-Apr 13, 2022 By City Sales Ltd

How to get your rental property ready for tenants, and online

How to get your rental property ready for tenants, and online

A step by step guide for how to get your rental property advertising online

Finding quality tenants can be tough, and due to the time involved - costly. Vacancy is the number one killer of revenue with rentals so we want to keep it as minimal as possible, while making sure the property is presented at its best, setting high expectations for great tenants to maintain and eventually return the property in.

By taking a little time to get the property ready, you can help ensure that your rental property listing will find you great, reliable tenants fast.

 

Clean and repair

If you know prior to the current occupant moving out that work will need to be done (extra cleaning or repairs) book repairs in ASAP, tradespeople might even be able to get in before existing tenants leave. Book cleaning for the day after the tenancy ends and be prepared to go inspect the cleaning as it can be hit or miss even with professionals.

Consider a lockbox. To prevent you running back and forth meeting contractors, if it is someone you use frequently and are comfortable with, consider leaving a key in a discrete lockbox for them once the property is vacant.

A) Provide a pre exit inspection if requested (or if you feel it might need it based off past inspections)

With tenants who we notice haven't kept the place quite up to standard we might offer to do a quick walk through where you point out things that need to be repaired/cleaned before the tenancy ends in order for them to get their bond back.

Really point out everything you can see even if it's obvious to you, it mightn't be to them.

This doesn't mean the place will be perfect, but if they asked it does mean they are probably trying to get the property to an acceptable standard - which is a good thing for you.
And if things don't go so well and the bond is needed to cover repair and cleaning costs, any complaints are going to be pretty limited as you have in writing an offer from yourself to show them what needs doing in order to get the bond back or if they took you up on the informal pre exit inspection but didn't manage to get it up to standard you have records of you telling/suggesting what needs doing and that it wasn't done/wasn't done well enough.

B) Perform the final inspection within 24 hours of them moving out.

Before any further cleaning/repairs to take place we need a record of the state of the property in the form of an exit inspection so we can request a share of the bond refund if needed for any cleaning or repairs.

Remember tenants only need to leave the property "reasonably clean and tidy". They do not need to perform a spring clean and the level at which tenants are required to leave a property is well below what is acceptable for new tenants to move into so it is best to assume there will be a cleaning cost that you will need to pay as a cost of owning a rental property.

What if they didnt leave it clean enough? Do I have to let them back to have another go?

No. Their tenancy, and chance to do the cleaning is over. If more cleaning or repairs are needed it is now for you to arrange with professionals you choose and you can charge as much as is reasonable to fix what was left, back to them from the bond. Dont forget your receipts, and as always keep copies of inspections and conversations. If you have verbal/face to face conversations just follow them up briefly with an email so you have a record.

 

Get Photos

The best thing you can do here is invest in your property with professional photos.

Professional photos help your listing stand out and be shown in the best light. They will be brighter and more spacious than you can take yourself.

Professional photos will start around $150 and continue to well above $300. The trick is that you can use these photos again and again until major changes are made to the property or condition deteriorates enough to warrant new photos again.

When to retire your professional photos

Your advertising photos need to be representative of the current condition. If the photos are years old, or condition has quickly deteriorated showing brilliant, sparkling professional photos is actually going to hurt your tenant hunt.

If you set the bar high with professional photos of a well presented place but prospective tenants show up to a dump they will walk straight out disappointed because their expectations were too high for what the rental listing offers today.

Taking your own photos

If you prefer to take your own photos here a few general tips on how to get the best results.

1. Your phone (assuming your cameras work) will be perfectly adequate

2. Turn on ALL the lights, open ALL the windows and doors/window coverings and close any furnishings and chattels (wardrobes, cupboards, washing machines, toilet seats, fridges).

3. If you have a wide angle lens, use it! This will show off more space in each image giving tenants a better idea of layout and size.

4. Shoot from corners, into corners. As above, this helps to show more of the property off. Remember for a long term rental you are not selling the furniture, you are selling the property, the room, the space. A photo of a couch doesn't show them where the couch is which is more important to tenants.

5. Shoot with the light behind you. If you dont have professional equipment shooting double exposures is not something to spend your time trying to do. Set exposure for the inside, and take a separate photo of views.

6. The best angle to avoid warping walls is about waist height, so get low, straighten up the camera. Try to avoid holding the camera looking down on a room (tall people beware), this makes the room seem smaller than it is.

 

How to set the price of your rental property

Setting the right rental price for your property can be a tricky balancing act. On the one hand, you want to attract tenants who can look after the property and make sure your investment earns you some money. On the other hand, you don't want to set the price so high that no one is interested in renting from you. So how do you strike the perfect balance?

Look at it from the tenants point of view

Set aside what you want or need for the property/to cover mortgage or other costs, and even what you were getting with the last tenants. The market shifts constantly and you need to be setting a price for todays market, and the market doesn't know or care what your costs to run the property are.

If you put a too high rent

You will struggle to get a new tenant for your property. This tells tenants you are out of touch with the market and are likely to be very picky about the person that gets to live there, and possibly be an overbearing landlord who will make their life unpleasant. They will simply scroll by, you will know this from the insights or reports when you load your ad listing. Your listing will have fewer views than other similar properties that are priced realistically.

If the sums aren't working for you at market rates and its putting pressure on the rest of your life and decisions, the best thing to do is sell. Putting a too high rent price up is only going to make issues worse as you foot a growing vacancy bill and likely have to withdraw and re-advertise the property at your cost. My advice is to sell, drop the stress and look to reinvest elsewhere whether that be in a cheaper property where the figures work out a bit better or a different investment market entirely. Talk to a financial advisor but being overstretched on a tenanted property is a precarious place to be. You never know when a pipe will burst, a washing machine needs replacing or tenants simply stop paying rent. As a landlord with tenants you are legally contracted to fix these things in a timely manner. The angst and stress isn't worth it when our sales team can help you find something more suitable.

If you put a too low rent

You are leaving money on the table, but you could also invite undesirable tenants to apply, or even put off good tenants who know value and think there must be an undisclosed issue with the property.

How to set the perfect rent price

 

Find 3-5 similar, nearby properties listings to compare with.

If an apartment, aim for the same building, as building to building rents can differ hugely depending on facilities, quality and current occupant split, size and layout of units. Where you cannot find the same building, look for one that is similar - for example Zest (72 Nelson Street) is very similar to Aura (53 Cook Street), Harvard (147 Hobson Street) is very similar to Stanford (189 Hobson Street).

The similar properties should be as much as possible the same bedrooms, bathrooms, age, on the same block if possible. Also check for any inclusions - carpark, furnishing, power, water etc which could add up to $100pw more to the rent.

Compare your property from a tenants point of view to these properties. Do they have professional photos? Are they presented better or worse than yours? Are they higher up? What side of the building/what views?

And choose a price that fits in with those.

As an owner you are likely to think your property is better than the others, keep going back to viewing it as a tenant with the option of all the other properties. This is where potential tenants are looking, this is what they are comparing your property to and this is what sets the value of your rent, interested renters won't pay more for your property than next doors just because you need it.

Writing an ad/listing

You have just seconds to catch interest of prospective tenants. While your photos will do the heavy lifting, its the writing/listing copy that will clinch the deal.

In seconds we need to grab and hold interest. We need to tell tenants in seconds whats on offer, how it makes their life better/why they want or need it, and how to get it.

Save the novel for tenancy agreement terms rather than the advert. The listing is just to grab enough interest, tell them enough about the property that they come to see it in person.

How to write a listing that will make prospective renters want your property

Trademe have done copious amounts of research on what people are looking for and how they look at properties online including tracking their eye movement.

Peoples eyes move in a triangle over the advert and that is way your copy should ideally be laid out.

 

Think about who is most likely to rent the property

Student/s, professional/s or a family and write the ad for them.

This doesn't mean other types of tenants won't look at or take the place, just that we are optimised for the most likely and ideal tenant for the property.

For example advertising that your studio or one bedroom city apartment is in zone for high schools is probably not a worthy use of space. The tenant for this property is going to be a university student or city worker with no children. The grammar school zone is not of interest to these people. Should you have a family home in the suburbs that is a reasonable property to draw attention to school zones for.

Pick something special about the property

Every property has a best feature, not to be confused with competition. We're not talking about what's better or worse than other properties on the market, just what is the best thing your property in its current state can offer.

Condition, size, views, natural sunlight, a great neighborhood or location etc

Set the scene

Now we know who is taking the property, tell them what their life will be like if they take your property.

Professionals will be interested in location, restaurants, theatre, entertaining guests.

Students will want to be near public transport, universities, cheap eats, nightlife.

The perfect ad format

Start with an opening sentence about the best feature of the property.

Right in heart of the Auckland City, this 15th floor apartment offers the best food, entertainment, shopping, schooling, transport - all within walking distance. 

Summarise whats on offer

Move in ready - walk straight into this sky high apartment and unpack your bags. 

List the property features, even those that are included already in other places like number of beds and baths.

+ 2 bedrooms | 1 bathroom

+ Incredible views to the harbour and sky tower

+ Large, private, covered deck for extended living

+ Fully furnished and in good condition

+ Pool and gym inhouse

+ Walk to University

+ Public Transport

+ Motorway access 2 minutes drive

Sell the lifestyle (for your ideal tenant):

The best study break includes a 10 minute walk down to Queen Street. Gourmet taco trucks, trendsetting bars and entertainment are all reached by foot.

Or hop on public transport just minutes away.

 

See how this ad pulls together and follows the suggested triangle layout.

It includes all the details needed to draw interest, it talks to our ideal tenant but doesn't exclude others. It doesnt look like a lot to read (which is offputting).

 

Get the ad online

The most popular place to find tenants for NZ rental properties is Trademe.

To advertise on realestate.co.nz (the second most popular portal) you must be a licensed real estate agent or agency so you will need to go through a third party.

In our experience, if you have priced it to the market, you have decent photos Trademe is more than adequate to get the job done.

If you want to take it further and advertise in various facebook marketplace groups or smaller websites such as Gumtree just consider that potential tenants looking in those places can be purposefully searching for properties that are managed by owners rather than by real estate offices and property managers who tend to run more stringent tenant checks. Also when advertising on multiple portals, keep note of where you have advertised as if you end up changing the rent or photos you will want to do so on all of them. The alternative, where permitted is to share the trademe link to save you entering all the information over again.

I still haven't found a tenant!

9 times out of 10 you are currently or were previously advertising with a too high rent and by the time you dropped your rent, you have missed out on the bulk of viewers.

If you have taken your time dropping the price and the property has been online for a month or longer, tenants start to think there is something wrong with the property.

The best thing to do is start again. Withdraw your advert. Do your comparisons. Load the ad up again as new listing.

 

See on the graph below how views and price changes work. Most owners will want to test the waters with a too high rent at the start but you lose your best interest. It only takes days for your listing to slip from the first page. Putting that into perspective - how long has it been since you've scrolled through to page 2 or 3 in google searches? Do not waste your best interest testing the waters!

And see how by the time you drop the rent, the views have already decreased so much.

We can tell based off interest levels (being advert views versus bookings) what is wrong with the listing.

No or few views - its priced way too high. Fix: drop the rent.

Lots of views, no bookings - price is good, main photo is good. Once they get into the ad something is putting them off. This is either that with more info on the property or the other images of the property, the package does not look like good value for what is on offer. Fix: relook at your photos, are they blurry, dark, do they make it look small, is the property dirty or messy? remove and reload photos. Dont feel like you need to show every room from every angle. Fix: rewrite the advert, have you included something offputting by mistake? Go back to bare basics, tell them what there is, what its near - nothing more. Details and issues or quirks can be discussed in person at a viewing. Fix: Drop the price

Lots of views, lots of bookings, no applications - the property does not come across in real life as it has been portrayed online. The value they see on the screen does not come across in real life. Are your photos old or staged, or photoshopped? Is the property cold and unwelcoming? Can you stage or furnish it, can a gardener tidy up the property, arrive early to open up and warm up the place. Take and load up new photos showing the current condition of the property.

 

If you follow the steps above you will be well placed for finding and securing the best tenants, fast for your rental investment.