First Time Using Rental Agents in Boston as a Landlord

[Beau Blinder]

Hey guys,

I've been wrapping up the work my place needed and have been testing the waters with getting it rented. Thus far, I've been posting on craigslist, but quickly found that my time was being wasted by a lot of tire-kickers and people who weren't qualified. I tried a bunch of variations of my listing, some being more explicit about my criteria, but generally wasn't successful in finding people who met my pretty reasonable renting standards.

I've since enlisted a few rental agents in the search. I'm working with three right now and I wondered if there is any trick to this process? I have given them all the same information and if I change information (such as going half security), I plan on notifying all of them of the change so that the apartment is always consistently listed.

Are there any tips or tricks to helping get your place rented more quickly in the off-season? Do most people list with one agent and then let them syndicate it on MLS or am I better off spreading out and working with multiple agents directly? Is picking up the agent's fee really going to make a huge difference to finding solid tenants?

Really looking forward to your feedback,

Beau

[Ann Bellamy]

@Beau Blinder , I am totally with @Shaun Reilly on this.  Pretty much everything he said, I also do the same way, except that I intentionally schedule everyone at the same time.  It makes the tenants know that there are multiple people interested and if they are interested, they need to react quickly.

I use Craigslist and Postlets exclusively, and never use an agent.  If an agent calls me and asks if I'll pay a fee if they bring me a good applicant, of course I say yes, but it has never happened.  Maybe if my units were in Boston it would be different.  My market in NH is different than yours, but the principle is still the same.  

I actively phone screen, including asking income so I don't waste their time if they don't qualify.  (or mine, which is actually more to the point)   You can legally screen for bad attitude, so I frequently will decline to show on that basis alone.

Your biggest issue right now is that very few people (comparatively) are looking for units at this time of year, you are coming up to the holidays by the time you process the application and they give their notice.  If they need to move by 11/1, that is a red flag, try to find the underlying reason.  It's also tough to rent in January, who wants to move in a snowstorm?

I have been through this multiple times at this time of year.  Having a vacancy always makes me anxious, but from experience, I know it's the time of year that is the problem, not me, and not my units.  Grit your teeth and stick to your screening.  

An empty unit is far less expensive than a bad tenant.  Keep repeating that to yourself.  Even if you haven't learned that from experience yet, many others already have, so believe that it is true.  Screening for good tenants is by far the most important part of rental units.  More important that what you provide in the unit, or even the location.  Good unit and location will give you more applicants to choose from but a bad tenant will turn you into a motivated seller.  Screen, screen, screen.  

I haven't addressed your questions about rental agents, since I don't use them, but I hope I've given helpful information.