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In the area where I live, the property management companies regularly flag ALL of the listings on Craigslist from property owners. That way the property owners are forced to use property management companies. However, most renters hands down would love to rent from a property owner rather than a property management company, so if you keep relisting your ad, you're bound to find someone. Just be persistent.
Zillow sends out so many spam emails daily (anywhere from 2 to 5) that most renters avoid it.
I can't remember the last time I looked at an actual paper. Ditto for just about everyone I know. I don't think that would be a good use of your money.
I tried listing on CL.i had nothing but flakes, people wanting lower rent or to rent a room, drag on time wasting, a few we want to rent to own and just yesterday I had a guy who wanted to rent from me but do a AirBNB out of it. I just laughed at the guy. I took the ad down and those calls pretty much stopped. I don't use CL to advertise but I wanted to try it. Won't happen again
The last time I rented anything (years ago!) Craigslist was pretty much the only player in the game. I've turned my basement into a really nice mother-in-law suite and will be ready to rent it out in a few weeks.
Is Craigslist still the best option? My realtor told me to list it as a rental on Zillow, and apartments.com turns up in every google search for the area. Are those sites people actively use?
So if you're a renter: where do you look when its time to move? If you're a property owner: where do you list yours?
Zillow should be your first option for locating apartments. Craigslist not so much now since they don't seem to have a lot of legit listings like Zillow. Zillow helped me find my apartment two years ago and it was the best decision I ever made. My apartment is affordable, close to public transportation and the supermarket which is good for someone who doesn't own a car.
Our PM uses every venue.
Not difficult to list on multiple sites. Every eyeball counts when it comes to money in your pocket.
I agree with this. When I've been renting, I look at a number of sources: Craigslist, Zillow, and even a local paper. I also found a place one time by driving around in an area where I wanted to rent and looking for signs. I had success with three of the four sources I mentioned. The only one that did not result in a rental was Zillow. But that was only because I found what I wanted elsewhere. I did find a second choice on Zillow, but the first choice came through so I didn't need it.
I tried listing on CL.i had nothing but flakes, people wanting lower rent or to rent a room, drag on time wasting, a few we want to rent to own and just yesterday I had a guy who wanted to rent from me but do a AirBNB out of it. I just laughed at the guy. I took the ad down and those calls pretty much stopped. I don't use CL to advertise but I wanted to try it. Won't happen again
Homeowners and realtors, including property managers, regularly go onto Zillow and alter the actual descriptions of homes to increase the rental estimate. In my area, they've more than doubled the actual rental estimates. If you're charging what Zillow suggests, and your renters are smart enough to look at the county assessor's page and see what the actual value and square footage of your home are, then they're going to have a more accurate idea of what you should be charging. Don't go by the Zillow estimates. They're grossly overestimated. This is how housing bubbles happen and how homeowners get foreclosed upon. There are plenty of good people who rent. The landlords who get the flakes are usually the slumlords and the unrealistic homeowners who overvalue their homes.
Walking around in person looking for signs - Great for non hip neighborhoods
Craigslist - De facto best to get apartments in the bottom rung price wise, just know a scam when you see one
Padmapper - Pretty good on the low end
Nakedapartments - Very good
Streeteasy - They say they have everything, but they really don't. Better for buying since you can see the maint fees
Hotpads - Good but harder to find the bottom rung price wise. Interestingly amazing in finding HDFC and FHA for buying
Zillow - Oddly enough, pretty terrible in my experience. Pretty decent for statistics, but always gets monthly costs wrong
Trulia - Same thing with Zillow
There are zillions of others for NYC, but these are the main ones I use sans Zillow and Trulia as they're just not useful at all here.
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