The demand for rental properties is highest during peak rental season. This is every landlord’s chance to offer premium rates and maximize profits. However, these rewards won’t just fall in your lap. You have to set yourself up for success, starting now. Read below to discover how you can maximize this opportunity.
Main Takeaways
- The peak rental season is from May to September. This is the time when demand for rental properties is typically highest.
- You can take advantage of this season by ending leases right before the season starts, making competitive upgrades, handling taxing maintenance needs ahead of time, streamlining your application process, making a budget for marketing, building a website, having virtual tours, creating the ideal listing, implementing tenant feedback, and networking with other industry insiders.
When is Peak Rental Season?
Peak rental season is typically from May to September. Northern Virginia property managers and landlords alike can benefit from this period.
This sweet spot before the school year gives families and students time beforehand to find housing. In addition, fresh graduates will need new housing. Plus, the warm weather creates a better environment to move in.
With these factors combined, it creates the highest demand for rental properties of the year. It can be simpler to find tenants for your rental property who are willing to pay higher rates. Bigger tenant pool + higher rates = peak profits.
Why Should You Prepare for This Season Now?
Quite simply, it takes time to put peak season preparations in place. To attract top tenants, you may need to do property upgrades, build a website, simplify your application process, and make other fixes that require planning. So, get ahead of the curve and consider these changes now.
How to Profit from Peak Demand for Rental Properties
To profit from the peak rental season’s increased demand, use the following strategies:
End Leases at Strategic Times
If your tenant’s lease ends before the peak rental season, it might be harder to find tenants for your rental property afterward. You also might have to pitch lower rates than you’d prefer. As you can imagine, this approach limits your profit potential.
To avoid this, you may want to extend the lease, so it ends while the demand for rental properties is highest. This way, you can fill the upcoming vacancy faster. Best of all, you can fill it at the best possible rate.
Consider Making Competitive Upgrades
Rental trends change. If yours doesn’t adapt to the times, tenants will choose ones that do. Stay on track by monitoring market trends, both local and nationwide. Then, follow up by implementing upgrades that compete with similar properties’ features.
Take Care of Maintenance Needs Now
First impressions matter. So, make sure your property is in tip-top condition for peak rental season. After all, some maintenance needs can take time, so it’s a good idea to put them in motion now.
For instance, some property upgrades may take weeks or months. Provide plenty of time to set them up in advance. By doing this, if any mishaps occur, you’ll have enough wiggle room to iron them out.
Even routine repairs can bring unwanted surprises. Something could need a more intensive fix than you initially estimated. You don’t want to be caught off guard, scrambling to fix these issues in time. Instead, nip them in the bud well before peak rental season.
Streamline Your Rental Application Process
Peak rental season is not the time to be slowed down by inefficient application procedures. You need to strike on the demand for rental properties while it’s hot. In that vein, you should get as many tenants in units as you can, as fast as you can.
So, make these processes as smooth and simplified as possible:
- Move-out inspections
- Move-out vendor securement
- Digital applications (including references, employment & credit info) and inquiry forms
- Marketing platform usage
- Unit showing process, including notifying current occupants ahead of time
- Tenant screening
Carve Out a Budget for Marketing
It may be worth preparing funds for a marketing budget. For example, paid Google, Facebook, Instagram, or other ads can get exponentially more eyes on your property. Nearly everyone uses these sites. Moves like this may be expensive, but they can have a high ROI.
Create the Ideal Listing
Many tenants look at dozens of listings in their search. So, you need to differentiate your listing from the pack. To do this, focus on eye-grabbing headlines, keyword-filled, detailed descriptions, and lots of professional photographs. All these can help you find tenants for your rental property.
Build a Website
Many people turn to the internet to find rentals. As such, to find tenants for your rental property, you need to meet the people where they’re at. Luckily, you can do this by building an official website. Having one shows that your listings come from a legitimate, established business. It builds trust with prospective tenants.
On a practical level, it also gives prospective tenants a place to complete their rental application. It ushers them to their next steps quickly.
However, if you don’t have the time or ability to create a professional site yourself, property managers can help.
Implement Virtual Tours
Virtual tours let people explore your property at their convenience, no matter when or where. They simply need their tech devices to do it. No transportation or schedule changes are necessary. Needless to say, this helps bring your property to as many viewers as possible.
Even better, seeing your property in-depth may be the push tenants on the fence need. It can drive them to move forward with the application process.
Gather Tenant Feedback
Your tenants were once looking for rentals, too. Because of that, they have unique insight into the prospective renter’s perspective. You may benefit from asking them why they picked your property, where they discovered it, and similar questions.
Additionally, you could also survey prospective tenants who ultimately pass on your property. With this, you can address weak spots that turn renters away.
Network with Other Industry Insiders
Industry insiders can take you to leads you never imagined. They have connections in all kinds of places, and they may have hidden insights into your current market you need to stay on top of. Because of that, you should network with them as much as possible.
There are a few ways you could connect with industry experts. For one, you could join local real estate organizations. Or, you could be part of a Facebook or LinkedIn group. Either way, you can gain valuable intel from these sources.
Find Tenants for Your Rental Property with PPM Northern Virginia
With peak rental season, you can capitalize on the demand for rental properties more than ever. You can find tenants for your rental property by streamlining your application processes, investing in paid advertising, having virtual tours, and other key methods.
However, not everyone has the manpower or time necessary to maximize peak rental season. After all, creating the perfect listing, building a website, networking with other industry pros, and other tasks are hard to do with a busy schedule.
Luckily, the professional property managers at PPM can help. We can handle virtually everything, like:
- Coordinating property upgrades, maintenance, and repairs
- Lease extensions
- Move-out (and move-in) inspections
- Online applications and inquiries
- Website building
- Unit showings
- Tenant screenings
- Networking for leads
- Developing and marketing listings
…and more! So, call us today to reap peak rental season’s benefits without the effort.
