Whether it's low maintenance costs, access to amenities, or the uncertainty of committing to a mortgage, more and more people are starting to realize the benefits of renting. In fact, the National Association of Realtors found that five to six million new rental properties will be created within the next ten years.

Working with these renters can offer real estate professionals a unique opportunity to grow your referral network, establish relationships with future buyers and ensure long term wealth. Here are three helpful tips that will help you build your rental portfolio by better marketing your rental properties, so that you can start taking advantage of this growing market!

1. Renters Now, Buyers Later

Millennials are the new wave of home buyers, but with most of them up to their eyeballs in student loans, the majority of them are renting. The good news is that half of all renters are optimistic about buying a house in the near future (Fannie Mae). With this in mind, it would be a good idea to get your foot in the door with these clients by helping them find a rental, because it can lead to big business further down the road.

Two out of three of these renters would prefer to work with someone that they have worked with in the past (Harvard Joint Study). Start building relationships with these future homeowners by providing them with all the resources they need during their rental search. Try sharing the Homes.com Rentals app with them so that they can search for properties on-the-go or keep them updated on new properties in the area. These simple tips will make their search much easier and will help them establish trust in your services!

2. Advertise in the Right Places

In order to get the attention of local renters, you need to promote your properties in the same places they are looking! Places like Craigslist, the newspaper and even a good old fashioned "For Rent" sign in the front yard are pretty reliable options for local renters.

With ninety percent of consumers searching online during their home search (NAR), it's a critical place to market your listings. "Word of mouse" can be an invaluable tool because people are relying on recommendations from friends and family before making a purchase decision. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram provide a place for people to keep up with what their friends and family are talking about, which is why these social networks are the perfect place to share recommendations from people they may know. Monitor what people are saying, because more times than not, they'll rely on these social networks for suggestions on where to live.

Once you've established a strong social presence and have more people recommending you to their own networks, the exposure to your rental properties will increase and you'll start to see the business roll in!

3. Market Existing Rentals

Impressing property owners with your marketing expertise is the best way to add new properties to your rental portfolio. To do this, make sure that you're fully marketing any of your existing vacancies, even if you expect them to lease quickly. Once property owners see that you have a strong market presence and that you know how to attract tenants, they'll feel confident about hiring you to manage their property rather than doing it themselves. You may also want to consider searching for listings that have been on the market for a while and convince the homeowners why it would be more beneficial to rent.

Another strategy would be to look for other local property managers who may need assistance with closing their leases. Try performing a Google search to locate any property managers in your area and write down their contact information. Once you've connected with them, ask for their listing sheets to find out about all of their available rentals. Assisting them in filling these vacancies will not only help build your own portfolio, but it will help build relationships that can lead to more business down the road.

Stick around, because next time, you'll learn how to connect with more renters through the use of social media and a few website solutions that will position your business as the one stop shop for everything real estate.

To view the original article, visit the Homes.com blog.