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Best Practices

What gets listings found, trusted and booked on Maskani Yetu, and the features that help.

In short

  • Show the real unit, at the real price, with every fee listed.
  • Answer every tour request and enquiry the same day, and keep their status up to date.
  • Mark tours Completed so reviews count as verified visits. That is how you earn the "Accurate listings" and "No hidden fees" badges, which rank you higher in search.
  • Take down or update a listing as soon as it's let or sold.

Write an accurate listing

Reviewers rate whether the listing matched reality, and that rating decides the "Accurate listings" badge. Accuracy pays off more than big claims.

  • Name: say what it is and where, for example "2-bedroom apartment, Kilimani, with parking". Avoid all capitals and exclamation marks.
  • Description: open with the main facts (size, bedrooms, floor, condition), then what's close by, then the terms. Line breaks are kept, so use short paragraphs.
  • Features: tick every amenity that's really there. Visitors filter search results by them.
  • State problems plainly: no lift, water rationing, a steep road. Visitors who find out on the day leave poor reviews.
  • Keep it current: when a unit is let or sold, update the listing or switch it off. A listing that's already gone can be reported by visitors.

The step-by-step listing wizard is covered in Property management.

Photos

Photos must be JPEG, PNG, WEBP, AVIF, up to 10 MB each, at least 1024×576 pixels, and cropped to 16:9 or 4:3. The upload screen crops them for you.

  • Use recent photos of the actual unit, not a show house or a similar unit in the block.
  • Shoot in daylight with curtains open and lights on. Clear away clutter first.
  • Stand in a corner and hold the phone level, in landscape.
  • Cover the living room, kitchen, every bedroom and bathroom, the outside, parking and the view. Give each photo its room or area tag.
  • Put your best photo first. It's the one shown on search results.

Pricing and fees

  • Enter the full price for each contract (rent, sale or lease) in the Contracts step. Visitors sort and filter by price, so a wrong price hides your listing from the right people.
  • Compare similar listings in the same area on All listings before you set a price.
  • List your viewing charges in the Fees step of your Lister Profile (Virtual tour, Physical viewing, Other fee), or tick Free. Team owners set fees for team listings in the team profile. They show on every listing and on your profile, and visitors can filter listers by viewing fee.
  • Put the deposit, service charge, water and garbage charges in the description.
  • Don't ask for a fee that isn't listed. Reviewers are asked whether they were charged a fee they weren't told about upfront, and those answers decide the "No hidden fees" badge.

Location and nearby amenities

  • Drop the pin on the building itself. Search results, distances and directions all use it.
  • If you don't want to show the exact spot, tick Show approximate location only. Visitors then see a shaded area of about 400 m, and the pin is still used for search.
  • In the Nearby amenities step, add the schools, hospitals, shops and transport near the property. Visitors can search by them. Places up to 20 km away can be added.
  • If a place is missing, use Can't find it? Pin a missing place. Our team reviews places that listers add.
  • Pick the right contract type. Buy matches BUY, FREEHOLD and LEASEHOLD contracts, so land for sale shows under Buy. Rent and Off-plan match their own contract type only, so an off-plan project needs an Off-plan contract.
  • Fill in bedrooms and bathrooms. Visitors filter by "this many or more", and a blank count never matches.
  • Tick every feature and amenity that applies. When a visitor ticks several, a listing must have all of them to appear.
  • Set the map pin. "Near" filters only match listings with a pin. They measure straight-line distance to places within 20 km (the default is 5 km). Approximate-location listings still match, with rounded distances. Only approved places count: once a place is rejected or merged, it stops matching straight away.
  • Earn the badges. In the default "Recommended" order, listers with trust badges come first, then newer listings. When a visitor chooses a sort such as price or newest, there's no boost. See Badges and search order.
  • Featured listings are chosen by our team: up to 8 on the home page and 4 pinned at the top of All listings. To ask about featuring, use the contact page.

Responding to leads

Tour requests and enquiries wait under Client Interactions in the sidebar, and we email each one to you. See Managing submissions for how the pages work.

  • Reply the same day. Many visitors contact several listers, and the first useful reply usually wins.
  • Reply where they are. Use the WhatsApp or Call buttons when they left a number, or Reply by email.
  • Answer the question they asked, then offer a viewing.
  • Keep the inbox honest. Choose Mark as replied after you answer and Archive spam, so the badge counts only people still waiting.
  • Send leads to someone who answers. Lead emails go to the listing's contact profile email. If you're away, point that profile at a colleague or a shared inbox (see Profile & Team).

Tours and verified visits

  • Set your availability on Tour Requests (Set my availability), so visitors can only book hours you can do. They can book up to 90 days ahead.
  • Confirm or decline quickly. We email the visitor either way. A declined visitor gets a link to pick another time.
  • Offer video tours to people who live far away. Visitors can choose Video Chat when booking.
  • After every tour, choose Mark as done. The visitor's review then shows "Verified visit", counts more in your rating, and counts towards badges, which need at least 1 verified visit each. Only mark tours that took place.

Reviews

  • Ask everyone you showed round to review the listing, not only the people you think were happy.
  • Reply to reviews, especially critical ones. Say what you've changed, calmly.
  • Never pay or offer anything for a review, and never review your own listings.

The full rules, including badges and search order, are in Reviews & Ratings.

Safety

  • Call the visitor before a tour to confirm who's coming. Meet at the property in daylight, and tell a colleague where you'll be.
  • Don't take a deposit or any money before the visitor has viewed the property and seen the agreement. Give receipts for everything.
  • Don't send ID documents, title deeds or M-Pesa codes to someone you haven't met.
  • If someone copies your listing or photos, or a visitor tells you they were asked for money by someone using your name, let us know through the contact page. Visitors can report suspicious listings to our team from the listing page.

Weekly checklist

  • Nothing left in Waiting for reply on Tour Requests or Contact Enquiries.
  • Every past tour marked Completed or Cancelled.
  • Let or sold units updated or switched off.
  • Prices, fees and photos still accurate.
  • New reviews answered.

Next steps