How to Rent Your Property on Craigslist

Even if you use other sites to list your property, I recommend posting it on Craigslist. You can sell vehicles, antiques and furniture on this site with no listing fees. I have sold cars, furniture, and found artists for craft shows all from Craigslist. The best part is the price. What could be better than free advertising? The price to list your property on this site is too good to resist. It's totally free.

There are scammers out there but if you follow these instructions you will be able to quickly and easily rent your property on Craigslist.

1. Research Your Market - Before you create your listing, you must find out what comparables rent for. Go to Craigslist and look at Vacation Rentals or Houses For Rent, depending on what type of property you are listing. Narrow the results down by selecting the appropriate number of bedrooms.

For my example, I will be listing a two bedroom, 1 1/2 bath condo one block from the beach in North Myrtle Beach, SC. Next, I read the descriptions provided and check out the pictures to see what other listings include. Write down key phrases you can add to your listing.

Non smoking policy.

Minimum age requirement 25 years old.

Sleeps six.

Full kitchen.

On site laundry.

Linens included.

One week minimum.

Security deposit and balance due must be paid in full prior to arrival.

Nearby shopping.

Pool included.

Also check out any terms and conditions the landlord includes which you can add to your listing. You will see a wide variety of listings. The more pictures available and the better description, the greater the response will be. Add lots of pictures to boost your sales.

• Click Post to Classifieds. You don't need an account to sell on Craigslist. You will receive messages by email. If you have several active listings on Craigslist, creating an account is a simple way to edit or repost quickly.
• Next select Housing Category.
• Pick "I am offering housing" then type of apt/housing for rent.
• Begin writing a seductive title. Make your audience eager to find out more information. Draw your audience in with an appealing title. I want people to know my condo is a two bedroom, that it is 875 square feet, one block from the beach and has a great lake view. Focus on positives that will reel renters in. If your property is convenient to a particular highway or shopping center, or is beach front, be sure to mention that in the title. Potential renters are scanning listings quickly and want as much information as possible and good, clear pictures so they can narrow down their search. Square Footage and price will also be included in your title. You add those by filling out the appropriate boxes and they are automatically added to you title. My title is:
• 2 BR /875 sq ft Beach Condo Lake View Cherry Grove N. Myrtle Beach, SC
• Other appealing titles for your listing might be:
• Charming 2 BR Cottage Utilities Included
• Spacious Remodeled Condo 5 Min Walk to Metro

Great amenities to add are:

Stainless Steel Appliances

Full Kitchen

Open Floorplan

Fully Furnished

Free Wi-Fi

Large Deck or Porch

Oceanfront

Private Parking

Exit cleaning included free (paid by owner a $$$ value!)

• Now that you've reeled your buyers in with your attention-grabbing title, add an excellent, well-written description that is free from errors. You have plenty of room to write a compelling description highlighting the features of your property. Use a bit of "sales spin" to seduce your tenants.

Our two bedroom condo is well-equipped with a full kitchen including state of the art Keurig coffeemaker for a delicious cup of morning coffee.

Describe the rooms in your rental. Do they have ceiling fans in every room?

Is there a washer and dryer in the unit?

If it's furnished, is it a newly remodeled unit?

Are there flat screen TV's? Wi-Fi? A DVD player? Does the kitchen have a microwave?

Stainless steel appliances? Granite countertops?

Fresh paint throughout? Be as detailed as possible because prospective buyers want to know exactly what they will be getting.

• To make your listing easy to read, you can list the features and amenities using bullets. Here are some features I want to add to my listing:
• 2 BR
• 1.5 Ba
• Rent: $1,000 weekly
• Security Deposit:$200
• Square Footage: 875
• Term of Lease: Weekly

Interior Amenities:

• Stainless Steel Appliances
• Full Kitchen
• Hardwood Floors Throughout
• Central Air
• Walk-in closets
• Open Layout

Building Amenities:

• Clubhouse
• Pool
• Tennis Courts

• Provide as many photos as you can. The first photo will be your featured image so use your best photo to get the reader's attention. For my listing, the lake view off the balcony is breathtaking so I select that image as my first photo. I recommend including photos of every room, including the bathrooms, so tenants will be able to see exactly what they will be getting for their money. If there are on-site amenities such as a pool, tiki bar, tennis court or covered porch, include pictures of those. Access to a pool or a hot tub are great amenities for a vacation rental. Definitely mention those features.
• You can add 24 photos to your listing. The more photos, the better your listing. Photos translate into dollars.

• Clean the house first. Renters can afford to be picky when there are lots of listings on the market. Do not scare potential tenants off by showing cluttered, filthy rooms. Spend time straightening up before you shoot your pictures.
• Avoid using photos with considerable glare off the windows. Lighting is crucial in photography.
• Take photos of the house at different times of the day. Sunsets can provide extremely flattering light.
• Avoid using the flash on your camera. Most digital cameras and phones automatically add the flash when lighting is low. The flash can alter the appearance of colors in photos.
• Take LOTS of photos. Craigslist allows you to upload 24 photos for your listing. Take full advantage of those 24 photos to showcase your property.
• Shoot multiple angles. Look beyond the obvious head-on room photos and get shots that showcase unusual elements like the claw-footed tub or IKEA storage bins.

Your postings can easily be jazzed up with a few HTML tricks. You can also insert large photos directly into your listing with Photobucket. Upload the images you want to use in your listing to Photobucket. Then open a new tab or window with your Craigslist listing.

Select the picture you would like to include in the listing. Go to where it says Share This Listing. Select the Direct Link and copy the image's url.

Paste the following text to create an HTML img tag where you want the picture to appear.

<img src=" " />

The value that will be inside the quotes will be the address with your picture's url.

Click the continue tab at the bottom right side of the Craigslist page.

Click "Edit Again" to return to your listing. If you have more Photobucket pictures to include, use the same step listed above to add those other images.

You can also copy the HTML code for your Photobucket picture and insert the code directly into your posting. Craigslist is HTML friendly. Simply copy the HTML from Photobucket and paste it into your listing.

• Use the mail relay rather than posting your email address. While Craigslist is a great tool, there are always scammers who will send bizarre emails in response to your listing. You should include a telephone number and a Map feature in your listing. If you receive emails from buyers with references to sending money via Western Union or distant buyers, proceed with caution. The majority of people on Craigslist are good people but there are also predators out there.

Do Not Include Your Email Address in the Listing.

• Respond quickly to phone calls and emails about your property. Potential tenants like to get a response within 24 hours. If they are unable to contact you, they will take their rental interest (and money) elsewhere. Don't miss out on a rental because you neglected to check your inbox. Check email at least once a day.

• Renewing your Craigslist posting by clicking Manage Your Ad brings your posting to the top of the search list. You want to Renew your posting as often as possible. Technically, Craigslist bans multiple listings of the same ads but you will see other Landlords who have listed the same condo or house multiple times. Use your own discretion and moral compass when doing this. You can Renew Your Posting once per 24 hour period and I highly recommend doing so.
• To keep your listing at the top of the search results, you can also delete the old posting and paste the ad into a new posting daily. This works best by creating a Craigslist account. Once you have an account, simply delete the posting then click to repost. Your listing will be at the top of the search results.
• If you have lots of Craigslist postings to manage, simply set up an account for Craigslist by entering your email address and a password. That will let you see all of your current and expired postings on one screen. To repost an item, simply click Repost.

• Do not try to get your property rented by misleading tenants about amenities. If your property does not have a pool, don't write that there is pool access in your listing. Real estate agents use colorful phrases to make the most of the worst properties. "Fixer Upper" and "Cozy" can be codewords for Major Repairs Needed and Tiny House. It's best to avoid embellishing and highlight the positive features of your property.

• Once you click "Publish" and your Craigslist listing goes live, expects to get lots of inquiries about your property. Not all people who call about your listing will be qualified or ready to rent. Expect that you will have to sort through your applicants. Check your potential tenant out. You can verify employment and check references. Take the time and effort to find a great tenant for your property. The reward will be well worth it.

• VRBO.com --Owned by Home Away, the king daddy for listing your vacation property. Packages start at $349 annually or you can choose to pay 10% of booking fees if you plan to rent your property out for just a few weeks. 24 photos included with listing. Difficult to contact vrbo if you have an issue and you may have to pay additional costs to highlight your property in search results
• Flipkey-- Flipkey is a vacation rental marketplace with over 300,000 rentals. Owners pay 3 % per booking. You can send rental agreements and accept credit card payments through Flipkey. Guests pay a booking fee from 5 to 10% based on the rental price. There is no charge to list post listings.