Robert Dell’Osso is the CEO and Broker/Owner at MasterKey Property Management in Cary, North Carolina. With decades of experience in real estate and property management, and as an investor himself, Robert is highly involved in the industry. He holds an RPM designation, served as president on the Triangle NARPM Chapter, has been a Governmental Affairs Committee Member, and is Vice Chair for the NARPM Capitol Summit.
Pretty much any property manager can tell you, it’s taking longer to rent properties these days than it did a few years ago. The reality is that price is key, and even new construction homes are starting to compete on price, rather than just quality.
But there are some other key steps you can take to make your listings pop, get more residents scheduled for showings, and still fill vacancies at a price point that your investor will be happy with.
Listing expectations have changed
The expectations of prospective applicants are higher than they’ve ever been. If you want to capture attention and drive applications, you need your listings to be as professional, clear, and complete as possible. Here are some of the key features you’ll need in order for your listing to stand out:
- Professional photographs: Leasing agents have been using professional photography for years, but it’s more important than ever. You should be hiring a professional to take listing pictures, or potentially bringing that expertise in-house and hiring someone with the skills and technology to do the job.
- Floor plans: Detailed floor plans with measurements help searchers better understand the size of the property, how they might arrange furniture, and how they’ll live their lives. Quality floor plans make applicants feel like your company goes the extra mile and is highly professional.
- Virtual tours: Virtual tours have really taken off in the last few years, and for good reason. They allow applicants to virtually walk through a property right from their computer, allowing them to picture exactly what it’s like to live there. Zillow-compatible virtual tours will rank higher in search results on Zillow. It’s not just about delighting the people who click on your listing; it’s about getting more eyes on it in the first place.
Personally, I find virtual tours to be better than video walkthroughs. It’s crisper and more professional looking than shooting a video on your phone. People can take it at their own speed rather than having to try to pause the video to look at particular details.
There are vendors that make these kinds of listing details very affordable, and if a property rents a week faster because of a virtual tour or a floor plan, then it's paid for itself. Plus, if you aren’t making material changes to the property, you can use these things for two or three years, so it’s an investment that gets repeated payoff.
In my experience, you’ll get 30-40% more traffic with professional photos, virtual tours, and floor plans. We see it all the time with investors who resist spending the extra money, but after a couple of weeks of vacancy they’ll decide to give it a try, and all of the sudden they’re getting more tours and more applications.
Third-party listing companies are valuable
Personally, I find that leveraging a third-party company for showings and listings is incredibly valuable. In a landscape where SEO models and Zillow algorithms are constantly changing, it’s worth it to me to have an expert that can keep up with ranking changes. The agency that I use is always updating their tools and strategies to make sure that my listings perform well, and I never have to worry about them.
Self-guided tours save money and provide flexibility
At MasterKey, we allow self-showings from 7:00AM to 8:00PM every day of the week. It opens up flexibility so that more applicants can see a property faster, helping us get the right residents in place more quickly.
Once we hit about 40 or 50 properties, we moved to a fully self-guided showing model. If a property is in an association or condo building with controlled access, we’ll have a staff member there to grant access, but otherwise all of our showings are exclusively self-scheduled and self-guided.
Not only has this change freed up time and resources for our team to dedicate to other work; it also helps us identify the right applicants. To me, applicants who struggle to navigate a self showing are also likely to struggle navigating a resident portal, submitting maintenance requests properly, and following processes.
Some property managers and leasing agents are concerned that, without more hands-on interaction, they’ll struggle to answer applicants’ questions and close the deal. The good news is that modern showing software has guided help through AI agents, and if a resident has questions that AI can’t answer, it will connect them right to a member of your team.
Quality of the home is essential
In a lot of markets—like mine—single family investors are competing against a wave of new construction. That’s one of the reasons we’ve seen rent growth slowing; if a renter can live in a brand new home for the same price, why would they choose your rental that’s 20 years older? Sure, some residents might prefer more established neighborhoods with more mature trees, but they aren’t typically willing to pay more for it.
The reality is, the quality of the home has to match resident expectations.
Reinvesting is worth it
Of course you can’t make a 20 year old home a new construction again, but you can bring it up to date. In order to get maximum rent, the home needs to be in top condition.
If a room has been touched up three or four times, it’s time to repaint. If the carpet’s been there through several different residents, it’s time to replace it.
The good news is, a lot of these updates can be cheaper than you’d expect. In my experience, it’s often cheaper to just repaint, because a professional painter can roll out a whole wall faster than they can do touchups.
If your carpet is at the end of its life, consider investing in high-quality LVP that will last 20 years, rather than cheap carpet that might only last 5.
Other quick updates can include refinishing cabinets. Instead of dated wood finishes, update to a clean, modern white. In our area, painters can typically refinish cabinets in an average kitchen for about $1500. That’s a relatively small investment if it means competing with homes at the top of the rent range.
You should also consider updating things like laminate countertops. You might be surprised how much more affordable granite has gotten in recent years, and it can take a kitchen from looking like it was done in the ‘90s to looking brand new.
Don’t forget curb appeal
Curb appeal is one area where you can often beat out new builds, especially if your property has more mature bushes or trees. If it’s a single family home, fresh mulch and a quick trim of the bushes can really make a place pop. That first impression can make all the difference, and looks great in those professional listing photos.
Final thoughts
It’s a tight market right now. Rent growth has slowed, margins are tighter, and investors are still expecting top dollar for their properties.
Whether you’re upping the quality of your listings, making updates to a home, or both, you need to be taking concrete steps to get more eyes on your properties and residents in the door faster. It isn’t rocket science, but it does take some investment and dedication.
Learn more about what today's residents are looking for in our all-new research report!
December 19, 2025
