[escapedtonz]

Hi there, we will be moving to the Bay of Plenty, Papamoa if possible in about a years time and will be looking to house swap or rent in the area. We live in Ottawa, Canada.
If anyone knows of another site that is useful for this type of thing I would love to know about it.

Thanks
Tony

Hi and welcome to the forum,

All rentals or at least the majority of rentals will be advertised on www.trademe.co.nz
Normally you will only find a rental being advertised on TradeMe from maybe 3 weeks before it is available.
You gotta understand that the rental notice period is generally 4 weeks, so a current tenant only needs to give 4 weeks notice that they are leaving a property. Take in to account that the agent/property manager then has to advertise the property, may have to take pictures etc it'll be advertised at the most 3 weeks before the current tenant leaves...usually this is around 2 weeks in my experience.
You are unlikely to secure any rental without being here in person. The agents want to see you, want to talk to you, want to understand the risk to the property, want you to complete tenancy applications and provide references before they commit to offering you any property. A good idea is to sign up with a rental agent, let them get to know you and they will find you a property. In a nut shell you'll be on a waiting list and as each suitable rental goes through their books you'll move up the list.
The agents/property manager/owners are in complete control of who they offer a property to. It is not first come first served. Normally several couples/families will be invited to a rental open home to view a property that is coming up as available. Out of the completed tenancy applications from that open day, the agent/property manager/owner will then select and offer. If you have previously registered with an agent this will give you more potential to be selected. Sometimes it is a bidding war and the winner is the couple/family that offers the most (depends on area and demand for rentals).

Unable to help you with a house swap. There'll be a website for that if it is possible.

Why Pommiemoa....sorry, Papamoa ?
Pap is a huge subdivision and stretches a long way to the East which is where you'll find properties being advertised for Golden Sands (Papamoa East) which is at least another 15 mins. Just be aware this is a looooong way from the Mount or Tauranga