Paying a commission to a realtor that finds you tenants?

[Paul Sandhu]

Just got a phone call from a realtor.  She used to cut my hair 10 years ago, before becoming a real estate agent.  She had 5 guys that were looking for a furnished house to stay in while they do there work here in town.  They are going to be here about a year.  My houses that sleep 5 people comfortably go for $1000/week.  We are going to show it to them tonight.

What kind of commission do you think the realtor is going to charge me?  Normally, if a current tenant or other person refers a renter to me, I give them a commission.  $50, $75 or $100; depending on the size of the house.  The 5 person house is a $100 commission house.

[John Underwood]

I would determine a fair amount, in your opinion, and offer her that, don't let her set the price as this is not a MLS listing.

I would hold out $100 and say do you think $100 is fair? She will likely take it. This is money that she doesn't have to share with her broker.

I would only pay once you have the rental locked down.