Here in New Zealand, renting is often seen as just a stepping stone before buying a house, but for many people - especially in our larger cities - renting is actually a very long term solution. That means not just any rental home will do, especially for good tenants who can be hard to find.

So what could be stopping people from choosing your property to live in? Here’s what might be going wrong…

It’s in the wrong location

Unfortunately, if your rental property is not close to schools, child care, work opportunities and other important amenities, then it could be a little more difficult to attract tenants.

If this is the case, it is a good idea to highlight public transport routes, and suggest other alternatives to how people can get around these issues. Maybe even talk to residents in the local area to find out how they manage any location problems?

Read more: 5 ways to know when a suburb isn't the right place to buy an investment property 

The presentation is unappealing

This is a big one - and should be considered very carefully. If a property is neither clean, or well-maintained, then you may have a lot of trouble finding tenants. 

It is critical that every part of a house is scrubbed and looking its best, even if it is an average property, in order to attract good, reliable renters. This includes anything that needs fixing or maintenance.

Nobody knows it is for rent

It is going to be pretty hard to rent out your property if nobody even knows that it is available! Even if you have a sign out front, have you also popped it online? Or advertised in the local paper?

If you are struggling to get any interest, then it could just be that you haven’t reached your target market, and you may need to think about where else you can advertise it to ensure enough people see it.

You don’t have a property manager

If you do have a property manager - a good one - well all of this would probably be taken care of.

But if you don’t have one, then this is just one more area that you are having to manage yourself, which takes up a lot of time, and perhaps means you can’t offer people flexible enough times to view the property.

It also means you don’t have access to a database of potential tenants who are already looking for a property to rent, another advantage of having a property manager.

It doesn’t suit the target market

If you’re marketing a rental home to families with children, but the back yard isn’t fenced and there isn’t enough storage, it is highly unlikely you will have a lot of interest from your target audience. The same goes if you’re searching for professionals on the city fringe - if there is too much lawn to mow, or gardens to tend to, then you certainly won’t be ticking the box of a ‘low maintenance property’.

Have a good think about what people actually want in their rental houses, and do your best to cater to those requirements - particularly if you want to find reliable, long term tenants.   

The rent is too expensive

This should kind of go without saying - if you have just decided on a weekly rental price because it’s what you need to cover the mortgage, but it’s not market value, then you will struggle. Every suburb, and every individual property, has a price tag, and if yours is too far above that, it is no wonder if you haven’t got potential tenants lining up down the street.

Talk to a local property expert, and check out some of the local info online to see what other properties are being rented out for. There is no point in having your rental being empty for ages just because you can’t get a premium for it, as this will waste plenty more money in the long term.

There are too many restrictions

No pets, a lengthy application process, a minimum term of 24 months… if this sounds like all the conditions on your investment property, then you’re probably putting some really good tenants off. If they don’t have to jump through hoops to get another place that is just as nice, then of course they will take the easy route.

Yes, of course there are things you need to do to protect you and your house, like referee checks, but if you are able to be lenient about having a cat or a small dog, then you might find yourself with a whole load of applications from people who are very house proud, responsible and reliable.

Want to make sure you avoid letting any risky tenants rent your invesment property? Download our free eBook now!