Advertising advice for Landlords and Property Owners

As a landlord, you surely acknowledge the importance of using all the channels available in order to ensure that your property is financially beneficial at all times. This includes making appropriate use of advertising, although understandably, this can be baffling and challenging to many landlors. StillAd.com has compiled some useful tips that you can follow in order to make the most of all the advertising channels available and to ensure that your property becomes a productive enterprise.

Advertising a property: the basic principles

There are hundreds of properties advertised on a daily basis, so how can landlords ensure that their property ad is effective and stands out from the rest? In the first place (and there should be no discussion about the reasons why this is necessary), a property advert must be honest. To some landlords, the line between being 'creative' and producing a deceitful or misleading advert seems to be blurred. Creating false expectations among prospective tenants is not only unfair, but it might be counterproductive in the long term. Remember that negative feedback spreads quickly in the market, and no landlord needs that kind of reputation.

Another basic principle is to put yourself in the readers' shoes and think what aspects are the most important when choosing a property. These often include location (along with a description of transport links and nearby amenities), number of bedrooms, the property's condition or state of repair, whether the property is furnished or unfurnished, the property's main features (such as double glazing, on-site parking, central heating, garden, etc.), and the total price, including or excluding bills.

Accurate and representative pictures should be included, especially if your property features some unique details that might help catch the attention of tenants or buyers, such as designer furniture, new kitchen or bathroom fixtures, or special decorative touches. To make your property stand out, you could also consider including a link to a Youtube video.

Advertising through letting agents: is it right for you?

There is a large percentage of landlords who do not hesitate to use the services of a letting or real estate agent. The reasons for this are varied: some landlords simply do not have the time to be dealing with all the aspects involved in advertising and managing a property, while others feel that they lack the necessary experience to go it alone when it comes to putting their property out in the market.

While it is true that using the services of professionals can help make your property more marketable and attractive in the eyes of prospective tenants, you should also be aware of the potential issues that could arise when advertising through an agent. In the first place, landlords should take into account the financial considerations involved in using an agent to advertise their property. In the United Kingdom, standard agent fees range from 10 to 15 per cent of the property's rental or sale value. For this amount, you can expect a letting agent to advertise your property, to handle all enquiries from prospective tenants or buyers, and to vet those who might not be suitable.

If you live far away or have more than one property in the market, advertising through an agent might be profitable, but you should also know that there is no reason to limit your advertising strategy to high street letting agents. Over the past couple of years, there has been a considerable increase in the number of online letting agents offering advertising services to landlords and property owners. The advantage of using these is that they usually charge a fixed fee, which in some cases, can be up to 66 per cent lower than the one charged by traditional agents. Moreover, online letting agents can often make your property appear on the UK's leading letting sites (such as Rightmove or Prime Location) at discounted prices. Some might even offer to take professional pictures of your property, which is something that can help immensely when it comes to attracting tenants.

Property advertising do's and don'ts

Bear in mind the following points when putting together your property ad:

• Do keep it concise and to the point. In the majority of cases, 50 words should suffice to describe your property.
• Do use abbreviations but don't overdo them.
• Do state any exclusions or preferences you might have, such as no DWP, smokers, pets, or students.
• Do include your contact details (telephone and e-mail whenever possible).
• Don't limit your advertising methods. Consider advertising at community notice boards, university campuses, popular cafes and restaurants, local papers or newsletters, and at market sites.
• Don't underestimate the power of words. For instance, instead of describing your property as simply 'renovated', why not turn it into 'beautifully renovated'?
• Don't publish ads with spelling or grammar mistakes -they detract from the overall quality of an advert.