How to find private renters online

As a landlord, you may want to figure out how to find private renters online.  This could be to save on letting agency costs, or simply to secure private tenants and avoid all the paperwork that comes with hiring a letting agency. 

Or, you may simply want to take a more hands-on approach to letting out your property. Whatever the reason is, we have all the information you need. Here, we’ll take a look at the best ways to find private tenants online. 

Benefits of finding tenants online

Before we explain how to find tenants online, you may be interested in the benefits. In recent years, there has been a large shift in the rental market using online platforms to conduct business remotely without needing to go through third parties. 

This also means that there will be bigger opportunities to find the right tenants because you will ultimately be more spoilt for choice. As well as this, you will be able to screen any potential tenants a lot more efficiently, whilst being able to communicate digitally. 

Using online platforms to find tenants also allows you to speed up the process, from finding a tenant to going through screening, and finally securing a suitable tenant for your property. Alongside this, you will be saving money on marketing your property traditionally and removing the need to use letting agents. 

How to find private renters online 

So, now that you understand the benefits of finding tenants privately online, let’s take a look at how exactly you can do this. 

Did you know that 90% of tenants look for their next property to rent on sites such as Zoopla or Rightmove? So, utilising sites like these to market your property on creates a great opportunity for you as a landlord. 

Set aside time

The first thing to consider would be to make sure that you have enough time on your hands to ensure that you attract the right tenants. You want to ensure that you rent your property out to tenants who will respect your property and pay rent on time. So, set time aside in your day to make sure that you market to and attract the best tenants. 

Market your property effectively

Because you will be finding your tenants online without the help of a letting agency, you will need to market your property in a way that will attract the right tenants. Here’s how you can do this: 

• Be on the ground: As a landlord, you’ll need to make sure that you know your neighbourhood so that you can attract the right kind of tenant. 
• Set up a website: The next step would be to set up a website that you can add your properties to. To do this effectively, you should ensure that you have high-quality photos of your property to add to your website. Make sure that you also add videos to your property listings to give potential tenants a clearer view of your property and its perks. 
• Use property portals: If you don’t want to set up your own website, there are many property portals available to use, such as Zoopla and Rightmove. However, it is worth mentioning that you cannot directly list your property on these sites as a private landlord; you will need a third party to list your property for you. They will do this for a fee, of course. 
• Use social media: Social media is a great way to gain traction for your property. Sites like Pinterest and Instagram are great platforms as they are more picture-orientated. All you need to do is create a profile for your properties and post them live with high-quality pictures. 

Viewings

Now that you have successfully marketed your property, you may need to start looking at booking in viewings after potential tenants have shown interest. This is the step in the process where potential tenants visit your property to see if they are still interested in it. 

Making sure that your property is clean and tidy is important. You want to be able to show tenants what your property has to offer and to show off any perks you may have, for example, a built-in dishwasher. Offer potential tenants the ability to see themselves living in your property. 

This also gives you an opportunity to meet any potential tenants and to find out a little bit more about them. You equally need to be happy with renting your property out to tenants as they need to be happy with living in your property. 

Tenant screening

If you’ve found a potential tenant that you feel fits your property and who will look after it while paying rent on time, you’ll need to go through the tenant screening process. Now, you’ll need to conduct any right-to-rent checks, set up a tenancy agreement and create an inventory of the property for accurate and fair deposit deductions once the tenancy has ended.  

Once the tenant screening process has been completed, you can set a date with your tenants for when they will be able to move into your property. 

As a landlord, there is certain legal documentation  and information that you need to be able to provide your tenants with, such as: 

• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
• Gas Safety Certificate
• Electrical Safety Certificate
• Fire Safety Check
• Legionella Risk Assessment
• How to Rent Checklist
• Deposit Protection Information

You also need to ensure that your property has a fitted and working smoke alarm in it. You are required to have a smoke alarm fitted on each level of your property, as required by the Buildings Regulations. 

You may also be interested in looking for the best landlord insurance deals for your property. At CIA Landlords, we can find the best-suited landlord insurance deals for you that are tailored to your every need. Make sure to contact our friendly teams of experts on 01788 818 670.