How to attract great tenants in New Zealand

Different properties attract different tenants, and that can all come down to factors like:

• Rent price
• Location
• Age of the property
• The tenant’s occupation, and more.

Here are a few things that you can do to make sure that you’re attracting tenants that are right for your rental property.

Know what you’re looking for

If you’ve spent any amount of time as a landlord, you’ll have at least an idea of what you’re looking for in a tenant. It’s always a good idea to meet with prospective tenants and get to know them before you accept them. Doing this allows you to check that they meet your standards, and are willing to comply with rules around pets, smoking, etc.
For a list of questions that you should be asking prospective tenants, see the article below.

• The questions you should be asking prospective tenants

Advertise in the right places

You won’t get any prospective tenants if you don’t advertise your property. While you want to get word of your property out to as many prospective tenants as possible, it’s worth really thinking about where you’re going to advertise your property. You could advertise yourself through:

• Word of mouth
• Placing flyers or advertisements on public notice boards or in nearby letterboxes
• Platforms like TradeMe Property and Homes.co.nz for better exposure
• You might even post your listing in a relevant Facebook group. Try searching for rental groups in the area of your property and post an ad there.
• Another option is to use the Proper Renting App. The app has designed simple process of listing your property online and it allows you to push your listing to platforms like Trade Me Property and Homes.co.nz for a discounted rate.

Use quality advertisements

Once you know where you’re advertising, you need to make sure that your advertisements are good quality, and tell prospective tenants everything they need to know about the property and tenancy. Make a point of:

• Setting out the expected rent
• Setting out any rules that you expect tenants to follow (e.g. no pets, no smoking),
• and make it easy for prospective tenants to get in contact with you.
• Make sure that you also provide good quality photos of the property, ensuring you capture its best aspects.
• For more information on how to write the perfect advertisement see the link below:
• What makes the perfect online advertisement

Having a high-quality property

When you’re looking for investment properties to buy (or even build), making sure that they’re high-quality is essential. Tenants are attracted to properties that:

• Are properly insulated.
• Have favourable features such as double glazing, good quality carpet, and modern fixtures.

Of course, this quality comes with a price. But if tenants can afford to live in a high-quality property, they’re likely going to make an effort to look after it. It is worth keeping in mind that you can buy a low-quality property and make changes to it that bring up its quality level.

Keep renovating and updating

Between tenancies – or even during longer tenancies if you have to – make sure that you are regularly checking in on the property. If things are beginning to look old and tired, it could be worth replacing them.
Things like carpet can have anywhere between a 5 – 15-year lifespan and it is wise to change features like this before the end of their time is noticeable. By updating carpet and things like curtains you can make your home feel a lot more modern which will further increase the value of your property.
Properties that have clearly been taken care of and undertaken renovations are going to be much more appealing to tenants than a flat that has its original 1960s carpet. Tenants that want to rent in new and well-maintained properties likely know it will cost them more, and they’re going to be more inclined to look after it.

Once you’ve found them, hold onto them

If you’ve already got fantastic tenants in your property, make it worth their while to stay. The best way that you can do this is by:

• keeping communication open
• acting on maintenance requests quickly
• giving plenty of warning for inspection times
• renovating and updating your property as needed.

If you are happy with your tenants then it is in your best interest to keep them happy. If you do this then they are likely to stay for longer. This means there will be no need to go looking for new tenants and go through the lengthy process of listing your property, hosting viewings, and finding the “right” people for your home.