Finding New Tenants

[Nir]

Hi,

If you managed your properties yourself and just wanted help finding new tenants when needed,
would you contact a property management company or a real estate agent for that purpose?

Thanks,
Neil

 

[RobMacdonald]

Neil,

Is that over and above running an ad? We`ve always had good response through Kijiji and never needed any further assistance.

 

[jarrettvaughan]

I know a few landlords that have done this. Every company does business differently so you would have to ask each property manager is they offer this service.

Why do you want to do this? I am sure that you would be much more likely to find a good long term tenant than someone who is getting paid a one time fee of $500.00. They don`t care if they get you a good tenant, they just want to get the unit filled so they get their cash.

 

[terri]

QUOTE (investmart @ Mar 24 2009, 08:53 PM) Hi,

If you managed your properties yourself and just wanted help finding new tenants when needed,
would you contact a property management company or a real estate agent for that purpose?

Thanks,
Neil



hi Neil,

where is your place? who do you not want to do this yourself? is it because you are too busy or because you think they can do a better job? I agree that no one will have the same incentive to find the best tenant as yourself. One month`s rent is not a lot of money for a real estate agent so they will not spend a lot of time interviewing many prospective tenants to find the best one.

I know that you are around the toronto area, so if you need help I can assist you in writing/posting the ad. I`m not a real estate agent nor a property manager, I`ve always had great success at finding excellent tenants. I`ve helped many of my friends write/post ads, do open houses, interview propective tenants, etc.

If you want to hire someone because you are too busy, that`s different. I think that both a property manager and a real estate agent can be good or bad depending on the person. From inquiring myself they seem to charge the same rate, 1 months fee. I know some will guarantee tenancy for one year, so if the tenant does leave, they will re-rent for free with in the first year.

Terri
http://www.queenwestrentals.com/

 

[Nir]

Thank You Everyone. The reason is my distance from the property. So far my short experience teaches that finding a good tenant is the most time consuming item.

 

[housingrental]

In certain situations - like high end residential or office go with a realtor so they can get it on mls is a better choice - assuming property manager can`t do this
Generally for most rentals a PM will be the better choice than a realtor due to cost / experience
You should have rental agent forward along screening info for you to make a final decision on applicants

 

[Nir]

Yes Adam, that`s exactly the plan - to pull the credit report and still make the final decision. Good points, I`ll contact a property manager first then. Thanks.