My listing agent can't rent my unit! What do I do?!

[Sean McKee]

Hello BP!

I'm actually not that stuck with my broker and have recently parted ways. However this experience has definitely got me thinking about how to avoid this situation in the future. I've been overseas for sometime now and have become "out of country homeowner". Happily this is temporary and I return back to the US in a few weeks. This experience has definitely shown me how "passive" my investments are and some serious gaps in my systems(definitely a post for a different day). Long story short, I had a tenant move out suddenly and left me with an unexpected vacancy. Normally I would just show this myself, but being on the other side of the world makes this a little bit harder. My normal broker was not available, so I scrambled to get a new one. Naturally I went with the first one I found and since I was preoccupied with other matters there was not an in-depth conversation. 

Fast forward a few weeks, I find out the broker is not really that motivated and is showing it maybe an hour a week at the worst times. I've located a new broker and moved past this, but I am still bothered by my lack of screening in the first place. I have some thoughts on what needs to be done going forward as I transition more of my business to outside managers.

I would however love to hear other people's thoughts and experiences with screening listing agents to ensure they have the fastest turn and get the best tenants? 

[John Warren]

@Sean McKee having done some leasing for trusted clients, I can tell you it is literally one of our least favorite activities. I have a system I use to fill units in my 114 unit, and the system allows me to show the unit... 1 or maybe 2 times per week. When I have leased for other people, I have realized that they often times do not manage their properties the way I do. We get tenant calls for weeks afterwards because no one has reached out... also there is a lot of liability. I had my first HUD sniffer try to trap me and my team on a fair housing issue which we fortunately did not violate, but it was very stressful.

A lot of folks want it both ways. They want to self manage and outsource the hard parts. What you really need here is a property manager. Even if you need the PM for just a year or two, that is what you actually need when you are out of the country.