A property manager has urged tenants to ‘clean up’ their social media and provide a covering letter to improve their chances of securing a rental property.
Jessica Melling, a property manager at estate agency LJ Hooker in Robina on Queensland’s Gold Coast, warned new tenants that landlords and agents often check a potential tenant’s social media accounts.
Ms Melling told Daily Mail Australia a tenant can be viewed favorably by landlords and property managers if they have a social media profile that makes a good first impression.
“Property managers will often use social media as a tool to show owners a little more about tenants,” she said.
“If your social media isn’t set to private, take a look and think about it as if you were going out with someone and their parents were going to watch.”
Ms. Melling said photos of a tenant on Facebook or Instagram will likely tell a landlord whether a tenant should be given the keys to the house.
“If it (social media) is private, clean it up.”
A property manager has urged first-time renters to ‘clean up’ their social media profiles if they want to boost their chances of owning a rental property
Ms Melling, who has 15 years of experience as a property manager, said property managers use social media to identify a tenant, especially if they have not provided a covering letter.
“We’re looking for a photo of that person so the owner can better understand who he or she is.”
Ms Melling said landlords are often looking for a long-term deal with a tenant and said the more information landlords and property managers have – including photos of a tenant – the better.
The advice to renters comes as vacancy rates in Australia remain persistently low at 1.1 per cent in January, down from 1.3 per cent in December 2023. There were 32,108 homes for rent across Australia, up from 39,797 in December.
Jessica Melling (pictured), a property manager with LJ Hooker Robina on the Gold Coast, told Daily Mail Australia that property managers often turn to social media in an attempt to gain a better understanding of potential tenants
Ms Melling said the competitive rental market means potential tenants must find ways to stand out from the crowd.
She urged tenants to include a cover letter with their applications and to bring a copy of the letter with them during open house inspections.
“The point of it (cover letter) is to present yourself in the best possible light and be memorable to the property manager,” Ms Melling said.
‘If we receive thirty applications, but we have had someone who shows his enthusiasm by bringing a motivation letter, then there is a good chance that the application will be easy to process.’
First-time tenant and apprentice plumber Jarrod Pienaar struggled to find a rental property before eventually moving to a property at Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast.
Australia’s national vacancy rate remains stubbornly low as tenants struggle to find accommodation (Photo: Tenants inspecting a property)
The 22-year-old said he was able to set foot in the rental market once he started including application letters in his property applications.
‘I was ready to move and look for my own place. “I wanted to find a property in the $500-700 a week range, but there wasn’t a ton on the market at the time,” he said. real estate.com.au
However, some tenant advocates have criticized property managers who monitor potential tenants’ social media profiles, saying it is an invasion of their privacy.
Better Renting Executive Director Joel Dignam said vetting potential tenants through social media is another example of the power imbalance between landlords and tenants.
“The bottom line is that this is not relevant to the lease and it is an abuse of the power that agents have because in a tight market they have so many tenants to choose from,” he told the newspaper. Brisbane times.
“We don’t have to be trend-setting tenants who are otherwise suitable.”
Ms Melling encouraged tenants not to lose confidence and submit their applications online so they can provide reliable references.
‘The best thing you can do is apply, even if you think you have no chance, because everyone else is often too scared to apply.’