How to Advertise Your Rental Property in Idaho

You’re looking at a vacant property in Idaho. That’s a mortgage payment with no income to cover it. Every day it sits empty, you're burning $60, $80, maybe $100. The market is crawling with lookie-loos and dreamers. If your listing looks like everyone else's, you'll get their scraps—the people who can't get approved anywhere else.

You want a qualified tenant who pays on time and doesn't call you at 2 a.m. about a clogged toilet? Then your ad needs to be a sniper rifle, not a shotgun. This is how you do it.

THE PRICING TRAP: GUESS AND YOU LOSE

Get your rent price wrong, and nothing else matters. Price it too high, and it'll sit for months while you cover all the bills. Price it too low, and you attract desperate, unstable tenants who see you as a pushover.

DO NOT GUESS. Pull up Zillow Rental Manager right now. Search for properties in your exact neighborhood with the same bed/bath count. What are they actually renting for? That’s your competition. Your price needs to be within 5% of that number. If your place has a brand-new HVAC and a two-car garage, you can be at the top end. If it’s a little dated, you’re at the bottom. This isn't about what you want; it's about what the market will bear. Get this wrong, and you’ve already lost.

YOUR PHOTOS ARE PROBABLY GARBAGE (AND IT'S KILLING YOU)

You snapped a few dark, vertical pics with your phone at noon. Congratulations, your property now looks like a cave. Renters scroll past in half a second.

FIX IT NOW:

• TIME: "Golden Hour." Shoot in the hour after sunrise or before sunset. The Idaho light is magic then.
• GEAR: Use a damn tripod. Or prop your phone on a counter. NO SHAKY, DARK, VERTICAL VIDEOS.
• THE SHOT LIST (NON-NEGOTIABLE):
  1. Curb appeal. Perfectly framed. Mow the lawn. Sweep the walk.
  2. Living room. Wide angle. Every blind open, every light ON.
  3. Kitchen. Countertops COMPLETELY CLEAR. Not a toaster in sight.
  4. Primary bedroom. Bed made with plain, neutral bedding.
  5. Primary bathroom. Spotless. A new, white shower curtain.
  6. THE ARIZONA ESSENTIALS SHOTS: A CLOSE-UP of the thermostat. A photo of the IN-UNIT WASHER/DRYER. A shot of the COVERED PARKING SPOT. A photo of the backyard PATIO SHOWING THE SHADE.
  7. The Final Shot: A "lifestyle" shot. The mountain view, the access to the Greenbelt, the community grill area.

If this sounds like too much work, hire a pro for $200. It’s the single best ROI you’ll get on this entire process.

YOUR HEADLINE HAS 3 SECONDS. DON'T WASTE THEM.

Garbage: "Nice 2 bedroom in Boise"
Gold: "$1,995 - 2BR/2BA Bungalow in North End // NEW AC + Fenced Yard"

Formula: [PRICE] - [BED/BATH] [PROPERTY TYPE] in [NEIGHBORHOOD] // [BIGGEST BENEFIT] + [2ND BENEFIT]

THE LISTING COPY: THEY SCAN, THEY DON'T READ.

First line: Hit a pain point. "Tired of street parking and coin-op laundry? This updated bungalow comes with a dedicated carport and full-size W/D in the unit."

Then, BULLET POINTS ONLY.

• Rent: $1,995/mo (Due 1st, $50 late fee after 5th)
• Lease: 12-month minimum
• Pets: 1 dog under 40lbs okay ($300 non-refundable fee)
• Parking: Dedicated covered carport
• AC/HEAT: BRAND NEW 2024 SYSTEM <-- BOLD THIS.
• Laundry: Full-size washer/dryer IN UNIT
• Feature: Private, fenced yard with garden box

Idaho-Specific Perks: Mention "tile floors," "blackout blinds," "energy-efficient windows," "10 mins to Bogus Basin," "walk to the Greenbelt."

THE LEGAL MINEFIELD (STEP ON ONE AND YOU'RE SUED)

The Federal Fair Housing Act is not a suggestion. You cannot write an ad that discriminates.

• ILLEGAL: "Perfect for a young professional couple," "Great Christian neighborhood," "No children."
• LEGAL: "Quiet complex ideal for professionals," "Near historic churches," "Two-bedroom home."
  Describe the property, not your dream tenant. If you try to be clever with the wording, you're inviting a massive, expensive lawsuit.

THE PLATFORM WAR: POST IN ONE PLACE AND YOU LOSE

Posting on just Zillow is surrender. You need to be everywhere at once to create a wave of demand.
THE LIST:

1. Zillow Rental Manager (It feeds Trulia and HotPads automatically).
2. Facebook Marketplace AND 2-3 local Facebook groups (Search "Boise Rental Homes," "Treasure Valley Housing" – join, read rules, post).
3. Craigslist (Use real photos or you'll be flagged as spam. It still works).
4. Apartments.com (Catches the "professional" renter crowd).
5. University Portals (If near Boise State, U of I, or ISU – this is non-negotiable).
   THE HACK: Manually managing this is a part-time job. This is why a syndication tool like Hemlane exists. You build your listing once, and it automatically bombs it out to all of the above sites simultaneously. It also funnels all inquiries into a single dashboard so you're not chasing messages across 5 different apps. It’s not an expense; it’s a time machine that lets you focus on screening people, not copying and pasting.

YOUR 3-STEP BATTLE PLAN

1. TODAY: Pull up Zillow. Do your comps. Set your price. Schedule your photo shoot for golden hour.
2. THIS WEEK: Build your killer listing with the headline formula and bullet points. Use Hemlane or manually post it to ALL FIVE platforms listed above ON THE SAME DAY.
3. NEXT MONTH: Have your pre-screen text ready. Answer inquiries within minutes. Schedule showings in blocks. Run your background checks. Sign the lease.

Stop thinking about it. Start doing it. Your vacant property is a financial wound. This is the bandage.

If you still need help with rental advertising, Hemlane offers a free plan or you can try the full version free for 14 days at hemlane.com.

Still need help renting out your property?

If you’re still deciding where to list your rental, we put together a guide on where to advertise your rental property, covering the most common listing sites and what to consider for each.

SOURCES (YOUR LEGAL BACKSTOP):

• U.S. Dept of HUD - Fair Housing Act: Link
• Idaho Attorney General - Landlord/Tenant Information: Link

DISCLAIMER: This is a frantic memo from the rental trenches, written between showings and maintenance calls. It is operational dogma, not legal counsel. The Fair Housing laws are complex and punitive. Consult an Idaho real estate attorney before you publish a single word.