Your time is valuable. Whether you are managing your rental properties or if you utilize a property management service, it’s important to get your rentals leased as quickly as possible so you don’t lose out on vital income. Using our 20+ years of experience, we have made this guide on how to get your properties leased quick. Join us as we explore the time requirements of your different options.

Different Ways of Showing Your Property

Before inviting tenants to a showing, landlords must first determine how to show the property. Based on your target audience, the style of showing can vary. There are many different ways to host showings, but these are among the most efficient:

• Private Showings
• Blocked Private Showings
• Open House

In order to determine which showing is best for your time restraints, we will dive into each one.

1. Private Showings

Private showings consist of an interested renter contacting you and setting up a time to meet for a walkthrough of the rental. This allows for the most hands-on experience for the future tenant. It allows them to walk through with the landlord and ask questions about the property with no rush for time. The con of this type of showing is that it is the most time consuming, often resulting in multiple trips for the landlord to and from the rental property. However, it helps develop a more trusting relationship between both parties.

2. Blocked Private Showings

A blocked private showing also allows for a hands-on experience with the landlord, but it has a limited time frame. A blocked private showing is set up in increments, usually an appointment every 15 minutes. This allows for the landlord to show the property to a larger number of tenants over a span of time without the hassle of coming to the property as frequently. The downfall of blocked private showings is that the available time slot may not work for possible tenants or they may show up late intruding on another person’s time slot.

3. Open Houses

You may be more familiar with an Open House as a way to sell a home. However, it works just as well to rent out your properties with the least amount of work. Open Houses have one block of time in which any interested tenant can come look at the property.

Unfortunately, this type of showing does not allow for the hands-on interaction that the other showings require. Tenants cannot ask questions during a thorough walkthrough as they could with the other showings. Yet, with more traffic comes a higher chance of renting your property same-day. 

4. Video Showings

Video showings have been growing in popularity over the years, especially in the past year and a half. These showings offer the least amount of time commitment for the landlord and the most flexibility for the potential tenants. 

Video showing will cost you more due to the hiring of a videographer and editing that will need to be done after the shoot. While it may be more expensive upfront, the cost will be worth it with the time savings made. Due to the ability to tour a home online, very few in-person showings will need to be made. This allows the landlord to spend less time showing the home to future tenants.

Deciding How Much Time to Spend Showing

When deciding how much time to put into showings, you have to consider how valuable your time is. While private showings allow for connections to be made, meetings can always be set up after tenants have been approved for the rental, to create a trusting environment. If you have the time to spare, private showing will allow for more intimate conversations. If you don’t have the time to spare, open houses and video showings provide a great opportunity for many people to view the rental with less time commitment on your side. 

Still can’t decide what is the best way to spend your time showing your rental or just don’t have the time to manage it yourself? Contact Ferguson Property Management and we can take care of everything for you.