Are you a landlord with a vacant rental property and having a hard time filling up that vacancy? You might be getting a little bit discouraged and impatient, but have you considered hiring a realtor to assist you?
A realtor or a real estate agent is often hired by landlords to help them find tenants for their properties. Some landlords may not have the time to conduct open houses, viewings, virtual tours, advertising, and screening tenants. Some are relatively new to the business and don’t know how to properly find the most ideal tenants. This is when landlords opt to get the help of real estate agents with expertise in renting out properties.
Let’s list down some advantages in using real estate agents.
• Scheduling viewings of the property
The process of setting a date and time for a property viewing can be already tedious in itself and can take up a lot of your time. The schedule should be ideal for both applicants and the landlord. If both parties are busy, a middle man can be helpful.
A realtor can arrange the schedule for you. This way, you can utilize your time well for other things and all you need to do is be there for the scheduled viewing that was agreed upon.
• Advertisement and Marketing
Real estate agents are experts on this kind of job. They study what your target market usually looks for before they advertise. They have multiple ways of doing it too.
They can hold open houses in order to host a lot of potential tenants at the same time. Others go the extra mile of staging a property complete with furnishings and appliances to give a clear picture of what it will feel like to live there.
Ever since marketing expanded to the online hemisphere, the first thing your rental agent might do is make a listing for your vacant property at platforms like Padleads. They will then syndicate that listing to various rental websites frequented by house hunters. Other site visitors can also check out the listing and maybe recommend tenants that they think will be a perfect fit for the unit.
• Showing the property to tenants
There are instances that not only the realtors schedule the viewings, they also go to the actual viewing on behalf of the property owner.
This is helpful if the landlord cannot show up to a viewing but still wants to entertain potential tenants. Their time will not be wasted if the applicants are a no-show.
• Help screen tenants
With all their experiences, real estate agents know what to look out for when screening tenants. They will have access to their applications and will be able to determine if the information they gave is valid or not.
• Knowledgeable on the market prices
Realtors have seen a lot of different properties to know the value of yours. They can help you in determining the fair rent price so that tenants will also get their money’s worth.
• Vast network
Real estate agents have built a large network that could play to their advantage when trying to market a property. They have so many contacts and people they have met through various dealings in the past.
• Can write up a lease agreement
Well, maybe not the whole thing but they can assist you in making your lease agreement especially if you are a newbie landlord. They already know what to include and what to specify. They are also aware of certain state laws that should be your basis on what terms to include. For example, stating terms regarding increasing rent mid-lease or setting rules for late fees.
• Useful for high-priced properties
High-priced properties are a bit of a challenge to market. Usually, when people are looking for a place to live in, a big factor that they take into account is the price of rent. Not everyone is willing to pay a large amount every month for a place that they will never own.
With realtors, they know who to market that property to. They know the people who will be willing to pay for high-priced rentals, and they know how to entice them.
• Beneficial for multiple property vacancies
If you are juggling multiple properties, you will definitely need assistance. You can’t be running around from place to place to conduct viewings, open houses, and advertising at the same time.
Realtors can significantly help lessen your work and can increase the odds of filling up your vacancies.
• Payment will only be done after a done deal
One good thing with asking for a real estate agent’s service is that you will only pay them once a vacancy has been filled. This is usually done through commission. With all the work that they have done, it’s only right for landlords to give them their fair share.
You may want to do all these yourself and have a go at doing your own thing to find tenants, but just keep in mind that you have an option to seek the help of more experienced professionals if it doesn’t work out.