Property Management Website Really Needed??

[Matt Moldenhauer]

Is a personal website for your properties really needed these days? I see people still have them, but how many of your tenants really come from them? With free sites like Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, etc do you think your site does a better job of getting your units out there than the sites I mentioned? I could understand it if you had 20+ units and wanted to offer a way for you tenants to pay online or have people fill out applications, but to just find the unit, I would think the big sites would be better?

[Kevin Fox]

Hey @Matt Moldenhauer

No worries at all. Just wanted to make sure we were both talking about the same thing. 

I am in the same boat as you when it comes to private listing SEARCH sites that are trying to go head-to-head with giants like Zillow. However, INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY sites (think: 1426mainstreet.com) do have their place, at least in my opinion. 

While it isn't something I do regularly for rentals [unless it is an incredibly high-end high-rent ($6K+/month), that is] I've found they are actually a great way to supplement the property's listing on sites like Zillow/Trulia/etc by providing buyers with an extra layer of depth. 

At least when I've made and used them, they were never intended to be seen as alternatives to or competitors with the big guys; they were merely a tool to help my listings stand out among the huge sea of properties these giants have us all swimming in.