Rent crisis: Aussies paying people to attend inspections
Aussies are making money from the rent crisis by being paid to attend inspections.
Nabbing a rental property has become increasingly difficult, but some Aussies are making money by helping others attend inspections.
Part-time property manager and caterer Natalie Padjan has made more than $3,000 in recent months, carrying out more than 50 inspections in Sydney for those who can’t attend themselves.
Padjan, 36, and her partner moved in with her parents after being hit with rental increases, and are now building their first home.
“It’s a great side hustle and I’m approached multiple times a week for inspections,” Padjan said.
“Getting a rental is so competitive and some of the queues are insane, with 50 people or even more doing viewings depending on the area.”
Padjan also goes the extra mile, chatting with agents, offering her clients suggestions of places they should look at that fit their needs, and providing tips to make the most of inspections in the area.
There are hundreds of rental-inspection tasks posted on Airtasker, with some paying up to $140 per visit.
Melbourne’s Christie Parkinson, 30, booked someone to inspect Canberra rentals ahead of her move to the capital.
The ‘tasker’ who accepted the job attended inspections, speaking to agents and sending photos of each room, and even got the compass out to show her which direction the windows were facing.
New Airtasker data revealed a 20 per cent jump in users paying for help inspecting rental properties to increase their chances of securing a property. The average task price is between $40 and $200, with prices varying depending on how many inspections the user needs completed.
Airtasker CEO Tim Fung said the Airtasker community had seen hundreds of people post tasks to help them cover ground when it came to securing a rental property.
“It’s a competitive market out there and, with immigration soaring, this has added massively to rental demand and tightened the market further, so we’re glad our community can rely on each other to help find the right property and, hopefully, take some pressure off,” Fung said.
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