Rental Listing- Advice on Real Estate Agent

[Gabriel Alvarado]

Hi Team,

I have a 3 bed, 2 bath duplexed unit in West Logan Square that I have been trying to lease since late June. Unfortunately, I have not had much success as I have barely gotten 1 application. I have dropped my rental price (from the original rent listing price recommended by my agent), but I still don't see much traction. 

My question is, how do you guys typically evaluate real estate agent performance? I understand that a rental listing will not generate as much as a sale would, but I think a minimal standard should exist (especially since I plan to buy properties in the future). Any thoughts?

[Russell Brazil]

Agents are pros at sales. Property managers are pros at renting properties out. Consider a PM.

[Gabriel Alvarado]

Thanks, Russell. I am not at the point that I can take advantage of economies of scale, so I plan to continue managing my properties. However, but is it market to enter into an agreement with a property manager on just a lease transaction? Is that something that is common? If so, is 1 month's rent market?

Thanks,

Gabriel 

[Adam Bartomeo]

Most property managers will procure a tenant for you for a fee and you do not have to sign up for them to manage the property. We charge a full months rent for finding the tenant.

[Eudith Vacio]

If its been on the market for a month with only 1 applicant, then that surely sounds like an issue and sounds like it's either not properly marketed or the price is too high. Is it a vacant unit? how does the price compare against other rentals on the market in the area?

[Paul De Luca]

Quote from @Gabriel Alvarado:

Hi Team,

I have a 3 bed, 2 bath duplexed unit in West Logan Square that I have been trying to lease since late June. Unfortunately, I have not had much success as I have barely gotten 1 application. I have dropped my rental price (from the original rent listing price recommended by my agent), but I still don't see much traction. 

My question is, how do you guys typically evaluate real estate agent performance? I understand that a rental listing will not generate as much as a sale would, but I think a minimal standard should exist (especially since I plan to buy properties in the future). Any thoughts?

 It all comes down to price...did your agent provide you rental comps before listing to justify the list price? I recommend asking your agent to get feedback from the showing agents to see what renters are thinking.

[Alyssa Wright]

Does your agent have any recent experience with leasing or just sales?  As Russell mentioned, agents are pro's at sales while PM's are more for leasing; which I totally understand is not feasible for you! I would definitely make sure you have the best agent for you that has a good understanding of the rental market in your area as well as how to get people in the door. 

There's certainly other aspects that you need to consider such as pricing, quality of photos & overall listing, is it clean/repairs are done, if there's tenants are they being decent to people during showings, are you requirements reasonable etc... 

Also, is your agent providing you feedback from their showings? If not, they 100% need to be doing that. Seeing what people are saying/how they feel about your property is a huge help! 

[Michael Smythe]

@Gabriel Alvarado several times in the past, we've found that many agents make the mistake of using their sales tools for rental situations.

#1 mistake is not using the right advertising websites correctly.

So, ask your agent for a list of websites they are advertising your properties on.

May also help if you post JUST the address here - we should be able to do a web search and find it - or there's an obvious advertising problem!
-we can then give you feedback on the advertising itself.

If there are no problems with any of the above, it boils down to a Perceived Value vs Price. All you can do then is drop the price 5% consistently, until activity is acceptable. We recommend price drop every 2 weeks.