Vacancies and slow turnovers are a deadly combo for any rental business. A rental home relies on rental income to continue operating, just like how oxygen is for humans. Several factors can prolong vacancy and turnover, such as weak marketing, poorly maintained facilities, and inefficient rental agents.

Having excellent residential rental agents is a real game-changer. The goal of rental agents is to find the best tenants as quickly as possible. It should be a combination of speed and quality. However, incompetent rental agents are incapable of achieving that. A landlord must know how to identify red flags that indicate that they need to change their agent.

Poor Communication Skills

If your rental agent constantly forgets to inform you of any progress in the tenant search, such as a schedule of an interested tenant to visit the property. Imagine if a potential tenant arrives in the unit the same day you have repair personnel or cleaners come in. It would be a chaotic walkthrough, which could hinder the potential tenant from fully appreciating the unit.

If a rental agent fails to communicate with you in a timely and transparent manner, it could lead to conflict, confusion, and missed opportunities. The landlord and rental agents must clue each other in on any vital information to remain on the same page at all times.

Does not listen

Marketing the property should be a collaborative effort between the landlord and the rental agent. An exchange of ideas is a healthy way of collaborating and figuring out the best to market the property. However, some agents fail to listen to the landlord because they feel that they know better.

If the communication is one-way and the agent is not a good listener, it may be a problem even once he starts negotiating with potential tenants. They might miss important information from rental applicants. Miscommunication with rental applicants can cause several misunderstandings that can lead to financial or even legal conflicts in the future.

Lack of interest

How can a rental agent market the property if he is not that interested to learn about it? If your rental agent doesn’t ask many questions about the property, the housing policies, etc., then it could be a warning sign that he will not successfully find a tenant for it.

A good rental agent will make an effort to learn details about the property (both strengths and weakness), as well as your preferences and goals for your rental home. The desire to learn those things shows that they are formulating a strategic approach to market your property while at the same time making sure that you will be satisfied.

Inexperienced

Hiring newbie rental agents is a risk. Of course, it is not their fault. Everyone has to start somewhere, right? Even the most seasoned agents started without any experience. However, prolonged vacancies are massive profit-killers.

It would be a nice thing to allow new rental agents to gain experience, but only if you can afford a delay in turnover. However, if you already have a hard time filling vacancies, it’s better to rely on seasoned agents who already have several closed deals under their belt. It also matters if they have experience finding tenants for properties with similar rental prices as yours.

Unprofessional

When you hire a rental agent, he somehow becomes a representation of your business. How he presents himself to you and rental applicants must show professionalism. They should be on time, courteous, and respectable. He needs to be professional not only with how he behaves but also how he dresses. If a rental agent conducts a walkthrough wearing shorts and flip-flops, it would be off-putting.

Pushy

A rental whose only focus is to get his commission would pressure you to offer lower rent so they can close a deal. That is an alarming red flag. He might suggest it based on current rates in the market, which is okay. But if it’s clearly not in your best interest, and lowering rent is not justifiable, then it’s better to switch to a rental agent who can find tenants who can afford your rental rate.

Non-strategic

If your rental agent has no clear strategy for marketing your property, you might not get tenants anytime soon. There are so many ways to attract tenants, but not all of them work. They can publish a listing on platforms like Padleads where they can syndicate the listing to high-traffic websites. A good rental agent must know how to keep up with the times by mixing traditional and digital approaches to marketing.