The following is a work in progress and will eventually be divided up into more detailed chunks, but for now here goes:

While not as easy as using a broker, taking a hands on approach to marketing a vacant apartment, for me, was a must. Not only did I want to meet those that were interested in the apartment, but I also wanted to make sure I was putting together materials that focused on what apartment seekers considered the most attractive features.

Step 1: Putting together a website (31-81.com)

Normally, for those who haven’t done anything on the web, this would be a bit of a problem. Finding out what a domain name is and how it relates to HTML pages could consume time better spent elsewhere.

Enter Microsoft’s Office Live Basics Beta service (as seen here previously and on twistedstudent.com). Microsoft is offering the Basics Beta version of Office live for free both during and after testing period. Not only does Office Live Basics include a free domain (like a postal address on the web), but Microsoft has also provided editing tools to take care of the design, layout and navigation system. To put up a website, all you really need are pictures and stuff to fill the pages (aka: content). Microsoft has other sample sites online, which you can view here.

Step 2: Documents

Ensuring that you’re ready for tenants is essential when advertising a for rent by owner online. If they like what they see, people will fill out rental applications on car hoods, the sides of buildings, essentially any flat surface that’s available. Having a lease as well as any riders or supplements on hand and printed for any prospective tenants to review will further reduce the amount of back and forth communication that happens after the initial walk-through. A good starting place for already customized documents is The Landlord Protection Agency. The LPA offers a few dozen free forms, yearly memberships that give you access to all the forms they have on the site and a buy what you need option that allows you to purchase only the forms required.

Step 3: Advertising

After spending the time to put together your website content and gathering up all the documents you’ll need, find the right place to post your website’s URL along with some excerpts from your site (highlighting your properties best features). In NYC, some landlords market heavily towards university students by posting to an online forum (or sending an email to a group of subscribed students). Others opt for placing ads on sites like Craigslist.org that cater to a much wider demographic (others might hit HousingNYC.com). One of the other nice tools that Office Live Basics offers is a web page “hit” tracker that allows you to see how much traffic your site is getting in addition to what pages people find most interesting. Looking at this information allows you to further tailor any printed marketing materials you may have for people that schedule (and keep their) appointments.

Step 4: Profit =)