Tenant Placement fee

[Himateja Madala]

Folks,

I had an agent place a tenant for me and charged me 8% of my yearly rent which is about 1 month's rent. Now tenant is creating a lot of trouble by blowing everything out of proportion and making it hard for me to work with her. Tenant wants to move out within one month of moving in .

In this case what responsibility does the Realtor hold. anything at all?

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Himateja Madala:

Did you have a written contract with the agent, detailing exactly what they would do? Did they offer any kind of refund if things go sideways? Did you verify that the agent is screening applicants and what that screening process looks like?

When you pay a professional property manager to place a Tenant, they are going to pick a good tenant because they know they will be dealing with that tenant for the next year. You hired an agent that places the tenant and then walks away. All they care about is putting someone in your home and getting a paycheck, so they are naturally inclined to take the quick and easy path. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they didn't even screen the applicant.

A placement agent has no incentive to perform well and is probably far less experienced at screening. My office screens over 1,000 applications a year. The agent you hired probably does a dozen, if any at all, yet they are charging what a professional management company charges.