The Top 29 Websites To List Your Rental Property
If you own a rental property, one of your main goals is to keep it occupied. After all, without tenants paying rent, you will be responsible for paying all of the costs associated with the unit - from a mortgage to taxes to insurance and upkeep.
Listing a rental online is a good way to reach a large number of prospective tenants. There are plenty of sites that offer the ability to list your rental, often for a fee for the listing itself or for premium placement. If you use a property management company like Eaton Realty, they will market and list your rental property for you. Eaton Realty can also add your rental to our own website for increased exposure.
Based in Lithia, Eaton Realty works with buyers, sellers, renters, and investors throughout Hillsborough County. If you are looking to rent out your Florida home, we can help. Reach out today to talk to a member of our experienced real estate team.
Want to learn even more about placing good tenants quickly? Contact us to speak with an experienced Hillsborough County property manager. |
Why Should You List Your Rental Online?
In the past, landlords used a variety of different methods to advertise properties for rent. They might post a sign in the yard or window of their rental, take out a newspaper ad, or rely on word of mouth. Using a property management service, they might also list their property with the company, which typically made paper listings available to prospective tenants.
These methods generally aren’t as effective - or even a smart use of time or money. While it may still be a good idea to put a sign up, the reality is that most Americans are used to doing everything online. From ordering food to seeing a doctor, we are very familiar with using our phones to get things done.
For this reason, it is a good idea to list your property online. Doing this will increase the likelihood of finding a good tenant - and finding someone quickly. With modern tools like virtual staging, you can even put your rental in the best possible light to increase the odds of leasing it sooner.
The first step in the process involves choosing an effective listing platform. You can list your property on many sites, from well-known real estate sites like Zillow to old favorites like Craigslist. Below, we list the top 27 websites for listing rental properties for your review.
Once you have chosen a site, then you will need to write a catchy title for your property and include a compelling description. The title should be both informative and eye-catching. The description should include all the necessary details, such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, amenities, whether pets are allowed, and if there is designated parking.
The description should also include details about the application process and fees, such as if a background and credit check will be required and how much that will cost. You should also list the rent price and add high-quality photographs. Finally, once your property is listed, you should share it on social media to reach as many people as possible.
Top Websites for Listing Rental Properties
If you’re interested in renting your house, these websites are great options. Each site has its advantages and disadvantages, so be sure to carefully consider what your goals are with a listing. Depending on your budget, you may even be able to list on several sites to reach the greatest number of prospective tenants.
Apartments.com
Apartments.com is one of the larger rental listing websites out there. It boasts 1.5 million unique visitors per month, which helps you reach a large audience. Because it is a national platform, it is also useful for tenants who are planning to move to the region and may not be familiar with local sites.
Zillow
Zillow is one of the most popular real estate websites in the country. While the accuracy of its pricing tool, Zestimate, may not be perfect, the sheer number of people visiting the site each month makes it a good place to list a rental. With Zillow’s Rental Manager, you can create detailed listings and distribute them to partner sites.
When you think of rental listing sites, Facebook probably isn’t the first website that comes to mind. But the social media giant has a robust rental listing option through its Marketplace Feature. It’s also free to list on Facebook, so creating a listing there is a good idea even if you have it listed elsewhere.
Eaton Realty
In Hillsborough County, Florida, there is no better place to list your property than with Eaton Realty. We maintain listings for rentals throughout the region, complete with a map visitors can use to narrow down a search. Eaton Realty lists rental units through our property management service, utilizing our extensive advertising to maximize exposure - and minimize vacancies for our clients. Many of our homes are rented within a few days of being listed.
HotPads
While HotPads isn’t as well known as some of the bigger sites, it created the first-ever map-based search tool. This great feature has become commonplace so that renters can search for a property within a particular area. HotPads is used most often by corporate executives looking for higher-end rentals.
Trulia
Trulia is another real estate website that is used by millions of Americans. From a landlord's perspective, listing on this site is great because you can see useful information from registered users interested in your property, including income and contact information.
Craigslist
While Craigslist isn’t as popular as it was before social media, it is still an important site due to the sheer amount of traffic it gets. While there can be an issue with scams and fake ads, it is still a great site to list your property - particularly because the listing itself is free. You can simply choose the closest city and post your property; just vet inquiries carefully.
Apartment Finder
Apartment Finder has map-based search tools as well as an integrated customer portal. It is billed as a renter-friendly site that helps them find the best value for their next apartment. For this reason, it is a good option if you want to reach a lot of prospective tenants.
Oodle
Oodle is an online marketplace that is similar to Craigslist. You can publish classified ads on the site for rentals. One cool feature of the site is that you can post your listings directly to your social media pages.
Apartment Home Living
Apartment Home Living features apartments, homes, condos, townhomes, and student housing available to rent. The directory is owned by Apartments.com, so you’ll have to advertise with Apartments.com to have your property listed on Apartments Home Living.
Rentals.com
Rentals.com was created to make life easier for both landlords and renters. Renters can filter options based on attributes important to them and landlords can screen potential tenants for free right through the directory.
Apartment List
Apartment List is linked to the rental section of Realtor.com. Like many professional sites, it requires a fee to list your property. You will pay for each month your rental is listed and an additional fee when a renter signs a lease.
Rent.com
Rent.com is a site that focuses on first-time renters, who tend to be in the 18-25 age range. If your rental unit is located near a college or in an area with many young adults, this website might be a good choice for your listing.
Nextdoor
Most people think Nextdoor is a place where neighbors come together to share information (for better or worse!). The social networking site also offers a local real estate section in some regions of the country. It might be a good option if offered in your city.
RentalAds.com
Like many other sites, RentalAds.com is part of a network of rental property websites. When you post a listing on this site, it will automatically post to its network. In this way, your listing may be seen by millions of potential renters.
ByOwner.com
As the name implies, ByOwner.com is a website where owners can list their rental properties. With this site, you can include as many as 30 photos of your property and create a printable brochure. You can also receive unlimited tenant leads.
RentCafe
Unlike some other sites, RentCafe only allows listings from property managers - not from individual investors/landlords. This may be a good option if your property management service does not have a dedicated rental listing page. It also allows tenants to schedule maintenance or renew a lease through the site.
RealRentals.com
RealRentals.com is one of many sites that cross-post to other popular rental listing websites like Apartments.com and Oodle. If you’re trying to gain as much exposure as possible, you might decide to list on this site along with others.
Walk Score
Many tenants want to rent a home within walking distance of stores, restaurants, work, and recreation opportunities. They often turn to sites like Walk Score, which gives a walkability score to cities and neighborhoods. Owned by Redfin, you can now list rental properties on the site.
AirBnB
Most people think of AirBnB as a place to go to find a place to stay on vacation. But AirBnB can also serve a valuable purpose for landlords not interested in vacation rentals. You can list your property for shorter terms on this site, which may be helpful if you want to keep the unit rented out while looking for a great long-term tenant.
Apartment Guide
As you may have guessed from the name, Apartment Guide is geared toward apartments. However, you can still list single-family homes and other types of rental properties on the site. One of the coolest features is the ability to renew a listing with one click, which helps you avoid re-entering all of the information if your ad has expired.
My New Place
Owned by RealPage, My New Place is a rental listing site that helps tenants find a unit that meets their needs. It features pet-friendly apartments as well as trending cities.
People with Pets
People With Pets is a great option if you have a pet-friendly rental property. You can market directly to prospective tenants with pets for a yearly fee.
RentHop
RentHop is sort of like Yelp for landlords and offers a “HopScore” based on the quality of its listing, location, and manager reputation. While this may not be ideal for some landlords, it can be a bonus if you have a well-managed property.
Zumper
Zumper is a site for people who want to simplify renting a home. It hosts listings along with a rental map. If a prospective tenant is interested in a property, it connects them with a “local expert” to schedule a showing.
Sublet.com
Sublets are often an arrangement that a tenant seeks out if they need to vacate the unit before their lease is done. However, landlords can also post on Sublet.com if they have a furnished rental available for a short-term lease. Landlords may also post here to help their tenant find a subletter.
RentDigs.com
RentDigs.com is a free listing site. It allows you to post a rental and multiple pictures, which will then be pushed onto other sites like Oodle. It also lets you view stats on how often your listing has been viewed.
AHRN
AHRN stands for the Automated Referral Housing Network. The site helps military service members find homes available for rent near bases. If your property is close to a base, it’s worth listing on AHRN, especially since listing is free.
MilitaryByOwner.com
Militarybyowner.com is similar to AHRN. Military service members use militarybyowner.com to find homes listed for rent near bases. Both MilitaryByOwner and AHRN have a strong, active userbase. It’s worth listing your property on both sites, but there is a charge to list your property on MilitaryByOwner.
Free Rent Value Analysis
Before you list your property for rent, it's important to make sure you're listing it for the right price to maximize your earnings. Eaton Realty offers a free rent value analysis service. Our property management team will analyze your property and the market to give you an accurate assessment of what you could be charging for rent each month. All you need to do to get your free rent value analysis is fill out our rent value request form.
Get Your Property Rented Faster with Eaton Realty
Finding a good tenant for your rental property can be challenging, even in a hot real estate market. Working with real estate experts with deep knowledge of the local market can help you prepare, list, market, and ultimately manage your rental property.
Eaton Realty offers full-service property management to clients throughout Hillsborough County, Florida. We will work with you to ensure your rental property is vacant for as little time as possible to minimize your expenses and maximize profits. In addition to other property management services like handling maintenance, we have a dedicated page listing current rental properties and high-quality marketing services.
If you’d like to learn more, fill out our online contact form or give us a call at 813-672-8022 to talk to a team member.
Daniel Rothrock
Director of Property Mgmt., MPM
Daniel is the Director of Property Management at Eaton Realty. He is a Master Property Manager, which is the highest level of recognition you can receive in the field. When he's not covering property management developments and insights on the Eaton blog or managing Eaton's property management team, Daniel can be found serving as the Southeast Regional Vice President/Ambassador for the National Association of Residential Property Managers. You can find Daniel on LinkedIn.
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