Does Anyone Still Use Craigslist? - Landlord Forum thread

Does Anyone Still Use Craigslist? by Anonymous (MN) on June 8, 2012 @14:31

Seriously? I won't touch that place anymore. Too many crackheads and people wanting discounts and freebies reply. I may post a place on there just so I can see what riff-raff applies. It makes for good stories and people watching.

I stopped using it a couple years ago and my good applicant ratio skyrocketed. You just have to know the local sites to post on so that a good applicant who knows Craigslist is a horrible place to look due to the scams and honesty problems on there can still find you through a simple google search.

Anyone else have this experience?

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Re: Does Anyone Still Use Craigslist? by Anon (CA) on June 8, 2012 @14:38	[ Reply ]

I stopped too. Craigslist is great for traffic and sheer number of views, but quality over quantity is huge in this business. I'd say a solid 5% of people who look at an ad on Craigslist are what you would want as a tenant. It's like trying to recruit a marathon runner in a McDonald's. Sure... they come around once in a while, but the majority of applicants will be laughable.

Re: Does Anyone Still Use Craigslist? by Anonymous on June 8, 2012 @15:20	[ Reply ]

What do you use locally? Newspapers, those little "find a place" booklets near the grocery checkout? The local college newspapers? I'd love to have more choices than CL. Thanks!

Re: Does Anyone Still Use Craigslist? by K (FL) on June 8, 2012 @16:32	[ Reply ]

In my area, CL is flooded daily. No matter what you post, it's gone off the page in about an hour. Where else can you advertise. I've seen my PMs advertise online in renter sites-which all cost money. A lot of money. That's why it's always been worth it for a PM to find us a tenant while we take over after that. They charge a month's rent but it works out to the same price for us to advertise plus they do all the showing of the place. I think they get most of their tenants from people walking in and looking for a rental rather than advertising, which wouldn't work for a regular landlord. So how else can it be done without being so costly?

Re: Does Anyone Still Use Craigslist? by Jack Klein (NY) on June 8, 2012 @17:27	[ Reply ]

I am still using CL and so far so good. I have still gotten good tenants on my last few rentals and am getting some good choices right now on a unit I am advertising. I owe it the LPA pre-screening prospect card. Of course you get all kinds of losers on CL, but like the newspaper ads or anything else, you have to separate the good ones from the bad ones. The prospect card helps me do that. See John's article on it at http://www.thelpa.com/lpa/what/prospectcard.html It only takes 1 good one. I'll sift through a hundred losers to find one winner. But of course there are other sites besides CL like Trulia and Postlets that are great for rentals.

Re: Does Anyone Still Use Craigslist? by Anonymous on June 8, 2012 @18:30	[ Reply ]

This has been my experience as well with CL and other sites like it. I've resigned to just using a real estate agent for my SFH. I make them really work for their fee. My agent understands that I have clear criteria for who I will bother with considering. The added bonus is that my time is not spent doing the showings. I find that the MLS listing brings in a better type of applicant more often than CL. In the end, I meet the prospects that I want and make the final decision.

Re: Does Anyone Still Use Craigslist? by Nicole (PA) on June 8, 2012 @22:19	[ Reply ]

I use Craig's list but my best method is a sign in the yard ... I get most of my tenants that way or else by word of mouth from other tenants.

Re: Does Anyone Still Use Craigslist? by Julie in PA on June 9, 2012 @08:02	[ Reply ]

I love CL and is all I use besides a yard sign. I very clearly state what the requirements are in my CL ad which also includes a link to a youtube walk-through video. Usually only qualified people contact me. I then send them my prequal questionnaire and either they do or don't respond. It works out GREAT for me.

Re: Does Anyone Still Use Craigslist?

Re: Does Anyone Still Use Craigslist? by Stephen (WA) on June 9, 2012 @12:09	[ Reply ]

CraigsList has usually worked for me along w/yard signs or banners. This time everything is S L O W. Don't know whether it is CraigsList or just the economy. But in response to those posters who complain about the quality of the replies they see from CraigsList - we have been asked why we include our income & credit score requirements in your ads as it might reduce the number of showings. Answer: we don't want to bother showing the units to people who don't meet our bare minimums. Also, where else do small operations advertise that potential tenants actually read?

Re: Does Anyone Still Use Craigslist?

Re: Does Anyone Still Use Craigslist? by NYC LL on June 9, 2012 @12:20	[ Reply ]

Found my last 3 tenants on CL, and I have an ad on there now. CL is the only thing I use. Yes there is a lot of riff raff and unqualified tenants, but Its free and everyone here uses it.

Re: Does Anyone Still Use Craigslist? by Anonymous on June 11, 2012 @00:55	[ Reply ]

Yes, I use craigslist, but do a very detailed ten minutes on the phone before I even think of setting up a viewiing. I also get back with the people later in the week, to set up an actual time to see the place, after the people have done a drive by, supplied me with a work area, a good reason for wanting to move, so I understand why they want the location, etc, etc. A current address is also helpful, as well as income per month, etc. A good, detailed phone interview adds up to whether they get an appt time to view. A sign in the front yard has always yielded the best results for me. Craiglist area for "wanting to rent" I don't understand. Why would I bother to call someone, as the way the ads are posted want the landlords to find the tenants? I as a landlord have never, and I will never contact someone from this area of craigslist.