Orlando, FL · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 282 votes
I just got a call from a realtor with prospective tenants. Do these situations often work out? What referral fee should I pay? She said the fee was up to me. Thanks.
I would never let anyone else do my screening for me.
I'd be really happy to pay $100 for a decent tenant.
Just a small caveat: some agents like to have some rentals available where they can stash their clients long enough to find them a house. Those are going to end up being short term tenants.
Whether or not it is worth it to you is up to you. Those house-hunting tenants tend to be pretty decent. They have enough income and enough credit to buy a house, but you are probably looking at 6 months max while they find a house and go through escrow.
I think this is pretty rare. Never encountered this myself, but having been a Realtor, I would suggest finding out who the Realtor is representing. If they represent the tenant (exclusinve representation), and will be negotiating rent, etc. for the tenant, chances are they are getting paid by the tenant, and, as landlord, wouldn't offer any fee or commission. If they represent both you and the tenant (dual representation), and have or will provide valuable assistance to you (i.e. provide only tenants that meet your qualifications, do background checks, etc.) then a split fee might be in order. I wouldn't want a Realtor who only represents me, or only charges me for finding tenants. Also, check around if you can and find out what's a normal fee in your area, and don't agree to anything not in writting, and get full disclosure from the Realtor.
For the fee, I found out, the realtor could do the screening herself.
The question is, should I trust them to do the screening correctly? How do I know they're just saying they do do screening, or maybe they do it, but not thoroughly. Help!
Quiz them on their screening process; you have enough info in the landlord forums to know whether that is better / more than what you could do.
I'll bet that you will not use them for screening ... because they have an incentive to have their applicant get accepted - it's called a commission. :D
Quiz them on their screening process; you have enough info in the landlord forums to know whether that is better / more than what you could do.
I'll bet that you will not use them for screening ... because they have an incentive to have their applicant get accepted - it's called a commission. :D
No, I don't want to use her for screening. I guess if she could find someone soon who passes my screen, it would be worth it to pay her $100 and finally rent this thing out. It's not really that much different from paying another tenant in an apartment building a referral fee for referring one of their friends.
In some cases the property manager gets the first months rent and then 10% since she isn't managing the unit. I would suggest maybe a portion of the first months rent.
I would never let anyone else do my screening for me.
I'd be really happy to pay $100 for a decent tenant.
Just a small caveat: some agents like to have some rentals available where they can stash their clients long enough to find them a house. Those are going to end up being short term tenants.
Whether or not it is worth it to you is up to you. Those house-hunting tenants tend to be pretty decent. They have enough income and enough credit to buy a house, but you are probably looking at 6 months max while they find a house and go through escrow.
In Houston, i had a realtor rent my house for me, as it was my first time renting.
She provided a excellent lease that covered everything. She got my tenants, showed my property, did the screening and background checks, and handle the papers. Then she told me about all the tenants and helped me pick the best one. At the end she brought me a copy of the lease and my check for security deposit. She split the first months rent (1150) with the renters agent, which i think is typical. Having said all that, i will be renting out all my properties on my own in the future.