Here are the best methods to fill your property like an agent, without using one.
- Trade Me, realestate.co.nz, OneRoof, Trovit and Homes.co.nz
If you want to find tenants quickly, they need to be able to find you. You need to get your property onto to NZ’s five largest property websites – Trade Me, realestate.co.nz, OneRoof, Trovit and Homes.co.nz. As a private landlord, you can create a listing on Trade Me directly (about $169 on average) but you can’t place a private ad on realestate.co.nz, OneRoof, Trovit (normally only realestate agents and property managers can use it) not can you advertise directly on Homes.co.nz. But you can consider using services like myRent.co.nz that allows you to post your advert on Trade Me, realestate.co.nz, OneRoof, Trovit and Homes.co.nz and at a much lower cost than a standard Trade Me ad. For $50 you can list on realestate.co.nz, OneRoof and Trovit, and for an additional $140, you can include a Trade Me and Homes.co.nz adverts. Whichever method you choose, it's worth it. Remember this cost is tax-deductible and it’s money well spent!
- Social Media
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are used by millions of people every single day. You most certainly should consider using it to advertise your rental. Let people know you have a property to rent by posting a status update on Facebook, post a photo on Instagram, send a tweet, create a post on the marketplace or a local community group. If you are advertising your listing through myRent, we will share your property ad across relevant Facebook groups. But you can also share it on your social media to maximise your exposure.
- Upgrade your listing
No one wants to spend more money than necessary, so this step is absolutely optional. If you purchase your Trade Me listing on myRent, it already comes with a free Premium upgrade, which is normally only available to agents. But you can choose to upgrade your realestate.co.nz listing to a Feature listing to make it appear first in search results and make it stand out from other listings by having a distinctive bright background, bold text or having bigger images. This change will set you back around $35 +gst but on average significantly increase the number of views. If you need to find tenants quickly, this option is worth considering.
- Consider tenants with pets and/or smokers
Being open to pets and smokers can significantly widen your pool of tenants to choose from. Tenants with pets pay on average $20+ more per week for a suitable property and are likely to stay long term as finding the right pet-friendly home is hard. There is also no need to lock yourself into a pet-friendly category, you can just mention “pets considered” on your ad and explore this option on a case-by-case basis.
- Offer Incentives
Everyone loves a good deal. Tenants are no exceptions. Consider offering 1-week free rent, lowering bond deposit amount, providing some appliances or furnishings with the property, negotiating earlier move-in date. Anything you can think of, that is reasonably possible to get tenants over the line.
- Quick replies
Perfect tenants, the ones that tick all the boxes, will be equally appealing to all the landlords. Make sure you reply to all prospective tenants as quickly as possible. If you don’t reply to them quickly, another landlord or agent will.
- Flexible viewing times
To rent the place out fast, try to accommodate potential tenant’s viewing requests. If you’re not available to show the property at the right time, ask a friend, a neighbour, a family member to show them around. Remember, tenants, are looking at multiple properties at the same time. There is a chance they will take the one that can be viewed first.
Why not see how we can help you rent out your property today? myRent.co.nz is here to help you advertise your property and reach more tenants by listing on Trade Me, realestate.co.nz, OneRoof, Homes.co.nz, Trovit and myRent. Learn more about Tenant Find
The information contained in this article is exclusively for promotional purposes. It does not in any way constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as the basis for any legal action or contractual dealings. The information is not, and does not attempt to be, a comprehensive account of the relevant law in New Zealand. If you require legal advice you should seek independent legal counsel. myRent.co.nz does not accept any liability that may arise from the use of this information.
