Lease Option Homes Marketing Tips

Author: Vanessa Atkinson BA (Hons) MCIM

Before you start creating marketing communciations
to find lease option properties or tenants, it’s
important that you take a moment to think about:
• Who is your target audience?
• What is the market (geographical location) you should focus on?
Putting some thought into these upfront will save
you time and money
The information in this pack has been split into 3
sections tailored to the type of interest you have in
lease option homes
03/07/2013 Copyright © Lease Option Homes 2

 A common misconception after placing one advert in one type of media
is that it wasn’t worth advertising there. Consider the following:
 Opportunities to see: how many times could someone happen upon an
advert (in whatever format)? Did they see it e.g. on Twitter or Facebook,
perhaps they missed the notification in Twitter when it went out
 Timing: when and how often? Should you post a social media ad on a
Monday or Friday? Should it appear once or six times /day /week /month?
 Media types: potential customers may prefer local newspapers, others
may communicate on social media, and what about the growth of
websites for smart phones? People find information in different ways
 Messaging: clear, simple information, relevant to the people you want to
reach. Writing a good advert is not covered in this pack, but one thing to
watch is that the phone number / web / email address is clear and correct
 You need to create awareness, build trust and then sell.
 Comment: from experience, a mixture of free on and offline advertising
for a few weeks got the quickest results to finding property and tenant-
buyers – our website, social media sharing, email to the tenant-buyer
database and local paper advertisements

 Do not waste time and money on marketing a
house as a lease option if it is not a property that
people want to buy. No matter how well you
market a house, if it’s badly in need of
modernisation in a really rough area and the size
of the property is not what people are looking for,
you will struggle to find a good tenant-buyer .
 NB: Some people are prepared to move in as a
tenant-buyer and renovate the property instead of
paying rent money, but this is not common and
you still have to cover any mortgage payments.
 Set the scene in your property: put a welcome
mat at the front door, towels in the bathroom,
make up the bed, add plants to the living room,
use scented plug-ins, etc. This doesn’t have to be
expensive; just make sure the house is clean and
well presented.
 A generous rent credit towards a tenant-buyer’s
deposit (e.g. 50%) will sell your home over
someone else’s - after all, the tenant-buyer needs
a deposit to buy from you at the end of the lease.
If necessary charge a little more for the option fee.

You currently own a
property that you would
like to lease option
• Go to pages 6 to 8
You are an investor
creating or expanding a
portfolio using lease
option properties
You are a lease option
sourcing agent for
investors

Using an existing property you own to create a lease option home

 You already own a property that
you have decided to lease option,
so the location is fixed.
 But who is your target audience?
 Your ideal tenant-buyer will be the types
of people who bought or rented similar
properties in the local area to your
property.
 For advice, contact your local letting
agent and estate agents to find out:
▪ the age range,
▪ status (e.g. families, students, single
people, couples),
▪ employment status,
▪ monthly rental payments achieved,
▪ actual selling price achieved on similar
homes (not asking price).

Social media
Facebook
LinkedIn &
Slideshare
Twitter and
Hootsuite
Google +
Websites
Gumtree &
Craigslist
Flikr, Instagram
or Picasa
You Tube
Property sites
Networking & Data
Lettings agents
Property events
and seminars
Email
marketing
Offline advertising
Local
Newspaper
Signage
Leaflets
Click on the links to read more. These are the main advertising platforms used for lease option homes.

Using lease options to create a property portfolio

 Use reports to identify the areas/towns that will
attract lease option tenant-buyers (Halifax publish
good online reports). Make the following regional
comparisons:
 Evaluate regional selling price changes for areas trending
upwards overall
 Mortgage affordability houseprice to earnings ratio and
mortgages as a percentage of income
 Also find out if there are any regional business growth
plans requiring significant employee hires
 When you select a region, select upto 3 towns using
Zoopla to identify towns with good rental demand
 Speak to local letting agents to find out which streets
to invest in, number of bedrooms and what kind of
rent rates you can expect to gain
 Ask local estate agents which streets and property
types sell quickest in those 3 towns

 The local estate and letting
agents in the 1-3 towns you
have chosen can also give you
guidance on the typical buyers
and renters to which they sell or
rent most properties
 When speaking to them, find
out the following:
 the typical age range,
 status (e.g. families, students,
single people, couples),
 employment status,
 monthly rental payments achieved,
 actual selling price achieved on
similar homes (not asking price).

Social media
Facebook
LinkedIn &
Slideshare
Twitter and
Hootsuite
Google +
Websites
Gumtree &
Craigslist
Property sites:
motivated sellers
with multiple agents
and /or for rent
Networking & Data
Lettings
agents
Property
sourcers
Email
marketing
Offline advertising
Local
Newspaper
Signage
Leaflets
Click on the links to read more. These are the main advertising placements used to find property for
lease options.

Social media
Facebook
LinkedIn &
Slideshare
Twitter and
Hootsuite
Google +
Websites
Gumtree &
Craigslist
Flikr, Instagram
or Picasa
You Tube
Property sites
Networking & Data
Lettings agents
Property events
and seminars
Email
marketing
Offline advertising
Local
Newspaper
Signage
Leaflets
Click on the links to read more. These are the main advertising placements used to find tenant-
buyers for lease options.

Finding lease option homes for investors to build a property portfolio

 Build good relationships with a database of
active investors and property agents who can
use your deals
 Network at local and national property events and
let people know what you do
 Join discussion groups in LinkedIn e.g.
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Lease-Options-
2291802 to contribute to questions and answers,
then post any properties you source
 Find out which towns these people buy property
 Property suitable for lease option is where the
owner is not in trouble financially or behind on
payments, but motivated for other reasons e.g.
has two properties due to moving in with a
partner or inheritance, no longer wants to be a
landlord, has had a job transfer with paid
accomodation, etc.
 You could package up other property e.g. for
other agents/ investors as BMV, renovate and
sell on, or sell with a tenant in situ

Social media
Facebook
LinkedIn &
Slideshare
Twitter and
Hootsuite
Google +
Websites
Gumtree &
Craigslist
Property sites:
motivated sellers
with multiple agents
and /or for rent
Networking & Data
Lettings
agents
Property
sourcers
Email
marketing
Offline advertising
Local
Newspaper
Signage
Leaflets
Click on the links to read more. These are the main advertising placements used to find property for
lease options.

Further details on the range of media available for advertisements

Social Media:
Facebook
•Demographics
•Optional paid ads:
make sure you narrow
down the amount of
people you want to
reach. You can do this
by specifying the
location, age, and
adding “precise
interests”. See
examples

Social Media:
LinkedIn &
Slideshare
•LinkedIn
demographics are
shown in the tables
on the right.
•Create and link to a
slide show of the
property posted to
Slideshare.com – can
also be posted to a
LinkedIn profile
•LinkedIn bought
Slideshare.com on 3
May 2012 for $119M
•There are 50M users
of slideshare
Source:https://www.quantcast.com/linkedin.com?country=GB

Social Media: Twitter
& Hootsuite
• Twitter is free to share
links to images, video or
slideshares so is a
(limited) means to finding
a tenant-buyer or
property.
• If the people you are
trying to reach are not
reading tweets at the time
you post them, they won’t
see your advertisement so
“Tweet” it multiple times.
• Using Hootsuite (see
tutorial) to save time, you
can freepost your advert
to your social media
accounts at once.

Social Media:
Google+
• Demographic data is
only available for US
• This is a newer social
media platform and
worth looking at as it can
help boost your website
SEO rankings
• Use the free stuff e.g.
create a page
https://plus.google.com/p
ages/create or set up an
account and share your
advert just as you would
on Facebook
• Further reading:
http://memeburn.com/20
13/07/google-why-your-
business-cant-afford-to-
be-missing-out/

 You Tube video (under 3-4 minutes) of
the property linking to your ads on other
sites, e.g. a walk through with voice
over, ensuring plenty of light when
filming.
 Gumtree and Craigslist: create multiple
versions of your advert and post weekly:
e.g. “For Rent” and “For Sale” for tenant-
buyer ads; “We Buy Property” and “We
Rent Property” for property ads. Make
subtle changes to headings and text or
pictures, post from different email
accounts and computers.
 Flikr, Instagram or Picasa: take images
in good light with a warm hue for linking
to a full ad on another site
 Property sites: REIBlackBook,
backpage, kijiji, oodle, google base,
owners.com, zillow, trulia, rentdigs,
hotpads, rightmove,
leaseoptionhomes.co.uk

 Lettings agents – offer a finders fee or agree that they manage the letting for you as there
 Property events and seminars. Investors with lists of tenant-buyers often attend these. You will also find
property sourcers. Here are a few event organisers to Google but there are many more that are
probably just as good:
 http://www.propertyinvestor.co.uk/
 Local Property Investor Network (PIN) clubs
 Ben Rogers
 Mark l’Anson
 Rick Otton
 Tigrent / Rich Dad Poor Dad
 If you have previously sold property you may have a list of tenant-buyers. You must follow Privacy and
Electronic Communications Regulations, ensuring that you have people’s permission to email your
advertisement to them
 Property sourcers can be found on LinkedIn or Facebook groups (lease options or BMV) or property
events. They will charge a finders fee, but typically source properties that are 20 to 40% below market
value (BMV).

 Local newspapers are still a source
for tenants to find rentals but are
dwindling in popularity with the
growth of social media, property
sites and Smartphones
 Signs: place a sign at the front of
the property e.g. “Rent To Own,
Low Downpayment, Your Credit is
Approved”, and add your telephone
number and website address. Try
hanging leaflets in a plastic wallet
for people to take. (Bandit signs
around the neighbourhood on
property that isn’t yours is illegal)
 Leaflets can be used for property
that seem vacant or unkempt that
you want to buy. Leaflet the houses
around it in case a neighbour
knows the owner.

Visit our website www.leaseoptionhomes.co.uk
Email us: info@leaseoptionhomes.co.uk
Call: 0844 544 2404

Lease Option Homes Marketing Tips

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Empfohlen

Empfohlen (20)

Lease Option Homes Marketing Tips