How effective is Craig’s List for landlords desperate to rent units?

 

Very effective.  In fact, we set one of our all time rental records after placing  our first ad  a few days ago.

 

But is it safe, especially after last week’s tragic murder of the young lady who had answered a Craig’s List ad for a babysitter?

It is a classified portal site.  It is as safe as any classified listing anywhere, in my opinion.

 

And that’s coming from a landlord/ real estate investor who used the list for the first time right after the murder.

 

What was I thinking after I  had placed our first Craig's List ad for a “Townhouse Duplex in Trendy Sylvan Park” only to see a few hours later that a murder had taken place in Minnesota?

 

That certainly got my attention. 

 

As with anything you do in real estate you must use good common sense.

 

I keep my  cell phone on and visible,  have other tenants nearby who know I’m there to show the unit, and I never allow myself to get cornered inside.

 

That being said, how effective is Craig’s List?

 

We were able to rent the duplex within 30 hours after placing the ad. 

 

Mission accomplished- and this is our off season. 

 

Units  are supposed to be much harder to rent this time of year.  Or could that be an old urban legend?

 

Did I mention the best part?

 

It’s totally free.  Placing the ad did not cost  us a dime.

 

Compare that to the classified we had in the local newspaper last week.

 

$125 for two weekends.  We got some of the worst, most unqualified traffic we have had in a long time.

 

As we know, that kind of traffic takes up your most precious resource of all; your time.

 

Here’s  the most important tip of all.  You can raise rents somewhat on Craig’s List. 

 

Many of the Craig’s List readers will be moving in from somewhere else.  They’re used to higher prices.

 

 

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