re happy to go with it.

Image credit Adegie

Tech savy tenants

Internet connection is also a must. While Generation Yers may not have been immersed in technology since birth like the Net Generation, they are still very tech-savvy. Working for companies like Google and Facebook means that the internet and various technologies and gadgets are a part of their daily lives, and will obviously extend to their home lives. Because of this, being able to connect to various cable outlets for gaming or for music is also important.

Leading on from the above, we’ve all heard some variation of the phrase ‘my phone is my life; I’d be lost without it’. The theft or damage of some technological gadget is a great loss to a Generation Yer, and so they need to know that their belongings are not covered by a landlord’s contents insurance, (s)he needs to have their own.

Amenities

Another feature of how you will attract more of Gen Yers is how they’re always connected to others. Again this is mostly through technology but most of them are not hermits, they like real life interaction too! Therefore, you need to emphasise how close your property is to others. Not just other homes but also to shops, cafés, parks etc. Also when advertising, use every platform you possibly can. Don’t just stick to the old reliables, check out smartphone and tablet apps.

Transparency

Offer your Gen Yers a renting platform like Rentview. This way they can have complete access to the rent schedule with their own secure login. They will also have access to a complete online detailed picture inventory and monthly rent receipts, to name but a few features.

Feedback

Finally, when the lease is over, ask the tenants what they thought of the property and how it could be improved for future tenants. Learning is a lifelong process, and being open to it could mean a faster agreement and a higher rent in the future. Maybe even as soon as the next tenant!

by Andreas Riha

January 19, 2012

How to advertise property for rent

advertise-property-for-rent

Image credit ThisparticularGreg

How to advertise property for rent

An interesting and effective advertisement will have two components – pictures and a description.

1. Advertise property for rent using images

As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, so you better make sure those pictures are up to Shakespeare and Tolkien standards! Obviously, there should be at least one picture of each room, and these pictures should be of a good size and quality. We recommend taking more than one photo of each room to capture the necessary detail, but be sure there’s no clutter and everything is clean before you start. This is especially true for kitchens and bathrooms as these rooms can be deal makers or breakers. Let your creative side shine and experiment with lighting and angles to show the rooms at their best. Photograph the exterior too, preferably on a clear day when the light hits it best. If you really want to impress, make a video too. A simple virtual tour of the property using a digital camera or even a phone brings the property to life. See Why Use YouTube for marketing

advertise-property-for-rent

Image credit Andrew Mason

2. Advertise property for rent using good property description

Keep the description short but detailed and without deceptive language. Most people are quite savvy these days and will see through descriptions like ‘cosy kitchen’ and find the real meaning of small, possibly cramped. Just be realistic. Follow the rules of correct grammar and spelling when advertising a property to rent. Don’t forget to proofread the description before you post it! As for what to include in the description, imagine you’re writing it for a first-time renter who doesn’t know what to expect and is unfamiliar with the area the property is in. Place the most attractive points at the beginning and end, as most people read these but scan the middle. Include the following information:

Location
Rent
Lease length
How many rooms/bathrooms and their approximate size
Furnished/Unfurnished
Appliances e.g. washer/dryer
Storage
Internet
Security measures
Policy on children, pets and rent allowance
Proximity to amenities
Special features
Letting agent contact information

Combining photographs with a detailed description will ensure your advert is both eye-catching and effective when you advertise property to rent.

By Andreas Riha