Stating renting my condo by myself, without a realtor

Miami, Florida
General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Stating renting my condo by myself, without a realtor

Miro Fernandez
Member since 2021 · 1 post · 0 votes

Hi everyone,

I've bought a condo two years ago, and I was always renting it with a realtor. 

As you know, the realtor commission is 10%, but now I want to be able to rent it by myself so I won't have to pay the 10% fees considering the fact that I've always found my tenant, they never came through the realtor.

I already know how to find a tenant, but I don't really know how to do a thourough screening process. I'm not american, so I don't  know all the "trick' when it comes to check someone in the US. I'm considering to do a real estate online course in order to know everything about renting my property. Do you have any recommendations about which online class whould I take ? I really want to be prepare to do that in a professional way !

Also, I know I will have to take a lawyer to make the lease agreement and contract to lease. Apart from that, should I be aware of anything else ?

Thanks for your help !

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Bjorn AhlbladPro Member
Investor · Shelton, WA · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 6k+ votes
3y

@Miro Fernandez You don't need a lawyer, and don't go to Realtor school for screening lessons. You can get leases here, by upgrading your membership or join a local LL group and get your lease there, networking and training. Often they will also have screening classes there and run background and credit reports for your applicants. There is also a national apartment owners org that runs screening classes. Google for these associations and check them out to see what they offer. All the best!

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  • Bjorn AhlbladPro Member
    Investor · Shelton, WA · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    3y

    @Miro Fernandez You don't need a lawyer, and don't go to Realtor school for screening lessons. You can get leases here, by upgrading your membership or join a local LL group and get your lease there, networking and training. Often they will also have screening classes there and run background and credit reports for your applicants. There is also a national apartment owners org that runs screening classes. Google for these associations and check them out to see what they offer. All the best!

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  • Kirsten M.
    Realtor · Albuquerque, NM · Member since 2017 · 121 posts · 68 votes
    3y

    The easiest way to do it is to list your rental on Zillow.com and then have any potential tenants apply through Zillow. It's free for you and the prospective tenants can reuse their applications for multiple properties that accept Zillow applications. Zillow will provide you a background check and credit check. You'll want to determine the lowest credit score you'll accept to help you choose which tenant(s) will be the best fit for your home. Best of luck!

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  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Miro Fernandez:

    I would just like to point out that choosing the wrong renter or failing to have solid policies and procedures in place to deal with problems may end up costing you more than 10%.

    You can buy a Lease Agreement Package on BiggerPockets under TOOLS. It's $100 or it's included when you upgrade to PRO. It's better than most leases and cheaper than an attorney.

    Screening is not easy and often done poorly. You'll have to do some research and learn how to do this well. Develop your standards, figure out marketing, find an application/screening software, etc. Develop a plan for how you'll handle denials, multiple applications at once, and even the approval. This entire process has a lot of moving parts and a lot of things that can go wrong.

    Do you know the market well enough to ensure you're getting market rates?

    Are you capable of handling problems like a tenant that pays late, or doesn't pay at all? Or moves in a pet? Or a family of six? Or subleases on AirBnB? Or violates the HOA parking rules over and over again?

    A good property manager does a lot more than just collect rent. Maybe you should spend your energy looking for a more skilled property manager instead of trying to save 10%?

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