Direct Wonen alerts: set up your search profile and email alerts

Direct Wonen lists houses, apartments, studios, rooms and family homes across the Netherlands. It says it has been active in renting for more than 30 years. The site is available in Dutch and English.

Landlords and housemates post their listings for free. Direct Wonen doesn't manage properties itself. When you find a home, you deal with the advertiser directly about the viewing and the rental agreement.

With a free account you set a search area and your preferences. Direct Wonen then matches your profile to new listings automatically and sends you email alerts. On the alert page you can edit your alerts or switch them off. Direct Wonen also has an app.

The paid Smart-account changes what you see. Direct Wonen says Smart-account users see listings three days earlier and get first access to ads marked Smart Only.

1. 1Create a free account on Direct Wonen.
2. 2Set your search area: the city or region where you want to live.
3. 3Add your preferences, such as maximum rent, type of home and size.
4. 4Save your profile. Direct Wonen now matches it to new listings and emails you.
5. 5Open the alert page to check your settings, edit them later or switch alerts off once you've found a home.

Keep your search area realistic for your budget. A profile that's too narrow sends few alerts, and one that's too wide fills your inbox with homes you won't reply to.

With a free account you can respond twice to "top" ads. For regular contact beyond that, including responding to request a viewing, you need a Smart-account.

The Smart-account also includes help completing your profile and uploading documents, plus an intro video. Because you deal with the advertiser directly, a complete profile does a lot of the talking for you.

• Use your two free responses on homes that really fit your budget and area.
• Before you reply, have your ID, income details and a short introduction ready.
• Ask for a viewing in your first message and suggest a few times that work for you.

Your Direct Wonen alerts cover listings on Direct Wonen. Many homes are also published on other rental platforms and on makelaars' own websites, and those won't show up in your Direct Wonen emails.

A few habits help you act quickly when an alert lands:

• Turn on phone notifications for the email address you use for alerts.
• Keep a short reply text ready and change the first line for each home.
• Read the whole listing before you reply, so your message answers the advertiser's questions.

Keep your Direct Wonen alerts on. Renthaven works next to them. Renthaven also watches Direct Wonen, plus rental agencies' own websites and other rental sites. It matches new listings to your search profile and alerts you, so you can reply early.

You always reply on the original listing. For a Direct Wonen home, Direct Wonen's own rules for responding still apply. Renthaven doesn't contact advertisers for you.

• Draw the exact streets you want on a map, or pick neighbourhoods, a radius or a travel time.
• Filter on maximum rent, rooms, size and property type.
• With Premium, get a push notification and an email the moment a match appears.
• Save reply templates that fill in the address, and invite a search buddy to share your Premium access.
• Start free with one search profile and email alerts with a one-hour delay. Premium costs €15 for one month, less per month on 2- or 3-month plans, cancel anytime.