Over the years, marketing of rental properties has become more sophisticated to meet tenants growing expectations. 23 years ago when I started my career in Real Estate, we used a small print add in the newspaper with no visuals as the vehicle to attract tenants to properties.
Then with the growth of the internet and email, the industry was forced to move with the times and embrace real estate digital sites as the vehicle to attract tenants to properties. Advertisements, in the beginning, were fairly basic, and with a few quick shots taken on an old handheld digital camera and uploaded onto the web. Yet as technology has become more sophisticated over the years, so has people’s expectations of what is considered appealing and professional.
Tenants are often visual consumers, attracted by strong, good quality visuals and not mountains of text. This is where engaging a professional photographer to shoot the rental property at the time of placing it on the rental market, will give the owner the best advantage in attracting the best tenants in the marketplace. For a small cost ranging from $165-$200 (which is tax-deductible), it will ensure that your investment is presented in the best possible light, with the photos being framed correctly and digitally polished. Additionally, you will own these photos moving forward and can use them in subsequent advertising campaigns should a need for a new tenant arises.
Property Managers are not photographers, they specialise in marketing your property to the best of their ability to attract quality Tenants who will look after your investment like their own, and then manage the term of the lease to ensure your property stays in the same condition, and you receive your monthly rent. What may seem like a smart financial decision skimping on professional photos, can actually cost you money. With so many properties available, you may not be attracting the best Tenants properly, or any at all. If your property is on the market for a long time due to no suitable applications not only are you losing rent you could be making, but you might end up settling for Tenants who are not ideal and may not take as good care of your investment as your ideal Tenant.
According to realestate.com.au 43% of tenants get frustrated by poor quality photos on adverts and may skip that property altogether. Don’t let $200 stand in your way of finding the ideal Tenant.
