Tenant feels like a winner

Renee Bushby says she, her partner and two friends are the lucky ones getting the tenancy on this home in Balmoral Rd. Photo / Natalie Slade

Renee Bushby feels like she's "won the lottery" - in fact, it's a $750-a-week tenancy of a four-bedroom Balmoral Rd property with her partner and two friends.

Ms Bushby looked every day for more than a month, and when a friend rang to tell her they had got a property, she signed the tenancy agreement even though she had not seen the house.

"It's been really, really tough to find a rental, and it just feels wonderful, and relief, that we've got this one to live in," the 24-year-old public relations consultant said.

"Every day, without fail, we looked everywhere ... from Trade Me to the papers and real estate company websites. I guess agents tend to overlook us because of our age."

Letting agent Darryl Goode said Ms Bushby and friends were chosen because they were "most professional" in their application. Two hundred people had inquired about the property in a week.

Mr Goode said some agents chose tenants who offered to pay more than the rent being sought, but he didn't follow that practice.