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Rentals on MLS

RedlineBrett

RedlineBrett

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This is coming to Calgary as of February 4th.



I know they are already on the MLS and are actively traded in Ontario... I'm curious about market reception to a few things and would love a chance to speak with an ontario broker / realtor / property manager that has a good undertstanding of the brokering side of rental transactions.



If anyone knows of such a person I would much appreciate an introduction!
 
[quote user=RedlineBrett]This is coming to Calgary as of February 4th. ...


There will be some great spin-offs from this initiative. I can see some opportunities for aspiring realtors. Should we all go get our RE and PM designations and become a one stop shop? These new move by the board will secure clienteles from start to finish, by servicing them everything they need from acquisition, management, to sales.
 
More revenue opportunities for realtors and the MLS system. This ( renting and selling through brokerages) is quite common in Europe, now coming to the new world, too. It will take some time for cultural norms to adjust to paying two to three months commissions for a rental unit, perhaps a few years to a decade. But this is accepted practice in many European markets with historically tight and highly regulated rental market.
 
[quote user=JBagorio] [quote user=RedlineBrett]This is coming to Calgary as of February 4th. ...


There will be some great spin-offs from this initiative. I can see some opportunities for aspiring realtors. Should we all go get our RE and PM designations and become a one stop shop? These new move by the board will secure clienteles from start to finish, by servicing them everything they need from acquisition, management, to sales.




I thought the same thing in 2009 ;)
 
[quote user=ThomasBeyer]More revenue opportunities for realtors and the MLS system. This ( renting and selling through brokerages) is quite common in Europe, now coming to the new world, too. It will take some time for cultural norms to adjust to paying two to three months commissions for a rental unit, perhaps a few years to a decade. But this is accepted practice in many European markets with historically tight and highly regulated rental market.




Well that's my take on it too, that over time we'll see leasing fees go up, and consequently rents as well as landlords look to pass these costs on to tenants the same way that sellers do with realtor fees. I don't think we'll see an early adoption of this system for traditional rental product, but for the more expensive stuff (fully furnished market, large single family homes) it will take off.



I also think it will mean the slow death of smaller rental websites in Calgary as the MLS system will take over much the same way as it rules the roost for sales activity.



Landlords will now have a legitimate way of seeing 'multiple offers' on their rental units.. and for nice stuff in the right locations I think they'll get it. We could see some wild pricing as a result.



Anyways, if anyone knows of a broker making it work in this market segment elsewhere in Canada, please don't hesitate to put me in touch!
 
I opened my brokerage (after 25 yrs with the franchises) about six months ago and did minimal promotion for offering mls rental services.


I saw the need for it as I sell a lot of Hamilton investment properties and my clients expressed the need for it and the willingness to pay as a major bulk are out of town/too busy etc.


we are actually getting some interest lately and it seems to be taking off nicely.
 
This type of practice is common in China. There are no property management companies in China. Realtors do all the work, buy and sell and rent for clients.



In Vancouver, there are many small property management companies competing agaist each other. I have worked with a few before, and recently worked with 3 companies for leasing an unfurnished rental in downtown. They charge half a month leasing fee (find a tenant for you), and 8-10% monthly fee for monthly management. Most of them also charge a few hundred dollars of set up fee, plus tax, in the end, the fee you pay is about 13-15% of gross rental.



The end result, none of them rented out our condo, we rented out ourselves. My experience is their qualification process is not very strong. They call you and take the prospects there, but none of them end up applying. It turned out the clients have certain needs that the property managers could find out before spending time to show the property. I think that most of them needs proper training, and their compensation policy needs to be attractive enough to motivate the staff.
 
Interesting. Maybe I'm too hands on a landlord, but I can't see myself paying a 2-3 month fee for a rental. Maybe on a higher end property with a long lease. (Renting a penthouse/detatched house to an expat worker's employer on a 2 year lease).



I think success will be determined primarily by value add. A realtor who qualifies tenants and does a good job doing showings at flexible times might add enough value for a more sizable commission. However, I think the people with the skill to do that would probably rather deal with sales for 5x the commission.



Edited to add: If its on MLS I assume commission sharing is going to be a requirement?
 
[quote user=bizaro86]Interesting. Maybe I'm too hands on a landlord, but I can't see myself paying a 2-3 month fee for a rental. Maybe on a higher end property with a long lease. (Renting a penthouse/detatched house to an expat worker's employer on a 2 year lease).



I think success will be determined primarily by value add. A realtor who qualifies tenants and does a good job doing showings at flexible times might add enough value for a more sizable commission. However, I think the people with the skill to do that would probably rather deal with sales for 5x the commission.



Edited to add: If its on MLS I assume commission sharing is going to be a requirement?




I think you're right for the most part. We won't see basement suites in bumtown on the MLS initially, but we will see the more expensive stuff there.



I also think you will see a tonne of $0.01 commissions being offered, and most agents doing this will be 'double ending' the leasing transaction due to the lower commissions. At least that's my plan for it at first for our portfolio, unless we run into leasing trouble and need to offer more
 
I know from talking with our Edmonton board folks that it's an adminstrative nightmare and it'll take a while to sort out the rules and enforcement. That's why Calgary stopped doing MLS rentals in the past. I can see some benefit when great agents like you do it, but there's a lot of people without the skills or ethics to make the system work and ensure the integrity of the data/system.
 
Biggest issue I have heard of is that realtors do not adequately screen tenants then when landlord has issues realtor is not responsible.

Screening of tenants is in many ways an art that non landlords rarely care to pursue.

Thanks but no thanks I will find and screen my own applicants.
 
Brett, I'm an Realtor here in Toronto, and have done a number of rentals thru MLS. Feel free to contact me directly, or you can ask more specific questions here in this thread, and I'll do my best to address your concerns/questions.
 
Have you studied the RTA.

Do you provide a lease that is compliant with the RTA.

To what extent do you screen applicants.
 
A large portion of rentals is not done through MLS

In many secondary markets MLS listings for rentals will be few, and often non rental stock options ie higher priced - median apartment for $900 = kijij, rarely if ever on mls - house for $1800 - some chance of it on mls, vast majority still not

There seems to be a higher portion of mls rental listings in Toronto

In Waterloo, with a population ~ 100,000, there's less than 20 rental listings on mls
 
[quote user=housingrental]A large portion of rentals is not done through MLS

In many secondary markets MLS listings for rentals will be few, and often non rental stock options ie higher priced - median apartment for $900 = kijij, rarely if ever on mls - house for $1800 - some chance of it on mls, vast majority still not

There seems to be a higher portion of mls rental listings in Toronto

In Waterloo, with a population ~ 100,000, there's less than 20 rental listings on mls




One week in it's looking very similar in Calgary... but that's what I expected. We do have a 'high end' rental market here though, and that's what I'm hoping to take advantage of on the MLS leasing side.
 
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