Most property owners focus their listing energy on photographs. Photographs matter, but they are not the deciding factor in inquiry quality. Listing copy — the written description of a property — is the element that determines who picks up the phone and who keeps scrolling. A listing that is vague, optimistic, and free of practical detail attracts speculative inquiries from browsers who are not ready to move and time-wasters who will never qualify at your price. A listing written for serious prospects filters them in and filters everyone else out before the first call.
This guide covers the specific techniques that improve inquiry quality — not inquiry volume, but the share of inquiries that come from people who are actually in a position to rent or buy.
State the non-negotiables explicitly
Every property has terms that are non-negotiable: the rent or asking price, the payment structure, the minimum lease term, whether pets are permitted, whether the service charge is included or separate. These terms belong in the listing description, not in the second or third conversation with a prospect.
An owner who does not state that rent is payable two years upfront will spend significant time taking calls from prospective tenants who need quarterly payment and cannot meet the requirement. An owner who does not state the minimum lease term will spend time with short-let inquiries for a property they are marketing as an annual rental. Publishing non-negotiable terms is not restrictive — it is efficient. It turns your listing into a pre-qualification tool.
Include the service charge and utility structure
Service charge and power supply are the two variables that cause the most post-inquiry dropouts in the Nigerian market. A prospect who was budget-qualified at your asking rent will disengage when they discover a ₦1,200,000 annual service charge was not mentioned in the listing. A prospect who assumed power was estate-managed will disengage when they learn they are expected to maintain their own generator at additional monthly cost.
State these numbers explicitly: "Annual service charge: ₦X, billed separately" or "Generator diesel included in service charge." One sentence eliminates the single most common reason a serious inquiry does not convert to a viewing.
Be specific about location within the address
"Lekki Phase 1" covers streets where the nearest supermarket is a 5-minute walk and streets where it is a 25-minute drive. "Victoria Island" includes apartments directly on Ozumba Mbadiwe with traffic noise and apartments two roads back in quiet residential compounds. "Maitama, Abuja" applies to properties on the Aguiyi Ironsi commercial strip and to quiet estate roads 10 minutes from that strip.
Serious prospects are making logistical decisions — school run distance, commute time, access to specific services — and they need specific location information to make those decisions. "Close to Chevron" is not specific. "On Road 5 in Osapa London, 5 minutes from the Chevron roundabout on a clear road" is specific. The more precisely you describe the actual location and its practical implications, the more efficiently your listing pre-qualifies the prospects who will find it genuinely convenient.
Describe power supply honestly and in detail
The question every Lagos or Abuja renter is silently asking as they read your listing is: what is the power situation? A vague mention of "generator" or "estate power" does not answer this. Specific language does: "24-hour estate generator, diesel cost included in service charge" or "individual apartment generator with tenant-managed diesel, NEPA supply averages 8-10 hours daily." Both descriptions are acceptable; one happens to be better for your property. Either way, specificity eliminates the callers who are asking only to find out whether the power situation is workable for them.
State inspection availability clearly
Listings that say "contact agent to arrange viewing" leave a piece of friction in place that reduces inquiry-to-inspection conversion. Where possible, state inspection windows directly in the listing: "Viewings available weekdays 10am-4pm and Saturday mornings." This removes a step from the prospect's decision process and signals that the property is actively managed and accessible.
Write for the decision, not the impression
The most common mistake in listing copy is writing to impress rather than to inform. "Luxury finishes throughout," "prestigious address," "exceptional views" — these phrases are present in most listings and carry almost no decision-making weight for a serious prospect. What carries weight is the specific: "4th floor south-facing apartment with unobstructed ocean view from the sitting room and master bedroom"; "Italian marble finishes in kitchen and all bathrooms, completed 2023"; "Fully-fitted kitchen with island, integrated fridge-freezer, and wine cooler."
Specificity converts. General impressionism does not. Every claim in your listing should be a specific fact that a prospect can verify on inspection, not a subjective superlative that prompts scepticism.
What to deliberately omit
Some owners include details that create the wrong inquiries. A property with known maintenance issues that the owner is not planning to address before letting should not list "pristine condition" — the inspection will reveal the gap, waste the prospect's time, and damage the owner's credibility. A property where parking is limited should not describe "ample parking" that two cars will immediately disprove.
The goal of your listing is not to maximise the number of people who contact you. The goal is to maximise the share of contacts who are genuinely in a position to proceed. Honest, specific, detailed copy achieves this far more efficiently than vague optimism — and it dramatically reduces the time spent on inquiries that were never going to convert.