As a property owner, it is only natural that you want to make your rentals shine from the start with potential renters. Writing an effective listing for your Atlanta rental property takes a combination of great writing skills and a deep understanding of the property. Even when it's just a few words, it can actually be a real art form to get it right. Read on to learn more about how to make your listings polished and enticing for your potential rental applicants.
Make Every Word Paint a Picture
If you look at the most-viewed listings, you'll see that what they have in common is that they are very short, but every word is important. Whether they're emphasizing the access to a desirable neighborhood or an unusually large bay window or closet, the listings come in fast and furious, wasting no time. While people want to read what is available in a rental, they are deciding whether to keep considering this property very quickly, so the faster you can get to the point, the better.
Draw Attention to Unique Positives
The listing will likely have an area for the bare-bones facts about the rental, such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, so don't waste time in your listing when you can draw attention to something particularly attractive about the property. Everything from being the one unit with a balcony to having a recently renovated bathroom and kitchen can be the magic bullet for your property to stand out. Listings are the place to develop your most exciting or unusual elements and showcase them in quick succession for your soon-to-be renters.
Combine Your Listing Language With Great Photography
No listing is complete without pictures. Most people want to see for themselves what you've enthusiastically described. The photographs shouldn't just be your best attempt at a good photo; hiring a real estate photographer is a great choice, since they know all the tricks and details to capture that make your rental look amazing, rather than humdrum.
Great real estate photography is harder than it looks! Take the time to hire someone who can make rooms look spacious, showcase the natural light, and make kitchens and bathrooms appear modern and up to date. These photos are meant to emphasize all the best elements of the place without tricks like avoiding photographing a particular part of a room.
Real estate photography brings the potential renter in but also gives them a recognizable space when they come to see it for themselves in-person. Work with your Atlanta rental property manager if you aren't sure how to find a great real estate photographer.
Focus on the Big Picture Story and the Details, Like Grammar
Listings are too short to leave anything out - there should be no single focus, but rather a focus on everything! For instance, the big picture does matter! You want someone to read a story of some kind in the listing: is this listing the perfect urban sanctuary or close to everything but cozy and calm inside? Is it the best upscale family space, perfect for dinners at home and everyone working on homework, or great for having a movie night? You can't spare a ton of words for it, so this story should emerge through the home's details. Having a friend or family member read the listing draft and tell you what story it conveys is a great strategy.
That being said, your listing's picky grammatical details matter too! You can abbreviate words that are commonly abbreviated and you might choose to use small lists instead of full sentences in some very short listing contexts. But when there is a full sentence in the listing, make sure it is correct and clear. Grammar helps you avoid taking the focus off the meaning of the statements you make; people are distracted by errors that create confusion.
Hire a Great Property Manager to Write Great Listings
The art of an effective real estate listing for an Atlanta rental property is much harder than it looks. You can work as hard as possible on it and still find yourself wishing you'd done a few dozen more of them to really get the hang of it.
Rather than having to write a ton of listings to find your footing for your Atlanta rental property, you can turn to Revolution Rental Management (formerly known as GTL Real Estate) as a trusted property manager. Not only are we very skilled with effective listing language, but we also know where to advertise 30 days before your previous tenant's lease expires, ensuring the shortest possible vacancy time and generating interest quickly for the next rental cycle.
We work hard to find a great resident for your property, and because we've done this for hundreds (even thousands!) of properties in the past, we've learned what language wows renters and brings in applications. Learn more by contacting us today!
