Next we'll look at some advertising methods that work for higher end properties or multiple units:

Real Estate Offices

Many real estate offices handle rentals -- for a fee, of course. The rental business supplements the agents' income, and it gives them a bead on potential homebuyers (the agents hope that your tenant will become their client). You'll pay about 10% of the rent, or one month's rent, for the agent to advertise, show, and sometimes choose your tenant.

Property Management Companies

Property management companies will handle advertising, showing, and choosing the tenant and will want to remain in the picture as the entity that collects the rent and interacts with residents during the tenancy (handling repairs, for example). Again, you'll pay for this service as you would if you use a real estate agent. If you want to off-load continuing responsibilities for tenant management, you may want to choose this alternative.

Print Rental Magazines

Many national and print magazines cater directly to the residential landlord. You've undoubtedly seen them in racks next to newspapers on the street. Listing in a national magazine usually makes most sense for large landlords with multiple properties. If you find a local magazine that has lots of listings for rentals like yours, you may want to use it.

Next Steps

After you advertise your space, you'll need to create a rental application and carefully select a tenant.

For help evaluating prospective tenants, see Every Landlord's Guide to Finding Great Tenants, by attorney Janet Portman (Nolo). This book includes 40 forms on CD-ROM, including a rental application; a legal residency form; and tenant consent forms for contacting references, performing a credit check, and performing a criminal and background check.