Marketing Your Palm Desert Rental Property

When you’re ready to rent out your Palm Desert rental property, you’ll need a solid marketing strategy. Good marketing reduces your vacancy time and attracts highly qualified tenants. These are the details that lead to more rental income and higher long-term returns, so you want to make marketing a priority during the leasing process.

Most tenants in Palm Desert are looking online for their next rental property. They’re hoping to find great photos, an attractive property, and a competitive price. When it’s time to schedule a showing, they expect responsiveness and convenience. 

We’re sharing some of our best marketing tips as Palm Desert property managers. Here’s how to make sure you leverage the power of online rental searches and attract as many tenants as possible to your property.

Good Marketing Starts with an Attractive Rental Home 

The best marketing plan won’t help a home that isn’t rent-ready. You want to advertise a property that’s move-in ready and appealing to the most qualified renters in the market. Don’t start marketing a home that isn’t ready to be seen. All the work has to be complete, and it must be clean. Updates and upgrades must have been made and you should know that tenants will instantly imagine themselves living there. 

A home that’s ready to market and show looks welcoming and attractive.

Benefits of Professional Photos

You can count on this: tenants will look at the photos before anything else when they come across your listing. You have to give them a good first impression if you want them to show any interest in seeing or renting the home. 

Include a lot of photos, and make sure they’re good photos. Camera phones can take high quality pictures and if you happen to have a great one, go ahead and use it. If you’re having trouble getting good shots with great lighting and wide angles, however, upgrade to a professional camera so you can really showcase the best that your property has to offer. 

Consider using video, too. It can be beneficial for tenants who are trying to reduce the number of properties they visit in person. If they take a video tour and feel like they really want to rent your home, they’ll schedule a showing. 

Include a Detailed but Concise Written Description

Keep your description brief because attention spans are short. But, make sure you include pertinent information and engaging descriptions. 

List of all the features your rental property offers, and include all of the obvious things like the number of bedrooms and bathrooms and the total square footage in the home. Your listing should also include information on updates and renovations as well as rental terms. List:

• Rental amount.
• Security deposit requirements.
• Whether pets are allowed or considered.
• When the home will be ready for occupancy.

Always include your contact information. People need to know how to reach you for questions or to schedule a showing. 

Advertising Palm Desert Rental Homes Online 

Once you have the listing written and the photographs loaded, post your listing online, with all of the rental platforms that local and out-of-state tenants are using. You’ll find that you have a lot of traffic on platforms like Zillow, Zumper, HotPads, Rent Café, PadMapper, and Rentals.com. 

Plan to spend a lot of time posting your ad on every available platform. If you’re working with a professional property manager, you will have access to technology and marketing software that allows you to quickly syndicate your listing on all these sites. 

Don’t forget the power of social media. Goods, services, and homes for rent get all sorts of attention on social media posts. When you share your listing on your social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others, you’re exposing that you have a home to rent to a larger audience. Not only will your own network see it, that network can share it with their own networks. 

There’s always someone who knows somebody who is looking for a new home. Leverage those relationships. 

Be Responsive When Tenants Call to Schedule Showings

When you’ve been effective with your online rental property marketing, you’ll have tenants contacting you to ask for more information about the property and to schedule showings. 

Be responsive. You don’t want to ignore these calls and messages. It’s important that you commit to answering the phone, responding to emails, and returning messages. 

Consider your schedule and decide whether you’ll be available to show the home in person at times and on days that are convenient for prospective tenants. If your schedule is complicated, provide self-showing technology like lockboxes or digital keys. You want the showing and the application process to move quickly in order to get a qualified tenant approved and moved in. Tenants are also appreciative of the privacy they get when they can see a home on their own. Always follow up by asking if they’d like an application and offering to answer any questions. 

Focus on Fair Housing When Marketing Properties

Fair housing laws need attention and compliance when you’re marketing your rental home. 

The federal Fair Housing Act lists seven protected classes against whom you may not discriminate when you are looking for tenants. California’s fair housing laws are even stricter. 

You would likely never discriminate intentionally, but you can include language in your online listing that others might find problematic. Don’t say anything about what types of tenants might find your home suitable. Don’t discuss why it’s great for single professionals. There’s no need to mention that churches are nearby. Instead, focus on the home itself and all the great qualities it has.