Hello fellow Landlords! Let me start off with a question, “Do you have a pocket listing?” Many of you may be familiar with pocket listings and some of you may not. A pocket listing is a property a realtor has not put on the market or MLS, but is offering it to a specific group of his or her preferred buyers – their movers and shakers.
So how does that relate to us as Landlords? It is in perfect correlation to how we should be running our Landlording businesses. In this article I’ll go over some advantages of using the pocket listing technique in your rental portfolio.
Landlord Pocket Listings Explained
Elements of Pocket Listings #1
First let’s understand the power of a pocket listing. A pocket listing tells a prospective client you are special, you are an A lister, we want you so we won’t market this property until we give you first shot at this opportunity. So if you have a list of prospective tenants waiting to get into one of your homes the extra heads up will give you an advantage over your competitors. Plus makes you look professional instead of a Joe Schmo hoping to rent his only rental property.
Elements of Pocket Listings #2
Second, the pocket listing technique is a great way to market a home while the current tenants are still in the process of moving out. Time is money and money is time. The plan is to have the old tenant out and the new tenant in with an easy and time saving transaction. My favorite line to my pocket list tenants goes like this, “I have a 3/2 home on the North East side of San Antonio. $950 a month. Interested?”
If the prospective tenant responds “YES”, then we move forward to the drive by portion of the transaction. “Well I can’t show you the inside right now, but could you drive by and see if you like it?” I love tenants who follow instructions so, LOL, when they come back with, “We drove by and yes we are interested!”
I set up a time for the prospective tenant to view the property and arrange this with the current tenant which is moving out the property. During the showing I try to close the deal if possible. Make it a point to have applications and your landlord’s game face on at each showing LOL. You never know when the prospective tenant will become your new tenant.
Elements of Pocket Listings #3
Third reason to use a pocket listing is to save time. Pocket listings save time. If you can cut a week or two out of your marketing schedule by texting or contacting your prospective tenant why wouldn’t you consider this technique? What would stop you from doing so? Also it could add potential tenants to your list.
Clients will refer others to you when they feel they are more than a number and are special. A pocket listing does that!! I had a home for rent recently that was rented the next day using the pocket listing technique. I rented the home to a previous tenant that I kept in contact with after they had moved out of a previous rental.
The previous tenant texted back that she was interested. She drove by the home and decided her and her husband wanted to move forward. We meet at a Starbucks the following day, we discussed the home and my expectations of them as tenants, and I was given the deposit. Rental rented!
Landlord Pocket Listings Conclusion
In conclusion the pocket listing technique is another tool to place in your landlord tool bag. It is a great way to begin a marketing campaign for an upcoming vacant rental. Also builds great rapport with your potential clients looking for a home. Hope this article was beneficial to you, because this technique have been a great tool for our business.
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