I have an AD that has been on Zillow for one week now. Last week, this ad produced numerous calls/emails, I had 6 showings, gave out 6 applications and have only gotten one application returned.

Would anyone here care to read my Zillow ad and tell me if you see any reason why I am not getting the responses I normally get? It could be that the 'winter doldrums' have come early this season or it could be that I am impatient.

Google this: get Zillow up on your screen. Type in: 917 Litchfield Ave, Gadsden, AL 35903. That house is one of my Class C -'Cadillac houses' will all of the bells and whistles!

David,

I have more pictures but when I photograph an "empty house" most of these interior pictures look boring due to no furniture. I am not going to stage it either. So far, everyone who has toured the inside,..their jaw drops open and they immediately ask for an application,...if that tells you anything.

I did check my rent amount with Zillow and RentoMeter and both sources agreed my asking rent is 'at market'.

The big picture displayed looks scary to me. Can you light up the porch a bit and maybe add some cheerful flowers to the front? Can you instead take the picture on a nicer day, like in the smaller photo of the house? And a photo of the bathroom and a bedroom would be nice. But yeah, the canopy darkening the porch really kills it for me.

The kitchen looks supper and what's written gives me the impression of a professional offering the house for rent. -Bill

Thanks BillW (NJ)

Yes, I need to re-photograph that straight on shot of the house with your suggestion of flowers.

Roy, I agree with David [NC]. More pictures would definitely help. Get a picture or two of the bathroom, the master bedroom, the back yard, etc. I have even used an idea of realtors by adding pictures of a local park or of some part of the city that might help those who are coming from out of town.

The house looks great. The kitchen is better than most of my Class B & A houses.

Nice house!

I would sit pumpkins on the front steps or $Store fall flowers in a pot.

Like the others, I'd have a lot more photos. I generally show every room and would show the back yard plus the shed.

I didn't put in Zillow I just googled the address and ended up at Realtor.com and I saw the BEFORE pics YIKES!!!! Good reno.

I agree with adding more pics, boring or not. People want to see pics.

Homer said "You are eliminating a huge portion of potential tenants by telling about income and must past credit check.'

I could make a separate post on just this statement alone. I prefer it since I am trying to "weed out" all of the folks who have less than 3X income and ones who know their credit is horrible.

I may delete the credit/background check statement, but I will keep the min. income (3X) requirement.

I will remove the No Texting statement. Texting is a big time waster for me. I would rather get an e-mail than a stupid Text that says "is this house still available?" or "what is your pet fee?"

What I really want is prospects to call me (I still answer my phone) and introduce themselves so that I can begin 'phone screening' right then. If prospect can't carry on a half intelligent phone conversation, that is their first red flag. Not a deal breaker, just a red flag.

WMH - I wish I could get those "before pics" removed from the internet. I hope those are not affecting my current ad!

Boring or not, you need lots of pictures and video. C'mon Roy having great pictures is your unique advertising advantage.

3 beds 1 bath 1,200 sqft

FOR RENT

$675/mo

Very clean 3 bedroom 1 bath house within walking distance from Goodyear. House has refinished hardwood floors, large kitchen with stove/refrigerator, separate laundry room and a storage shed in the backyard. House has Central Heat/Air with Gas Heat.

All applicants must have a min. income of $2,200/month.

Dogs are welcome with an additional monthly pet fee.

Call Property Manager (Roy) at ____ for more information. PLEASE text, call, email, send smoke signals, etc (Don’t limit your prospective tenants contact methods)

Other things to consider...

CURB APPEAL, Paint the front door to make it pop….The porch is too dark the door needs to pop. Consider a lighter blue or aqua.

Pressure wash the dirty sidewalk…

and porches, driveway and back walkways…

KItchen

Prime first then paint the base cabinets a darker gray and the top cabinets 1/2 the base color in a light gray. The contrast will make the cabinets pop. When you paint the cabinets paint the hood, range and dish washer the same color as the bottom cabinet and the top cabinets. The rust oleum brand in the oil base is easy to apply with a small nap roller. Take your time and it will amaze you once you are done.

More pics...

Text, E-mail or smoke signals ?

Am I to assume you all are not doing any phone screening of prospects prior to showing a house or apartment?

I don't care how Zillow people prefer to communicate. It is like a parent telling a child these my rules and not yours. If you intend to live under my roof (rent from me), then you are going to communicate with me in the fashion that I choose. If you have a problem talking to me on a cell phone, landline etc,. then maybe you should go elsewhere.

There was time not long ago when everyone wanted to send e-mails. That is fine,...I can do that but not in the very early stages of a possible LL/Tenant relationship.

I have learned from experience that if someone is truly interested in seeing one vacancies,...they will call me. Everyone else is usually just a "looky-loo" who seem to only want to waste my time.

Hey Roy,

My answer on texting is just to have the general script saved in the Notes app of my phone and then copy and send it as a text (or email depending on how they contacted me) back to them.

It covers 95% of the questions that get asked and if there is a unique question they ask, I will insert it somewhere in the answer. If they give me their name I will add to the beginning of my message, 'Hi Roy'. then launch into the previously written 'Thanks for your interest in the home.....'

With this approach everybody gets the same information and I can literally respond to an inquiry within 30 seconds of receiving it. About 10 - 20% of the inquiries respond to this text. I assume that the 80 - 90% that don't either are screening themselves out which is the point. Those that do respond back typically thank me for the quick response and are usually decent prospects.

Roy, I have read many of your posts in which you describe in generalizations that none of your tenant pool has good credit, and that they leave without notice.

Nice house! Borrow a colorful silk flower arrangement to sit on the steps or the porch railing to give it some color. Photos of the backyard, master bedroom and bathroom. AirBnB says that listing needs at least 9 photos to get a booking.

Jazz up your listing copy. I always use a variation of:

"Like Clean? Like Spacious? Like NEW floors and stainless appliances? Then take a look at this remodeled, updated beauty with old-world charm....."

I know you are trying not to waste your time, but I would leave the qualifications off of my ads. I want lots of interest, so my ads are upbeat and inviting. None of the big apartment complexes in my area talk about minimum income requirements in their ads. So I TRY to to get as many replies as possible to my ad and then I hit them up with the qualifications and application process in my canned email I send in follow up email to their inquiry. Only if they reply a second time do I consider them really interested. Then we invite the truly interested to an open house showing and let the games begin....

My screening process starts from the first contact I have rental applicants. Even though the applicants may not realize it, my entire screening process involves getting applicants to "jump through some hoops" before getting accepted to rent from me. One of my first hoops is for the prospect to call me (usually the following day) at a very specific time, usually around 8:30a.m. The ones who call the next day at the specified time get the opportunity to jump through the next hoop. Ones that don't call or just send a Text get eliminated.

Sisco said: "I think that by not accommodating text communications, you never know of all the better tenants who are looking, because they will only deal with people who text them."

I respectfully disagree with you on this. Everyone I know who prefers Texting as their primary means of communication are usually people who have too much time on their hands. When people have time to waste, they usually do not seem to mind wasting other people's time,..like mine.

Today I took an application from one of the 6 showings I had last week. I have called the current and past LL's and these folks are looking pretty darn good. And they don't mind calling me and talking like normal people should.

I'm probably not looking it up correctly, but searched 3 different ways, and keep getting, ' This property is currently not for sale or rent.'

Roy, Welcome to the 21st Century!

You call this Class C?! Looks terrific!

LOVE that kitchen...and ROY providing STAINLESS STEEL....WOW! Did they use brain altering drugs on you:)

More pics. SHOW them 3 bedrooms even if boring. Seeing is believing and the pics are free.

My trick is to hold the camera at MY eye level with a slight downward tilt. The floor shows the size of the room.

Plus bath, backyard, basement, laundry room... Check out my website and see the walkthru videos I'm now doing. EZ and free. A virtual showing.

Ya gotta text. It's how it's done. With a Google Voice number you can read and type texts on your computer keyboard. No thumbs required.

Copy and paste general info. Gotta be easy to apply. Put an app pouch on the porch or front sign. I suggest posting the AFTER TAX INCOME required. MY applicants do not know their gross, only what they can spend.

Roof: liquid pool shock and GENTLE power wash. Might take 2-3 treatments. Collect it at the downspout because it WILL kill the plants.

Last night, I pulled this AD off Zillow and CL. If none of the 6 showings I did last week 'pan-out', I will then re-design my entire ad with more photos (even the boring ones) and re-write my copy,... based on Brad20K's suggestions.

RE: boring room pictures.