Millenials and Rentals

Millenials make up a big percentage of the rental population as they are waiting longer to purchase their first home. They have unique needs and positioning your property to be attractive to this segment of the market will open up a large number of potential renters and should help your property get rented quickly.

Here are some important things to consider.

Renting with Pets

Most members of the millennial generation have pets and many renters in general have pets so if you decide not to allow pets, you’re eliminating a large percentage of potentially good applicants. There are a lot of things you can do to protect your property. A security deposit should always be in place but with pets there are now services to do background checks on pets! You can charge a pet deposit or pet rent too. Make sure you understand the difference between a pet and a service animal and what the rules are surrounding each.

Online Rental Payments

Millennials will rarely write checks - everything is electronic. They use Venmo and services like that. These tenants are going to expect to pay rent through their bank accounts directly, or to set up some kind of ACH deposit. Their process is going to be online and electronic so be sure to set up a system that makes it easy.

Electronic Communication & Systems

Millenials definitely do most of their business and communication online. They consume most information online and communicate largely via text or email. Rarely will you have a lengthy phone conversation. Texting though is huge. Make sure you have a system where they can access their documents online, sign electronically, pay electronically, etc. If you need to reach them quickly, know how they communicate and you'll be able to get things done fast.

These are just a few of the things to think about while marketing to and working with millennials when renting out your Northern Virginia property.