Landlord Quick Tip #264
Tip # 264: The Most Popular Ways For Renters to Find Rentals
Today, a popular way for tenants to search is to juggle between Padmapper, Trulia and Craigslist.
Padmapper uses a map interface which integrates many popular rental search sites including Craigslist.
Originally, Craigslist was opposed to the use of their rental listings on anothers site. Tensions seem to have smoothed out after Craigslist implemented its own map function, which is useful, but arguably less useful than Padmapper because Padmapper integrates many other sites. This is good news for landlords who debate which service to use (Craigslist, Padlister, Apartmentsearch, Rent.com, Airbnb, Apartmentfinder, Realtor.com, and others).
Padmapper is available as a mobile app as well. But the app isnt as powerful as the website and has found itself gaining many bad reviews.
Trulia, which is partnered with Apartment Guide, is another popular site for renters and homebuyers for finding properties in a specific area. Its a good choice for landlords due to its popularity and the fact that many properties listed on it do not necessarily show up on Padmapper.
Trulia offers a different sort of map function that marks schools, crime, transit and local amenities. Trulia also offers an “Easy Post-to-Craigslist tool” which will make sure that your listing is seen by a large number of prospective renters. Furthermore, Trulia also offers a mobile app which is rated much better than Padmapper’s, so expect mobile users to use Trulia or Craigslist over Padmapper.
Posting a listing on Padmapper and Trulia are both free since these services try to up-sell additional services such as online applications.
If you find yourself troubled with vacancies, or just want to speed up your leasing process, you will want to make sure you have a presence on these sites (Trulia, Padmapper, Craigslist) so your property will remain in the running. Even if youre at 100% occupancy, it doesnt hurt to have a waiting list so you can keep it at 100%!
See last week’s Landlord Quick Tip.
American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts on products and services for all your property management needs. Find out more at www.joinaaoa.org.
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