Posting apartments for rent in Facebook groups: wording, photos and pace

Which groups to post in

Renters search by place. So the right groups are groups by city, and sometimes by neighbourhood: "Apartments for rent in...", "Apartments without an agent in...", student groups near a campus, and sublet groups.

Short-term rentals (a holiday apartment, a one-month sublet, a place for a work assignment) have separate groups by area and by season. A one-month apartment in a long-term rental group will only annoy the readers.

Check three things in every group: does it allow agents or only owners, is there a required post template, and is it allowed to post the same apartment again, and how often. Every group sets its own rules, and the group admin decides.

What every post must include

Every detail missing from the post turns into a private message you have to answer, or a renter who skips to the next apartment. Write these details in short lines:

• Monthly rent, and what it includes: municipal tax, building fee, water, internet.
• Location: city and neighbourhood, and the street if you are comfortable with that. The exact address can wait for a call.
• Size: number of rooms, square metres, floor, and whether there is a lift.
• Move-in date and contract length.
• What the apartment has: a safe room (mamad), a balcony, parking, air conditioners, furnished or not.
• Terms: pets, roommates, guarantees.
• How to get in touch: phone, private message, or a comment on the post.

A ready-to-copy template

Replace the details in brackets. Notice that the first line answers the three most important questions: where, how many rooms, and how much it costs.

[3] rooms in [neighbourhood], [city] - [5,200] NIS a month, move-in [1 December]

[75] sq m, floor [2] of [4], [with a lift]. Safe room, sunny balcony, [2] air conditioners.

Rent includes the building fee. Municipal tax about [450] NIS every two months.

One-year contract with an option. [No pets]. Guarantees: [2 guarantors or a security cheque].

Owner's apartment, no agent. Viewings can be arranged this week.

Details: [050-0000000] or a private message.

For a short-term rental, replace the monthly rent with a price per night or per week, and write the available dates, minimum nights, check-in and check-out times, and a cleaning fee if there is one.

Photos: what renters want to see

The photos are the reason someone stops on the post. A few simple rules:

• Daylight, open windows, lights on. A dark apartment looks small.
• The first photo of the best room, usually the living room or the balcony.
• Every room at least once, including the kitchen and the bathroom. A room that was not photographed raises suspicion.
• No filters and no exaggerated wide-angle lens. A renter who arrives and feels misled will not rent.
• Tidy up before shooting. A made bed and an empty counter make a big difference.
• A short walk-through video helps people understand how the rooms connect, especially if they live far away.

How not to look like a scam

Rental groups have quite a few scams: an apartment too nice for a price too low, an "owner who is abroad", and a request to transfer a deposit before a viewing. Renters know this, so they are suspicious. Your job is to look exactly the opposite:

• A price within the neighbourhood's range. A price far below the market attracts questions, not renters.
• An offer to view the apartment before any payment. Write that in the post.
• Never ask for money in advance before they have seen the apartment and signed a contract.
• A real profile with a photo and a name, and photos taken now, not taken from another site.

How often to post again

In active rental groups a post drops down the feed fast. From practical experience, not an official rule, posting again every 3-4 days to the same group is a reasonable pace, as long as the group rules allow it. Some groups allow reposting only once a week, and then that is the rule.

Every time, different wording. A different opening, a different first photo, a different order of details. The exact same text again and again looks like spam, both to group members and to Facebook.

And most important: once the apartment is rented, edit or delete your posts. Renters who call about an apartment that is already rented remember it.

How POSTEMA helps landlords

You write the post once, choose the city groups, and the system posts at a human pace from your browser, without giving your Facebook password. You can attach up to 5 photos and one video and order them by dragging, and SpinMax gives each group its own wording.

You can schedule the repost as a fixed series. There are at least 3 hours between two identical posts to the same group, and a cap of 5 posts per group per day. In the posting settings you can block Shabbat, holidays and nights. And anyone who commented "interested" or "details" is collected into one list, so no enquiry gets lost.

Apartments for rent can also go on Facebook Marketplace: the system fills in the form from the photos and description, and you check and approve. In ongoing mode it renews the same listing every 7 days, up to 5 times, when Facebook allows it. Agents with many listings will find how to organise folders and times in the guide for real estate agents.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• How real estate agents post listings in Facebook groups
• Automatic posting on Facebook Marketplace - how it works
• How to write a group post that does not get deleted
• How to schedule Facebook group posts