An empty apartment can be a pit that drains your money from you. After being in the real estate business on and off for the past 20 years, I figured I can give a few people some hints on how to rent a property that's hard to rent. Having rented many apartments, I have learned some lessons the hard way and I don't want other people to learn by the school of hard knocks. Some of these methods can be used to help rent or even sell a house.

In preparation to rent your apartment or house, make sure it is clean. Make sure anything left by previous tenants is removed Remove all trash, and inspect every room to make sure smoke detectors and other items such as light switches, plumbing and appliances, if included, are in good working order. You, as landlord, should paint the apartment or hire professionals. Do not let any tenant decide the color or paint your property. This can lead to disaster. I have used the same color paint on all my units, that way it is easy to touch up spots and not have to worry about matching the paint. I use a neutral off white and buy it in the 5 gal containers.

To advertise your apartment I have found that putting up a "FOR RENT" sign in the front window, or in the front of the building brings in many interested people. Also running an ad in a local newspaper will bring in many calls. You may also want to contact a local real estate agent to advertise your property, but they may charge you a fee. Craig's List is also a way to get your property noticed.

If you do not get a good response from your ads, or in a tough market,  look at the price you are asking. It may be too high. Compare it to other rentals in the area. If it is in line, ask what you can do to make your apartment sell better. You may want to consider offering one month free rent (the last month's rent with 60 days notice- put it in your lease), or, offer free basic cable TV service for the first year, this may only cost you $200 over a year's time. Maybe you want to offer free wireless internet service for the building or free trash removal. People like the word free and it helps to sell your apartment.

Think about offering a rent to own option. I offered that on a property and my phone rang off the wall. Rent to own is when a portion of the rent you receive is applied towards the down payment on the sale of your property. You need to be willing to sell your property, and you should have an attorney write up the agreement and lease.

Once you get people that respond to your ads make sure you screen them very well. Run a credit check, talk to previous landlords and make sure you are confident that they are the best choice for a tenant. If you rent to someone who won't pay you, you are defeating the entire purpose of renting the unit. The name of the game is having a win-win situation for everyone involved.

R. Manchester is the author of the book "Saving the Corporate Dollar" available on Ebay and Amazon.