1. Are you advertising in the right places?
There are a few sites that dominate rental property searches in NZ and you need to be on them. They are Trade Me, realestate.co.nz, OneRoof, Homes.co.nz, Trovit and Facebook. myRent gives you access to all of these sites. If you haven't yet upgraded, you won't find a solution that gets you in front of more potential tenants and you will not find the same service for a cheaper price.
2. Price
Tenants are very sensitive to price, especially in the mid and lower price ranges. Pricing your rental correctly can make a huge difference. Read more about valuing your rental here
3. Photos
Photos make a huge difference in the marketing of the property (Along with location and price). Make sure you have a great cover photo and honest photos showing the property in a clean tidy condition. Taking photos in the day with the lights on gives the best result. If your listing has been on the market for a week or two it is worth changing the order or at least the cover photo so it changes the appearance in search results.
4. Description
As important as including the positives about your property make sure you are not putting restrictions on who you will accept. Sometimes a family with kids or a pet can seem undesirable from the outset but they might be great tenants for other reasons. And families and pet owners are usually the longest term tenants!
5. Time of year
It's worth considering timing the end of fixed-term leases with the time of year where properties are most in demand. This could be just before uni starts, before a season changes or just staying away from December and mid-winter, it will be different in every area. By signing leases that start and end at the right time of year, will get you in sync and reduce your tenant finding issues.
6. Reply to your enquires quickly
Some landlords leave their enquires a day or two before replying… often this is too late and tenants move onto other options. Even if a tenant does not look perfect on the surface, ask them a few more questions and confirm it before writing them off. Some great tenants don't leave a great first impression.
7. Incentives
If you are in a location which is hard to find tenants in then consider offering an incentive such as a lower bond or offering the first week or two rent-free.
