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When considering how to evaluate an investment to maximize profits, your chief concern should be limiting vacancies and filling the ones that do occur as quickly as possible. An empty investment property is not an investment property at all: It’s a money pit.
You must tailor your advertising efforts to consider who your ideal renter is. Renters in 2025 tend to search for listings online, whether through a listing site or social media platforms. Renters know what to look for in an investment property; you just have to show them those desirable traits within your own property on the platforms they will encounter your listing on.
Related: How to Avoid Long-Term Rental Vacancies and Safeguard Revenue
How to write an inviting listing
Online listings are extremely important in this digital age to bring in potential tenants and fill vacancies. As a landlord, vacant properties are detrimental to your ability to turn profit. Learning how to write an effective and engaging listing will help bring in as many interested renters as possible. Here are the three main components of a listing and some tips on how to master each one:
Headline:
The headline is the part of the listing that a potential renter sees first. They will judge whether they want to inquire further based on the heading you chose, so make sure it’s a good one!
The best headings are brief yet informative. The aspects of a property that renters are interested in most are the price, square footage, neighborhood and whatever features or amenities you think they’d be most interested in knowing about.
Pictures:
Besides your headline, the pictures in your listing will be the main attention-grabber in your listing. You need to ensure each photograph in your listing is high-quality, using a decent camera, tripod and uploaded on a high-quality file. Taking pictures during daylight hours is recommended, since natural light is most flattering. Artificial light can occasionally make a space look dingy or run-down. Sometimes, attaching a floor plan to your listing can help renters visualize where each room fits in the overall layout of the property.
Description:
When an interested renter makes it to your description, they’ve already looked at the heading and presumably skimmed through the pictures. The description is your chance to fill in any property details that are relevant and interesting to them, while still trying to persuade them that this could be their next investment.
It can be easier for renters to digest description information if you put the following information in a bulleted list.
Consider inserting information about amenities, dimensions, measurements and important lease terms. It’s very important to remember to include your phone and email so anyone interested in the property has a way to reach you.
Related: 7 Tips for Writing Engaging Listings for Your Rental Property
Where to post your listing
Once you have your quality listing, you’ll have to post it to a listing site so potential tenants can see it.
Commercial listing sites like CoStar, LoopNet and Crexi can help you get your listing to thousands of eyes.
If you’d like to attract a younger audience or simply expand the reach of your advertising efforts, consider using social media apps like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Each of these apps has a different audience — for example, Instagram and Facebook boast more millennial users than TikTok, which is more popular with Gen Z. Carefully consider what type of tenant you think would be interested in your property and then curate your social media strategy accordingly.
It can be advantageous to hire a social media strategist or intern who is familiar with the trends for these sites. Going viral is not easy. If you’re serious about launching a social media strategy, talk to other professionals or real estate investors who have forayed into this territory for advice.
Finally, ensure that you’re following all terms and conditions associated with advertising your business on social media. Each app has different rules and regulations, so to avoid being banned from the platform, read through each one’s guidelines for advertising.
Related: How to Enhance Your Rental Property Listings and Get More Units Filled This Year
Maximizing profits with property management software
Innago, Appfolio and other property management platforms give you the opportunity to spend more time on your business, not in your business. Day-to-day tasks can quickly and easily take over your time, leaving less space in your schedule for business growth. Let those tedious tasks be automated with property management software.
Some tasks that can be aided by property management software are tenant screening practices, security deposit filing and tracking, as well as rent payment reminders. Depending on what your specific business needs are, you can find the software that works best for you. Each company offers different things, so be sure to do your research and utilize companies that offer free trials to ensure that the platform is the one you want to settle on.
Certain platforms offer tiered pricing, but other platforms, like Innago, offer syndication and additional automation processes for free.
Maximizing profits begins with fewer vacancies. While interested renters present an opportunity to minimize vacancy rates, they also require tenant screening, which includes reference contact, credit and rental history checks and application reviews. Getting property management software can help you breeze through these responsibilities and explore other profit-maximizing avenues that will further grow your rental business in 2025.
