A List Of Free Websites Where Landlords Can Advertise Their BTL
This article was written on 12 May 2009
I’m pretty sure there are plenty of online property portals out there that provide a free service for landlords to advertise their BTL property. Unfortunately, I’m only familiar with a handful of them, and I’ve only used two of them. However, I’ve had a lot of success with the free services, consequently, I doubt I’ll use a letting agent again anytime soon *touch wood*
With more and more landlords getting increasingly pissed off with letting agent fees and the poor impersonal service they provide, I believe rental portals are becoming a big demand by landlords. With the economy in its current state, and with increasing amounts of people looking to rent, I think there’s still a HUGE opportunity for someone smart to come along and own the niche. EVERYONE knows Rightmove as the place to go to when buying/selling property. And even though they offer a rental section, I don’t think they have managed to capture the same dominance in that niche. So there’s still a huge opportunity…any takers?
Even though there isn’t a dominating beast, there is still a cluster of websites that drag in enough interest for Landlords to put together a successful campaign for their BTL property, all for the price of SWEET NOTHING. I know how appealling that sounds. Landlords, we’re not exactly a breed that’s known for our charitable antics.
Hopefully a lot of you will be able to point me in the direction of a few others, and also discuss how good/bad they are (if you have any experience using them).
Free places to list your BTL Property
Gumtree
It’s no secret, this is by far the best place to advertise a BTL property for landlord, in my opinion. I’ve had loads of success with Gumtree.
Craigs List
It’s a massive website, with millions and millions of daily hits. It’s a must!
Loot
Never tried it, but gets a pile of traffic. I’ll try using it next time I have a property available for rent. I actually think it might generate a few enquires.
Letmatch
Errr…shitty interface, very little traffic and virtually no enquires, from my experience. But it’s free, and provides a feature which allows you to put your property on Rightmove for a small fee. Even if you don’t want the Rightmove feature, it still might be worth using the free service.
Let a life
I’ve only JUST found this website. I have no idea what it has to offer or how long it’s been around, but it’s another portal I plan on giving a whirl in the near future. It has a kind of Gumtree look about it, only a lot cheaper.
The site appears to be a bit fucked up in terms of user interface- navigating is a bit complex and all over the place. However, the listings appear to be up to date and there seems to be a healthy number of properties available- that’s always a good sign!
House Find UK
I was informed about House Find by one of my Twitter followers. It looks half decent, but I don’t think it has enough properties in the books to generate too much interest.
House Ladder
House Ladder has been recommended by a reader, and she’s had some success with it! I’ve landed on the site before, but for some strange reason managed to forgot about it. It looks quite popular- definitely worth a shot!
Net rent
They claim to be the “UK’s Number One Lettings website“- whether that’s true or not is not for me to say, but judging by the activity on the site…I think not. I also noticed that the site generates a lot of programming errors. I can’t even pull up any search results because of this (link removed). I hope this is just a temporary glitch, but for now….no further comments..
Update: They’ve recently done a redesign and fixed the errors. It actually looks pretty decent 
House Refer
House Refer is another one that has come recommended. The site is a bit basic, but it works- which is a good thing.
I’m not entirely sure how popular the site is, or how many properties they have in their books, but when I do an open search for properties in “london”, it brings back 1 result. Oh…
Vitual Letz
It’s new and shiney, so still it’s still in the growing phase. It doesn’t look hald bad, but I’m assuming the current visitor count isn’t blowing up the counter.
EZ Let
I was informed about this site by a reader (many thanks, Gail). I’m told it gets decent traffic, although I’m not entirely sure- it looks new’ish to me. It’s free to list your BTL property, but there’s also a premuim package, which gives you additional benefits for a small cost.
No Guarantee
Just so we’re all clear here, by no means am I implying that these free websites will guarantee a successful campaign. I’m simply saying these websites are free, and they could easily find you tenants, without having to pay a mouth-foaming agent. But for the sake of spending 5mins on each site to setup an advert, I don’t think there’s any harm in it, even if nothing comes from it.
Right, so does anyone know of any others?
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Talk / 16 Comments
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I'll add those to the list.
Thanks a lot :)
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From my experience, agents don't worry about the "aftercare" of their landlords. Once you pay their fee, they become as helpful as a chocolate teapot.
I completely agree with you, using the traditional avenues like shop windows and local newspapers still generates huge interest. Those meduims should definitely not be underestimated. I still use local newspapers to advertise vacancies and they usually generate a lot of interest.
I'm really pleased you managed to find a great tenant without the use of a letting agent.
Kind regards
5
The site is new and is completely free to list, as we created it to try and boost the market in any way we could.
It was designed to be straightforward and 'Google-esque' in its format with no clutter. It is a new site and we would welcome constructive criticism, ideas and recommendations for improvements
We do not allow businesses to advertise (to keep clutter to a minimum) and therefore have no bias or influence.
The amount of properties (as you mention) is low at this early stage, but is increasing quickly. SurreyLets are one company who were keen to list their properties with us. I hope your bloggers find it useful. There are some great features on the site.
Many thanks
Matt
6
I have to say that there are a lot of people out there at the mo who are frantically trying to suss out landlord dutues, and your site was very reassuring. I think as long as you know that there will be weirdo and annoying tenants at some point, it may be less stressful. Sadly I am renting at a loss till 2011, so after this summer we will try very hard to overpay the mortgage. I think a lot of btl landlords may do this as the best remortgage rates are for the ltv rates of 75% or less, aren't they?
I am just finding my way here - loved the page with the dagger on it about the annoying cow of a tenant - been there with my first let, thank God she's gone!
I doubt I will ever use a letting agent again - useless twunts if you ask me - and what exactly DO thery have to be so smug about?!
I will keep you posted on how my delightful 'agent' handles deposit returns, etc.
Best wishes
Sycorax (I'm not a Shakespearean witch - well...not really.....)
7
A good agent can be a godsend in difficult times or if you are too far away from your btl. We look to other landlords for recommendations.
If you have a btl in Gloucester then I can recommend a fantastic agent. An agent that gives the WOW factor in customer service.
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looks well used and efficient
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That website isn't free, is it? I've just had a look around, and from what i can tell, they charge a flat fee.
Kind regards
11
Just tried it out and you can advertise for free. Any photo you upload will not show on the search results list but you can view it in the more details section. Maybe we can persuade them to change this option?
Want to see my house? http://www.ezylet.com/properties/details/240737
see you
Gail
12
I'm going to try it out and add it to the list.
Many thanks for the tip!
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You ased if there were other property to let portals out there.
I have been busy creating this one, it's still fledgling, but functional and free, it's also got a decent page rank.
www.plets.co.uk
thanks
Alex
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Bargain.
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