Building trust with your prospective future resident is essential. When renters feel confident that your property is reliable and your listing is accurate, they’re more likely to move ahead with your property on their short list.
But some common mistakes can decrease their trust and raise concerns about your property’s trustworthiness. Here’s a quick look at what to do — and what not to do — to give renters a positive experience that inspires trust in your business.
Don’t be inconsistent
When a potential resident sees discrepancies between your listing and your property website, doubts can quickly emerge about the legitimacy of the information. Which source should they trust? But instead of calling you to confirm the details, renters are likely to keep scrolling.
This common mistake is easy to resolve. Review your listing and your property website to ensure that the following elements are identical in both places:
- Logo
- Property name
- Property management company name
- Phone number
- Email address
If your company has refreshed its brand, look out for out-of-date logos still floating around the internet. When it comes to your property name, the details matter. Maintain consistency in your capitalization and punctuation and whether you use or skip legal suffixes like “Inc.”
And don’t forget to apply the same approach to any social media channels and business profiles your property might have.
Don’t leave in misspellings and grammatical mistakes
Not only do typos, spelling mistakes, and grammatical errors look unprofessional, they can also trigger alarm bells. Your potential resident might wonder: “Is this listing a scam? Can I trust this company?” And that loss of trust can mean losing a lead.
It only takes a few extra minutes to review your listing for spelling and grammar. Turn on your spellcheck, read through the text carefully, and to be safe, ask a coworker to double-check your work.
Don’t show incorrect unit-level data
When renters look for their next place to live, they don’t just want to know about the property — they also want to know about the specific unit you’re advertising. In fact, 99 percent of renters are interested in unit-level details, according to a recent renter survey by Apartments.com.
That’s why incorrect information about your units can be a major concern. If your listing shows the wrong square footage, number of bedrooms or bathrooms, or assigned parking spots, renters may wonder what else they can believe.
Make sure your listing shows the correct details about each available unit, and look out for any discrepancies between your listing and your website.
To automate this process, sync your property management software to your Apartments.com listing. Apartments.com supports integration with dozens of multifamily platforms. This helps keep your listings accurate — automatically.
Don’t show out-of-date information
Maybe your community used to offer residents pool access — but the pool is currently under renovation for the season. Or the fitness center is currently out of operation. These amenities won’t count for much if your residents can’t use them.
Your listing should give prospective residents an accurate picture of what life will be like at your community. Renters looking for a place with a pool may be excited to see the attractive shots of your Olympic-size pool on your listing. But that enthusiasm won’t last when they realize your pool is out of operation. And that disappointment will damage their trust.
And it’s not just amenities. Keep your policies up to date, too. If your community required masks in common spaces during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic but no longer does so, remove this detail from your listing and website. When renters see references to obsolete policies, they may wonder if the rest of the information in your listing still applies.
Don’t advertise without the right photos
A listing without photos is a major red flag for renters. But most properties don’t try to advertise with no photos at all. More often, it’s that you don’t have the photos renters are looking for.
Interior shots of the specific units you’re advertising are especially important. In fact, 53 percent of renters say they’ll stop considering a property if it doesn’t have photos of the unit in question, according to the recent Apartments.com survey.
To boost renters’ trust, photos should be well lit and use a wide angle to show off the full room or building in question. Renters want to see images that are attractive and professional-looking. That means no accidental photobombing where your leasing agent’s head or feet get caught in the shot! If you have an Apartments.com ad package, you can take advantage of professional media shoots by CoStar photographers and videographers.
And if you upload unit-specific photos to your listing, make sure you’re selecting the right photos. Images should match the unit listed. If the unit description mentions that the apartment is on the ground floor but the photo clearly shows a top-floor balcony, renters may have trouble trusting the other information about your available unit.
Don’t include broken links
If you link out to your property website or another page with more information, make sure the links work. Getting a 404 “not found” error message can rattle a renter’s trust. But the reason for the error might be a simple one: Someone on your team accidentally skipped or added a character when copying over the link.
Don’t let that happen to you! Read through your listing, and click on all links to make sure they load correctly. And if your website moves to a new domain, immediately correct all the links on your listing.
Do: Be clear about pricing
Price remains the #1 most important factor for renters. And nearly nine in 10 renters want to see the total price, not the base price. If your property has any one-time or recurring fees, make these easy to find in your listing. No renter wants to be surprised by a fee late into the leasing process.
When renters see all the details laid out clearly for them, they’re more likely to feel positively about your property and be confident in their decision to consider living there.
To make your pricing more transparent, always display your rents (the days of “Call for rent” are long gone), and sync your listing to your property management software to automatically display the most up-to-date pricing.
If your pricing changes based on move-in date or lease term, add these price schedules to your listing so that renters can easily compare their options.
When renters have all the details they need to know, they’re much less likely to feel “scammed.”
Do: Spell out your policies clearly
Include your policies in your listing, from pets to parking. Make it clear whether pets are allowed, as well as which animals, breeds, and sizes qualify, and if any fees apply. Specify whether smoking is allowed, how parking spaces are assigned (if at all), and any other key policies that may affect a renter’s decision.
Do: Write an effective property description
A well-written property description can go a long way in boosting renter trust. Your description should inform prospective residents of what to expect from your community and units. It should also provide them with accurate, specific information.
Do: Respond promptly
Most renters expect to hear back with within two days of contacting a property. While about a third expect a same-day response, 84 percent expect to get a reply no later than the end of the following day, according to the survey.
A prompt response shows that your property management company is professional and reliable.
Get more tips for building trust
What else can you do to boost renters’ trust? Check out these resources for more ideas and best practices to help renters fall in love with your community:
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