Apartments for Rent Made Easy

When it comes to marketing your apartments for rent, generating an organic foundation of buzz is a key component to staying afloat in this digital age of social media. Word-of-mouth marketing is a powerful tool that is virtually limitless! Below are some examples of getting the ball rolling on your word-of-mouth campaign.

Ask current residents for referrals:
A satisfied resident is more likely to be willing to tell their friends, family and colleagues about your properties. People who hear about you from someone they know personally are generally more willing to check out your properties. Offer an incentive such as a coffee card or a pre-loaded laundry card. The amount doesn’t have to be exorbitant – just enough to show your appreciation.

Utilize Facebook and other social media:
Never underestimate the power of social media! Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other sites are excellent resources when reaching your target audience. If someone “likes” you on Facebook, all of their friends will see your name. Pinterest, in particular, is a rapidly expanding social media site that allows you to showcase your creative side. Not only can you create picture boards with photography of your rental properties, but you can take the opportunity to showcase the neighbourhoods as well. Post photos of local restaurants, coffee shops, gyms – anything that will show off the amazing location!

Research your online reputation:
What are people saying about your company and your properties? A Google search can lead you to comments and opinions that you may not have been aware of previously. Search Google at least once a month to monitor what people have to say about you. Keep a list of recurring issues and hold a meeting with your property managers to go through it. Although some criticisms can be classified as “venting”, feedback can be extremely insightful and helpful in the process of bettering your rental property.

Get your team on the same page:
Ensure that everyone on your team is speaking the same language when it comes to your properties. What are your strengths? What do you offer that other rental properties do not? If everyone is putting the same word out there, your reputation will grow quickly and efficiently.

Newsletters:
A newsletter is a great way to stay in touch with your current and prospective residents. Post it on your website, link to it on Facebook and Twitter and make it available in your properties. The more accessible you are, the more your residents will feel a personal connection to you. Build community by profiling residents; announcing milestones like birthdays, marriages and babies; announcing upcoming property events; and promoting the businesses of renters.

Tell friends and family:
Simply letting your own friends and family know about your company is an excellent way to get your name out to prospective renters. If they know someone who is looking for an apartment, they can let them know about your company. The word will spread from there!

Happy Summer Season & Happy Renting!

The RentSeeker.ca Team

Kicking the Cramp: Make the most of even the smallest apartment unit

Decorating a small apartment can seem like a challenge, especially if you’re limited by stringent rental rules. The goal is to keep your living area organized, while still adding flair to your home. After all, there’s no rule against making a rental unit your own! Here are some ideas to help maximize your space and make it stylish, comfortable and inviting.

Store & Hide Clutter:

When searching for pieces to add to your apartment, look for furniture that does double-duty, such as chairs and coffee tables that have storage areas inside them. Lift up the top to find extra space for blankets or pillows. To minimize clutter, fill baskets or plastic containers with out-of-season clothing or shoes and hide them under your bed. Keeping some of your stuff out of sight will make your space seem larger. You’ll be astonished to see that a little hiding can go a long way.

Bright Matters:

Mirrors of any shape or size can make a small apartment feel brighter and more spacious. Furniture and tables with metal or glass can also visually expand your unit. Covering every window with blinds or drapes will make a small space feel dark and cramped, so leave some windows bare to bring in the sun (this can also help keep heating bills down). If your apartment doesn’t have overhead lighting, floor or desk lamps can help illuminate a room. Choose lighter-coloured or translucent lampshades that allow more light to infuse the space.

Create a Focal Point:

Remember that gorgeous tapestry you picked up on your last trip abroad? Now you can actually do something with it! Hanging large pieces, painting just one wall a different colour or covering it with unique wallpaper will draw attention to the room and make it seem bigger. Put a bookcase or entertainment unit on that wall and decorate it with fun accessories. You can even hang pictures of friends and family to create visual interest.

Lighten Up:

Using lighter paint colours, such as pastel shades, will create the illusion of a wider apartment space. Paint manufacturers and stores have palettes that show how lighter or darker colours appear, as well as small paint sizes so you can sample the shades at home before making a commitment.

Making the most of a small rental apartment takes a lot of creativity and clever strategizing when it comes to selecting furniture and adding decorative touches. Choosing one larger piece of furniture for a small bedroom will make the area seem bigger. Chairs with legs create the illusion of more space in a room. Nightstands don’t always have to come in pairs. Make use of your walls as extra storage space by adding hooks or shelves. For more inspiration, check out DIY apartment blogs and keep coming back to the RentSeeker blog –we’re always updating with new and relevant rental information. As long as you remember these tricks, your apartment will feel more airy, less confined and totally livable!

The RentSeeker.ca Team

There’s nothing worse than being treated as though you’re something that you’re not. It’s like being back in highschool and getting scolded when you’re not the one doing the talking. For baby boomers, it’s being marketing to as though the deathbed is behind the next door. There is a common misconception among rental market advertising that seniors are out of touch, that they’re not as actively involved online and that they’re not nearly as important an audience as their kids and grandkids.

On the contrary, the baby boomer demographic is the fastest growing group to jump on the computer technology bandwagon, spending a whopping $7-billion annually online. In other words, much like 18-34 year olds, this generation is completely open-minded when it comes to new products, lifestyles and marketing.

When it comes to marketing your available apartments for rent, you would be wise to allocate a fair amount of resources targeting this demographic, providing your property can cater to some very high expectations. Throughout your campaign, though, keep in mind that you’re not advertising to a sleepy audience, but rather, a lively, virile group with discerning tastes and extensive wish lists.

Marketing Professor Tom Barry of SMU’s Cox School of Business urges companies to focus the message on feel age as opposed to real age, explaining, “Use models that are cognitively younger; they don’t have to look younger, but have a persona that is psychologically younger.” In other words, he says, the content of advertising, sales, and marketing messages should be based on the cognitive state of the audience. Age, after all, is nothing but a number, so if you’re marketing rental suites to this demographic as old or elderly, you’ve alienated the majority of your audience.

The key to advertising rental units to seniors is research, in addition to knowing what, exactly, your building has to offer that might be attractive to someone in this demographic. If you’re feeling slightly out of touch, here are some tips on how to engage baby boomers, capture their attention and get them in for an apartment showing.

Go Live
Did you know that the largest percentage increase in Internet use has been credited to the 70-75 age group? And they’re not just checking into an email account that stays open all day. Rather, they’re on Facebook, YouTube and other social media sites. Don’t believe us? Take it from the pros then: Kinesis Inc., a Portland, Oregon, web design and branding firm, found that more than 60 percent of baby boomers actively consume socially created content like blogs, videos, and podcasts. So next time you’re posting, tweeting or liking, don’t forget to consider whether grandma or auntie would find your content interesting.

Advertise with Intelligence
We all know that advertising apartments for rent is becoming more and more of a web-based phenomenon. This is not to say, however, that print ads have become obsolete. Baby boomers are still heavily reliant upon magazines and newspapers to get their information, meaning that certain dailies and monthlies could have a positive impact on getting traffic to your property. When targeting seniors in particular, it’s important to take several technical items into account, namely font size. Simply put, the font should never be smaller than 11-point and color ads always attract more attention. Also, keep ads un-cluttered with a clearly marked call to action that includes both email, address and phone number.

The photos should do the talking—but keep them honest. We’ve seen enough old people playing tennis and laughing by a pool. Get creative by promoting what your company can do to enhance their lives. Do you offer a shuttle bus for errands? Is your rental property near a fitness facility? Tell the story, but do it in a way that isn’t patronizing or alienating. This means abandoning labels like “golden years” and “elderly”.

Don’t forget to ask advertisers if they’ll give you editorial space alongside the ad to showcase the property in greater depth.

Build Trust with Customer Service
The baby boomer generation has been around a while. They’ve had more experiences than most of us, meaning you’ll be hard pressed to pull the wool over their eyes. The truth is, the best thing your leasing agent can be is his/herself, to sell the property and the surrounding neighbourhood as a “package deal” that caters directly to the prospect. This means adding a personal touch by doing some legwork to find out about the appealing features of the area and promote them.

Build rapport by letting the individual know that their landlord is just a phone call away should any concerns in their rental unit arise. Another way of doing this is by having honest testimonials by like-minded individuals ready to share at some point during the viewing process. You might even host a baby boomer event and invite some prospects to come along. This is a great opportunity for current residents to speak to their experiences with the property, the management and what the community has to offer.

Finally, always follow up with a note. Handwritten is a unique way of engaging, but again, this is a demographic that’s heavily involved online—email is just as acceptable.

Sell Gently
Hard sells rarely work with this group. Again, they’ve been around a while and have seen it all. One of the most effective tools of persuasion is honesty and compassion. If a person of this age group is moving into your rental property, chances are, they’re downsizing from a house. This could be a giant lifestyle change whereby moving means culling decades of possessions in order to accommodate a smaller space. Perhaps your leasing agent has gone through a similar experience and can empathize as a way to reassure the individual that your property is the right move. If you have storage units available for rent, promote them (and perhaps offer a deal on the monthly fee).

Cut a Deal
Everyone likes a bargain—and many landlords are offering deals to all demographics as a way to fill available apartment units. Purveyors of apartments that cater to baby boomers have jumped on the bandwagon, offering a range of bonuses and incentives to make prospects feel as though they’ve made the right choice by signing with your company. These incentives include rent reduction, waiving of move-in fees, gift cards, fitness memberships, and the list goes on. Put in the work and make the extra effort to get this age group into your apartment building. In the long run, they make loyal residents who are with your for the long haul, and care for your property just as much as you do.

The RentSeeker.ca Team

We’ve all been there: the bachelor apartment, the junior one bedroom apartment, the couch crash… Living in a small space is a rite of passage for most city dwellers whether it’s student housing or a more permanent setting. In fact, as the demand for housing continues to grow at an alarming rate, apartment and condo developers are cramming as many units as they can into one building, making small spaces the new norm.

Having grown up in the apartment industry, I’ve seen a lot. Some residents are downsizing from houses and attempt to recreate the look of their former home in less than a thousand square feet whereas others are so overwhelmed by the new layout that they default to the basics: bed, chair, table, lamp and television. In a recent conversation, Jenn, a resident at 88 Erskine Ave. in Toronto, explained, “My suite felt so empty when I first moved in. I was just out of university and had no furniture. Slowly but surely, I began to collect small-scale pieces that made me feel at home. It just took longer than I had expected to find the right stuff.”

On the other hand, Sharon, another resident, explains that moving into an apartment later in life meant paring down to maximize the space. “It was really tough at first to get rid of so many things that I’d lived with for so long.” Nevertheless, she expressed that adjusting to a rental unit wasn’t easy. Six years later, though, she can’t bring herself to making the leap into the housing market. “I love my apartment. It’s my home now. Every day I come home to this cozy space where I’m surrounded by the things that mean the absolute most to me. I honestly can’t picture myself anywhere else at this point.”

I’ve spoken to many residents, students and young professionals in particular, who are desperate to make a rental unit their own, but shy away from decorating because they can’t shake the thought that renting is impermanent. In other words, their thought process is ‘I’m not here forever, so what’s the point of making the effort?’ According to cognitive engineer Don Norman, whose career credits include stints at Apple and Hewlett-Packard, surrounding yourself with items that are beautiful, functional and reflective can have a positive impact on your cognitive ability.

At the 2003 TED conference, Norman presented Three Ways Good Design Makes you Happy, which suggests that simple, subtle and pleasant things relate to emotions. Offering a personal example, he tells the story of purchasing a gold-plated special edition juicer produced by French product designer Philippe Starck. The product, he admits, sits in his entry way for all to see. It’s not used to make juice, but rather, as an object that’s simply pleasing to look at. He proceeds to talk about owning a knife produced by renowned knife company Global, remarking that the item has everything because it’s beautiful and functional. “I can tell you stories about it,” he says, “which makes it reflective.” Not to mention, it works like a charm.

Whether you’re well-versed in the elements and principals of design or flat-out indifferent to what colors work where and why, it can be reassuring to know that even a rented apartment can incite feelings of happiness and belonging—it’s just a matter of maximizing the space by filling it with functional pieces and items that carry meaning for you. Take Norman’s advice, for instance: When you have a positive reaction to something, your brain produces dopamine, which in turn can have a motivating effect. He argues, “If you’re happy, things work better because you’re more creative.”

I’ve lived in more apartments than I care to count, each one differing in size and layout from the next. My two saving graces have been forced open-mindfulness and “borrowed” inspiration. Fine, I admit it. I’m a copycat. If I had my way, I’d spend all my time in home décor stores trying to find ways to re-create the look of my home with things I already have. But really, what idea isn’t a permutation of something that already exists? In a world of HGTV and IKEA, we have the luxury of letting someone else be the expert. In this case, Norman’s expert emphasis on selecting items that cause a person to reflect on some level resonates.

We all have memorabilia, things we hold onto for emotional reasons. Why keep them boxed up in your apartment building’s storage area? With the current design trend being reclaimed everything, start your shopping at home. Frame old news clippings and tickets and hang them on the wall; make a shadow box of a family heirloom and display it; make a side table out of vintage suitcases. Once you start experimenting and surrounding yourself with possessions that carry meaning, the décor direction will tend to follow. Suddenly, you might find yourself, like Sharon, wanting to spend a wee bit more time in that place that was never meant to be permanent.

Regarding furniture placement, window treatments and color, try sticking to some simple guidelines:

1. Aim High: Hang floor-to-ceiling curtains in a sheer, light material like linen to create a sense of height and draw the eye upwards. Check out Home Outfitters (www.homeoutfitters.com), which carries luxury items at affordable prices by designers like Brian Gluckstein.
2. View Finder: If the view from your apartment isn’t appealing, place some green plants or pretty flowers along the windowsill. Grocery stores like Metro carry lots of options, including low-maintenance orchids, for less than $15.
3. Open Minded: Keep the space airy and open by selecting tables and chairs constructed out of clear materials like glass and acrylic. Mirrored surfaces also reflect light and give an illusion of depth.
4. Lighten Up: Apartments aren’t typically equipped with the best lighting, so it’s up to the renter to brighten the space with table lamps and floor lamps. Lots of light will work wonders for the coziness of the unit. Progress Lighting and Hampton Bay, both found at Home Depot (www.homedepot.ca), carry hundreds of styles—with many in the $10 to $20 range!
5. Work the Magic: Lighter colors of paint reflect light and produce an illusion of space. If your landlord permits, paint the walls with soft tones or shades of white to trick the eye into thinking the apartment is larger than it really is.
6. Weigh Your Options: The scale of furniture matters, so if you’re looking for a new sofa, keep the size of the room in mind. Oversized furniture will overwhelm the room, actually making it appear smaller. Stores like IKEA (www.ikea.ca) and Urban Brick (www.thebrick.com) have mastered the art of furnishing apartment-sized spaces practically, stylishly and affordably.
7. Forms with Function: Decorate with your needs in mind. Make sure that each item serves a purpose and fits with the others and use multi-function furniture like pullout beds in bachelor apartments and ottomans with storage to hide clutter.

Thanks to Jessica Green of Greenwin Inc. for contributing to this article.

-The RentSeeker.ca Team



Part 1:

One of the most challenging and intriguing problems that face potential short term renters is deciding on the type of apartment they want to rent.

One consistent area of interest we often hear feedback from is the choice option between furnished and un-furnished apartment rentals. The sacrifice or trade-off between quality and cost could make the decision making process somewhat intriguing.   If you’ve been shopping around for furnished apartments in Toronto on RentSeeker.ca, or in any city in Canada, you probably will have noticed that the asking price for one is more then then unfurnished apartments. This might actually be pretty good value and is due to a number of reasons. In order to properly and fairly assess the value of a furnished apartment, it is worthwhile to understand the landlord or building manager’s perspective. From the owners perspective, an individual looking to rent a furnished apartment is someone who probably wants to be catered to, and is likely only there for a short time. S/He would probably expect that the utility bills be set up under the landlords name instead of having to deal with the headaches themselves. While this might not be the case in your particular circumstance, this is sometimes an assumption. Let’s break down some of the the cost factors and value:

• New Furniture

The Landlord will buy furniture to place into the apartment. This can range anywhere from a simple couch, table and chairs to full towel service, free TV and the more. Whatever it is, understand that the landlord has to charge more for these additional expenses

• Repairs.

You might be the nicest most considerate guy, the type of person that never puts down a glass without first placing a coaster; however the landlord will operate under the assumption that some furniture is bound to get damaged and will increase his price to cover any real or imagined damage. This might be able to negotiated, as some landlords would prefer a security deposit and if there are no damages would refund it at the end of the lease period. Consider if it would be easier to pay a lump sum upfront and possibly have it returned, or to pay a little more every month.

• Short term.

As we said, most furnished apartment rentals in the GTA as well as nearly everywhere are for the short(er) term, this means that in between every tenant, the landlord must go in to the apartment, and in most cases, paint all the walls, and hire professional contractors to enhance the suite appeal. In a typical unfurnished apartment rental, the tenant is usually there for a much longer period of time making theses checks more infrequent and thus less of an expense from an owners perspective.

• Utilities.

Sometimes a short term tenant does not want to deal with the hassle of setting up his or hers own account with electric hydro gas etc. The landlord will often set up the features under their name and estimate the approximate usage and / or by passing the bill on to the tenant. Many unfurnished apartment rentals in Toronto and other cities include hydro in the rent.

While the price of a furnished apartment will probably run you more money per month, the added benefit for short term renters, namely furniture, and also often better service might end up being worth it

PART 2:

So you decided to rent a furnished apartment rental, and are now wondering, what are some of things I need to ask and know. Well, our team here at RentSeeker.ca, came up with some ideas for you:

1. The first question you should ask is for them to give you an itemized list of the furniture that is included in the apartment and the condition that it is in. For example;

• Couches
• End tables
• Bed(s)
• Kitchen table
• Lamps
• Televisions
• Toaster ovens
• Chairs
• Microwave
• Dishes
• Cutlery
• Crib

and…well, you get the idea.

2. Another important question to ask is if the rent price includes the furniture or if there is a separate fee for that. You don’t want to move in only to realize that there is another fee on top of the one you are paying already.  Know how much the total bill would be at the end of every month!

3. Ask  if utilities are included. This can vary by Landlord, so make sure to ASK. The same holds true regarding cable TV, phone lines, etc,.

4. Ask  if there is a security deposit for the furniture. Some landlords instead of charging for repair will often ask for a deposit to cover any potential damage that might accrue. This can work out to your benefit as it means that if you are careful you wouldn’t have to pay anything for repairs. However the downside is that you have to give a lump sum in advance. This is often negotiable so ask your landlord what arrangements you can work out with them.

5. Find out what type of amenities the building and area offer. Sometimes  newer built  furnished property rentals will offer a higher standard of amenities and services on site.

These are some questions we came up with that you might wish to ask your landlord before you commit to  your  rental agreement. Think of your own questions and post them and share them on RentSeeker.ca on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rentseeker — so that others can benefit from your ideas and experiences!

-The RentSeeker.ca Team

“Apartment Rentals Made Easy”

Social Media in Modern Times

Social media sites and online forums were created for groups of people who share a common idea, to be able to gather and talk about what interests them in one convenient area.  But social media isn’t just about that anymore. As the online community continues to grow, and more and more people come to visit your (once) little corner of the internet, social media presents a unique opportunity to many businesses and consumers.

Since Social Media sites bring together a wide selection of people, from across the spectrum of the internet, who all have one common goal, savvy consumers can use the group knowledge to leverage the market in the favor.

Using Social Media to find an apartment

If you’re looking to rent an apartment in Toronto or across Canada, and haven’t done so already, join an online community that specializes in apartment rentals in your area. Once your registered you will be able to talk to fellow renters, and discuss different apartments in your area, and compare things like; prices, layouts, landlords and more. Of the largest social media sites in the world today are YouTube, Twitter & Facebook, all great ways for landlords, companies and apartment seekers to meet and discuss different properties. Check out Rentseeker.ca’s Twitter, YouTube & Facebook pages for more information and discussions about apartments in your area.

Forums

Rentseeker.ca actually has built in social sharing and tenant forums & student forums on their site that allows Students, Tenants and Landlords, to interact with each other in their search for an apartment in Canada.

You can access the forum by logging in at RentSeeker.ca and selecting the links for Tenants, Landlords or Students. RentSeeker, as well as many companies are integrating Facebook and Twitter into their options, to allow you to connect to other renters through an already established medium.

Other Options

When you search for an apartment online, you might also come across reviews written by previous occupants (or sometimes neighbors) of the apartment. While it is a good idea to check out the reviews, keep in mind that it always represents an individual’s view of the apartment. Often what bothers him might not seem like a big deal to you and vice versa.

So join an online network! Its fun and can be greatly rewarding. Tell people what you are looking for, and help other people in their search for apartments. Who knows who or where you next lead can come from. It can be your neighbor, your friend, a future classmate or even a total stranger. Social Media sites present a unique opportunity to explore a wide range of possibilities in the market of your choice and offer apartment seekers a chance to interact with other people who share the same goal as you do.

-The RentSeeker.ca Team

With so many websites to list apartments for rent online these days, we felt we needed to add something a little unique. A website that not only offers great search features for apartment rentals, but a place where apartment hunters can post what they’re looking for in an apartment and have Landlords / Property Managers contact them!

And so we came up with the Shout Our Corner for Renters & Landlords.

The Shout Out Corner is a fantastic way for apartment renters to simply post what they’re looking for in an apartment, taking a lot of the  effort out of searching and sifting through multiple ads online, and allows Landlords / Property Managers / Rental Staff, to proactively search for renters and notify them of availabilities based on renters inputted search criteria provided in the Shout Out Post List:

Here’s a a preview of what the Shout Out Corner looks like on RentSeeker.ca when logged in as a Renter:

Simply register on RentSeeker.ca for FREE,  fill out the form, and click save to post YOUR Shout Out!

We’re always looking for feedback, so let us know if you’ve used the Shout Out feature as a Renter or a Landlord and how your experience was using it.

Happy Apartment Hunting and good luck with your search!

The RentSeeker.ca Team