Fill Your Vacancies: Marketing tips for Property Managers

An empty property can spell trouble for landlords and property managers. The financial pressure of a vacancy in your portfolio is immense, with lost rental income and ongoing expenses continuing to pile up. It’s therefore crucial to minimise vacancy periods. 

This article offers tips for property professionals to optimise their marketing efforts, including conducting maintenance, tidying up the property, staging it for photos and videos and utilising essential promotion techniques.

Mitigating the Financial Risks of an Empty Rental 

An unoccupied rental property can have major financial implications for landlords and property managers. The most obvious cost is lost rental income while a place sits vacant. This missing revenue directly impacts cash flow, especially for landlords relying on consistent rental payments to cover mortgages and other expenses.

On top of lost rent, ongoing costs continue to accumulate, including property taxes, insurance, maintenance and utilities. These obligations don’t stop just because the property is empty. Expenses can quickly snowball, creating a growing financial burden. Vacancy also means missing out on rent increases that normally occur when new tenants move in. Profitability suffers if rental rates stagnate due to extended vacancies.

Minimising the time a property sits empty is crucial. A quick turnaround between tenants will significantly reduce lost income and vacancy costs. Effective marketing and preparation between tenancies are key to attracting new tenants rapidly as the longer the void period, the more it will hurt your bottom line and dent your success as a property manager.

Preparing the Property: Maintenance and Staging

The time between tenants is crucial for updating and preparing the vacant property. Begin by conducting thorough maintenance to ensure everything is in good working order. Get organised – identify and complete any needed repairs or replacements, such as fixing leaky taps, patching holes and addressing appliance issues.

A deep clean of the entire property is also standard. Scrub all surfaces, steam clean carpets, wash windows and sanitise bathrooms and kitchen. Declutter and remove any belongings or rubbish left behind by previous tenants.

Staging can elevate the property even further. Add decorative touches like fresh flowers, scented candles or artwork. Provide amenities like high-speed WiFi, premium TV channels and luxury linens. Create a welcoming, move-in ready feel. Repainting with light, neutral colours refreshes the space.

A clean, updated, well-staged property makes a fantastic impression on prospective tenants, minimising vacancy periods. The time and money invested is well worth it to attract qualified applicants quickly.

Showcasing Empty Properties Online in a Professional Light

High-quality photos and videos are essential for showcasing your vacant properties online. Consider hiring a professional real estate photographer to capture the unit in the best possible light.

When photographing, highlight desirable features and spacious layouts. Capture bright, well-lit images from multiple flattering angles. Opt for wide shots to portray the square metres and closer photos to feature details like fixtures and finishes.

Use natural light whenever possible and avoid over-editing or distorting images. In low light use a wider aperture and introduce additional light sources to ensure you get nice, bright images. Provide a clear, accurate visual representation to set realistic expectations.

Along with still photographs, virtual tours and video walkthroughs bring a property to life digitally. These vividly showcase the flow of the space. Consider 3D interactive floor plans and tours captured by drone or camera stabilisers for a dynamic, high-tech presentation.

Compelling photography and videography give prospective tenants a vivid preview of the property. This drives interest and engagement with listings, helping fill vacancies faster. Don’t let lacklustre visuals jeopardise your marketing – use high-quality photos and videos to put your best foot forward.

Filling Empty Properties with Essential Marketing Tips

An effective property marketing strategy is absolutely essential for successfully filling rental vacancies as quickly as possible. The methods you use to promote available properties will directly impact how rapidly you start generating interest, leads and applications. The wider you cast your net and the more compelling your listings, the faster high-quality tenants will come knocking.

Follow these crucial marketing tips to ensure your properties don’t sit empty for long:

• Craft an engaging listing description that paints an engaging and realistic picture of the property’s features and layout. Include details like room dimensions, the age and finish of appliances, availability of amenities like parking or a garden, and any recent upgrades. Use descriptive language to highlight selling points and set proper expectations.
• List the property on multiple platforms – a multi-listing service, your website, high-traffic rental sites like Zoopla and Rightmove, and social media. Cross-post across several sites to maximise exposure. Hyper-target your outreach to dedicated property search platforms to reach motivated renters actively looking.
• Promote new listings heavily to your network via email, social media and word-of-mouth. Reach out to past clients who may be interested or know someone who is. Leverage existing contacts who can help spread the word both online and offline.
• Consider paid advertising like print classifieds or digital ads to expand your reach. Allocate a marketing budget for paid channels to get the listing in front of fresh audiences beyond your existing network.
• Play up desirable amenities, neighbourhood perks, proximity to transport and local conveniences. Spotlight factors like green space, great schools, access to transit, shops and restaurants that renters value highly when choosing a place.
• Be responsive to all inquiries and flexible to arrange viewings. Reply promptly to listing leads, engage interested parties, and accommodate showing requests whenever possible to make a great first impression.
• Review and refresh listings frequently with new photos and lowered prices if needed. Update stale listings to keep them looking fresh. If not generating interest, reassess pricing and be strategic with discounts.
• Offer incentives like a month’s free rent or gift cards to seal the deal. Add value for renters, either lowering costs or offering perks to sweeten the deal. This can be the deciding factor between properties.

When a rental property becomes vacant, it’s critical to minimise the void period to avoid lost income and ongoing costs. By conducting repairs and maintenance, thoroughly cleaning and staging the empty place, capturing top-notch photos and videos, and implementing an expansive marketing plan, property managers can attract qualified tenants rapidly.

Leveraging digital platforms, social networks and paid advertising ensures maximum exposure for listings. Following these best practices will reduce vacancies, generate rent faster, and boost returns for landlords and agents alike.