It’s not just about attracting tenants to your Santa Rosa rental property.
It’s about attracting high-quality tenants.
You want the best of the bunch; the tenants who will pay rent on time every single month. The tenants who will contribute to the maintenance and care of your investment property, and who will respect the lease agreement. You’re looking for tenants who take care of their pets and prevent damage. Those residents who keep things clean and tidy and know how to replace a light bulb on their own without bothering you about it.
Luckily, the Santa Rosa rental market is full of high-quality residents. This is Sonoma County, after all.
But how to attract those tenants to your rental property? What can you do to make sure yours is the rental home they choose when they’re looking for a place to live?
We’re talking about that today. Our experience as Santa Rosa property management experts has shown us what high-quality tenants are looking for, and how to attract them to your rental property.
Making Your Marketing Matter: Grabbing the Right Kind of Attention
A strong marketing strategy helps you target these potential tenants and showcase your property in the best possible light. You’re more likely to attract those high-quality tenants when you focus on the following as part of your marketing strategy:
- Highlight Property Features That Appeal to Exceptional Tenants
The best tenants will be attracted to specific amenities, features, and upgrades in a Santa Rosa rental home. For instance, the residents you’re hoping to attract are likely safety-conscious, and they will appreciate secure locks or video doorbells or a home in a gated community. Highlight these things in your listing if you can provide them.
Sustainability is a huge value for a lot of good tenants right now. Those environmentally aware tenants might be drawn to eco-friendly upgrades like energy-efficient appliances and LED light bulbs. Smart home tech is popular, too, so showcase your keyless entry system or your smart thermometer if you’ve installed such updates.
- Leverage High-Quality Photos and Videos
Every listing needs to have great photos and videos. When marketing a rental property to the best tenants in the market, however, poor-quality images are definitely not going to land. In fact, they’ll scare potential high-quality tenants away. Invest in professional photography to show your property at its best. Consider taking well-lit photos that showcase the space, and include video walkthroughs to mimic an in-person experience. Data shows that listings with professional-quality images generate more views and applications. This step is an excellent way to capture initial interest.
- Utilize Online Rental Platforms
Most tenants start their search online. Listing your rental property on trusted platforms is essential. Use platforms like Zillow, Apartments.com, or Realtor.com, which are popular with serious renters. Ensure your property description is detailed and includes keywords that will get the attention of discerning renters. Mentioning the neighborhood where your property is located is an excellent way to attract tenants who might be looking for that area, specifically.
- Advertise on Social Media
One underutilized yet powerful marketing tool for landlords is social media. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram allow you to target niche markets with paid ads. Use Facebook Marketplace to list your property. Share interior photos and video tours on Instagram. Join local rental groups online to connect with interested tenants.
Social media ads also give you the flexibility to filter your audience by location, age, and interests, making it easier to target an ideal tenant pool.
- Offer Virtual and Self-Guided Tours
Convenience is a key consideration for high-quality tenants. Offering virtual tours allows prospective renters to view your property from the comfort of their homes. You can create a 360-degree video tour or host a live Zoom walkthrough. Most good tenants will want to see the home in person before they rent it, but this is a great way to help them decide whether they want to invest the time in a showing. You can also offer self-guided tours with a secure entry code. Self-showings are increasingly popular, and privacy and modern invitations can appeal to renters looking for flexible and tech-savvy landlords.
Establishing Standard Rental Criteria: Allow Tenants to Self-Screen
Standard rental criteria are a set of qualifications and guidelines that all applicants must meet to be considered for tenancy. This is another good way to attract only highly qualified renters because you’re telling prospective applicants exactly what you’re looking for in a tenant. Having defined rental criteria helps you and prospective tenants in several important ways:
- Consistency and Fairness. Applying uniform rental criteria ensures every applicant is evaluated using the same standards, reducing the likelihood of perceived or actual discrimination. This protects you legally and fosters trust with potential tenants. This is especially important in a rental market like Santa Rosa because California has detailed and complex fair housing laws that require you to be objective in your marketing and screening.
- Time Saved. By setting clear expectations early, you can reduce the number of unqualified applicants. This saves significant time during the screening process. They won’t waste their application fee trying to get a home they cannot possibly afford, and you won’t waste your time screening applications that don’t measure up to your standards.
- Improved Tenant Quality. When tenants know what’s required, only those who meet your criteria are likely to apply, meaning fewer evictions, late payments, or property damage in the long run. You’re getting the tenant you were hoping for.
- Clarity Leads to Peace of Mind: Establishing clear rules communicates professionalism and allows prospective tenants to better understand how their application will be assessed.
When crafting your rental criteria, we always recommend that you include objective qualifications that align with statewide legal standards. Here are the key components you can include to ensure you identify highly qualified tenants while remaining compliant with laws such as the state fair housing requirements:
- Income Requirements
It’s common practice to set an income threshold to ensure tenants can afford the rent. A common benchmark requires gross income to be at least 3 times the monthly rent. This is an easy way to ensure that you are attracting only qualified tenants with your criteria.
- Credit Score Minimums
When it comes to checking credit, you’ll want to look at more than just the score during the screening process. However, a solid credit score provides insight into an applicant’s financial responsibility. Establishing a credit score threshold (for example, 600 or above) can help you find tenants who are likely to be financially reliable.
- Rental History
Check the applicant’s rental history for late payments, past evictions, or complaints from previous landlords. Clearly state unacceptable behaviors in your rental criteria, such as damaged properties or broken lease agreements.
Communicating these requirements helps attract compatible tenants and demonstrates your commitment to a transparent process.
Making Your Santa Rosa Rental Property a Desirable Home
You cannot attract high-quality renters if you don’t offer a high-quality rental home.
Offering a high-quality Santa Rosa rental home is not only a desirable goal in itself but also a necessary step in attracting high-quality tenants. When tenants see that you have invested in maintaining and improving your property, they are more likely to perceive the value and take pride in their residency. By providing a well-maintained and comfortable living environment, you set the foundation for establishing a positive and long-lasting relationship with tenants who appreciate and respect your property.
When you’re focusing on maintenance, turnover upgrades, or general renovations, remember your goal is to attract the best tenants on the market. That’s a very good reason to install hard surface flooring instead of another mid-grade carpet. It’s a good reason to update the landscaping and pressure-wash the property before you start renting it out.
The best tenants on the market will be looking for the best homes. You cannot offer a rental home that doesn’t measure up to others on the market if you want to attract tenants with great credit, high income, and stellar rental references.
You need to think about pricing, too. You can command the highest rents that the market will bear when you have a great property to offer. However, those well-qualified tenants know that they have a lot of choices when it comes to choosing a home. Everyone is going to want to rent to them. Make sure you’re pricing your property profitably but also competitively.
Attracting high-quality tenants is about more than just marketing your property and providing top tier amenities. It’s about building trust and creating good relationships. By taking the extra steps to understand your tenant pool, showcase your property professionally, and offer modern conveniences, you demonstrate that you’re a landlord who values quality and care.
We can help you attract high-quality tenants to your property. We’ve been doing it for years as your local Santa Rosa property management resource. If you have any questions, please contact us at Prestige Real Estate & Property Management. We manage homes in Sonoma County, including Santa Rosa, Windsor, Sebastopol, Petaluma, and Rohnert Park.
