You own an apartment within the CBD of either Auckland or Wellington and you want to rent it out. Would you be better off listing it as a fixed term fully furnished rental with a property manager, or as an Airbnb listing? We explore both options to help you decide.
Managed Fully Furnished Rental or Airbnb Listing?
As an apartment owner, you are likely aware of the high demand for quality furnished apartment rentals in your city. You’ve got two options; use the services of a property manager who takes care of everything for you or list it on the Airbnb website and manage everything yourself. These are the two most impactful points which will affect you as a landlord, but there are plenty more to consider.
Choosing to use the services of a professional property manager to rent your apartment gives you multiple benefits including:
· ‘hands off’ as a landlord, giving you time for other pursuits
· Tenants are vetted by the property manager
· Regular inspections are undertaken by the property manager
· Any maintenance issues are taken care of for you
· Tenant turnover is lower, so more certainty of income
· Cleaning requirements are less as tenants stay for longer periods of time
Downsides including needing to pay property management rates (which we think isn’t a bad thing as this fee gives you peace of mind), the need to provide high quality furniture if not already present and longer leases which can be inconvenient if you want to move back into your apartment.
Then there’s the benefits of listing your apartment as an Airbnb:
· Potentially higher rental returns with short rental turnovers
· Well-known website to list your property on
But the downsides are plentiful and include less certainty of income, high rental turnover requiring someone to clean the apartment between renters, higher risk of damage to furniture and furnishings, inability to complete detailed tenant screening process and the need to be on call to assist with any tenant enquiries or complaints.
Our strongest recommendation is that a fully furnished rental property should always be managed by a professional property management team such as us. We’re the experts when it comes to attracting and screening top corporate and professional tenants and we take care of all the necessary hands-on jobs on your behalf. With plenty of happy landlords and residents on our books, we invite you to get in touch and let’s have a chat about the property management services we can offer you.