How to get started as a real estate agent in Nairobi on Meridian Estates
Free account, your first 3 listings, and the simple steps agents use to turn listings into viewings and deals.
By Meridian Estates. Published
Here is the truth most agents never hear. The home is not what gets you the deal. You do. Your photos, your details, and how fast you pick up the phone.
Two agents can list the same 2BR in Kilimani. One gets calls. The other gets silence. The difference is not luck. It is the steps below.
Read every step. Each one is short. Skip one and you leave money on the table.
Step 1
Post your first listing today, not tomorrow
Create your free account and tap "I want to advertise my property". You land in your account. This is where you post listings.
Do this now. A listing that is not live cannot be found. No listing, no house hunters. No house hunters, no deals. It is that simple.
Step 2
Your photos are your salesman
You need at least 5 photos to publish. Read that again: at least. 5 is the floor, not the goal. You can post up to 40. Post 20 or more.
Why? Because a house hunter cannot walk into the home from their phone. Your photos have to walk them in. Front door, living room, kitchen, every bedroom, every bathroom. Two or three angles of each room.
More good photos means more trust. More trust means more calls. More calls means more commission.
- Shoot in daylight with every light on.
- Hold the phone straight and steady.
- Take each room from two or three angles.
- Add the view, the building and the compound.
Bad phone camera? Here is the fix
Take many photos anyway. Then open an AI tool like ChatGPT, upload a photo and type: "Make this photo clearer and sharper."
It only makes the photo clearer. It does not change the home, so your listing stays honest. Never use it to add things that are not there.
Step 3
Fill in every detail, like a pro
Pick land or a house. For a house, pick rent or sale. Then pick furnished (like an Airbnb), semi furnished or unfurnished.
Be exact. Three bathrooms with two en suite? Say so. The form has a box for everything, so you never forget a thing.
Never leave amenities empty. Pool, gym, backup generator, parking, Wi-Fi for furnished homes. Tick all of it. An empty listing looks lazy, and house hunters scroll past.
Step 4
Use the viewing fee badge the smart way
Charge a viewing fee? Add the badge. You choose what it shows:
- That there is a viewing fee, with no amount.
- The exact amount.
- Free viewing.
- Nothing at all.
The phone call trick most agents miss
Show the badge without the amount, then share the fee on the call. Why does this work? On the phone they hear you. They feel that you are serious and professional. People pay a fee to someone they trust, not to a number on a screen.
If they say no, ask why. Is it trust? Is it money? Their answer tells you who is serious and who is not.
Step 5
Let us write your title and description
Hate writing? Good news. Tap one button and we write a clear title and description for you, in plain words house hunters understand fast.
Step 6
Publish and get approved
Photos, price, title, description, amenities. All clear? Tap publish. Our team reviews listings every day.
You get a WhatsApp message either way. Not approved? We tell you exactly why, you fix it, and you send it back. Most fixes take minutes. The usual reasons:
- Photos are dark, blurry or too few.
- No amenities, so the listing looks empty.
- Bedrooms, bathrooms or price are missing.
Step 7
Use all 3 free listings
The free plan gives you 3 live listings. Use every one. Each listing works for you day and night, even while you sleep.
Step 8
Speed to lead. Call first, win first
When a house hunter shows interest, you get a WhatsApp message with a link. Tap it, sign in, open Leads.
Then call. Right away. A WhatsApp message is fine to start, but a call is what closes. The agent who calls first is often the agent who gets the viewing.
Closing is a skill, and skills grow. Lead the call. Be clear. Be kind. Be professional. Help them find their home.
Step 9
Ready to grow? This is where it gets good
3 listings gets you started. Serious agents scale. A paid plan lets you post more listings and rank higher in search, so more house hunters see you first.
- Bronze, KES 1,000 a month: up to 15 listings, ranked above Free.
- Silver, KES 5,000 a month: up to 100 listings, ranked above Bronze and Free.
- Gold: unlimited listings, ranked above every other plan.
Stop waiting for leads. Go get them
Paid plans open the leads pool. Instead of only waiting, you claim house hunters from the pool each day, up to your plan's limit.
For each one you see if they want to rent or buy, their budget, the area, the unit type and how soon they want to move. You call. You book the viewing. You work the deal.
Do the maths
Bronze costs KES 1,000 a month. That is about the price of a streaming subscription. But this one does not keep you on the couch. It works for your business.
Charge a viewing fee and a single paid viewing can cover the whole month. Everything after that is yours.
Stuck? You are not alone. Tap Need help
Not sure how to post a listing? Something odd with your account? There is a Need help button on every page of the site.
Tap it, choose that you are an agent, and ask your question in plain words. Our assistant can walk you through posting, photos, editing and your account.
If it cannot sort it out, you can move the chat to WhatsApp and our team will take it from there.
- Tap Need help, at the bottom of any page.
- Choose that you are an agent.
- Ask how to post, edit, or fix anything on your account.
- Still stuck? Continue on WhatsApp with our team.
Expect a call from us
Once you create your account and start posting, there is a good chance someone from our support team will call you.
Think of them as your coach. They can show you how the site works, help you improve your listings and give you advice to get more from Meridian Estates.
The more you use the site, the better you will know us. We are close by, and we are here so that you succeed.
We are in this with you for the long game
Our team calls agents on every plan to hear how it is going. Paid plans get ongoing WhatsApp and phone check-ins, because when you win, we win. That is the deal.
So here is your next step. Not tomorrow. Now. Open your account and post your first listing.