All Forum Posts by: Alex O.

For me, it's having laundry in the unit. I added a W/D combo into a unit that had none and it more than quickly paid for itself. The old tenants had to go to a laundromat, so it was priced accordingly.

But definitely look at what the comps are and what they are getting for rent. That will let you know if it's worth the time and money.

Townsend Derick I appreciate the input, but I never mentioned anything about PM solicitation; I've gotten those as well, but don't find them a good ROI for me right now. The only people here in my area that really use legit agents (that post to the MLS and are part of actual brokerages) are those homeowners looking to rent out their McMansion or high end condo. The $6k/mo rent prospect isn't usually on CL, so I get it.

The reason I blow off an agent, and I don't know what it's like in your area; but here, we have over a dozen rental agencies in just my local neighborhood region and hundeds of "agents". These agents aren't really licensed and the sole hiring requirement is if they can fog a mirror. They will also not give you access to the MLS; they will use CL and Oodle! Most of the agencies have horrible yelp reviews and worse reputations; they are known for giving landlords BS background checks and not being good partners. Their clientele is folks from out of town who have no clue about the neighborhoods or the city. They'll get them once when they come to the city and then they wise up! Plus they all want their standard one month's rent fee.

To them it's a numbers game, a cattle call of prospects meets a cattle call of rentals. Management companies generally use these services just because of their scale. But an agent who trolls CL, sees my ad that says "no agents" and calls me with their supposed prospect, is just trying to solicit me for business and bring my unit into their pool. To me, I'd rather drop my price a bit than give out a month's rent upfront. It would cost the same or less, but I would be losing that profit over a period of months and have the chance to jack the rent back up on renewal.

Hi All,

I just wanted to get your thoughts and insights. Every time I list an apartment for rent, I always get solicited from rental agencies and agents wanting a month's rent to take over listing my unit. I don't see a lot of value added for their fee, as most of these people just spam CL like crazy. I can do that on my own!

Lately, I've gotten a new tactic, an agent calling and saying they have a client that would be either perfect for the space or is interested in seeing it. I've always caught them off guard by saying that while I won't pay an agent's fee, that if they really think it's in the best interest of their client and the place is perfect, they are free to give them my number. Usually there's some silence and a "I'll let them know". Of course I never hear back.

I was wondering if this happens to you, or if you actually think they have a real prospect for the property? If I didn't value my time so much, I'd actually call their bluff and see if they put on a show by bringing someone out! Do you think there's real value in using these agents? I know they will put it on the MLS, but how much value does that really add beyond the usual free to me marketing tools?

Thanks!

Thanks Scott, it's been a landlord market here through the summer. I just hope it hasn't totally cooled off. I've researched listings and supply seems a little less right now, so that can cut both ways. My hope is this just rents out ASAP and we can just all move on.

Thanks Mark! I've kind of done a hybrid of what you said and what the others have suggested. They've agreed to forfeit the deposit as the stated re-letting charge. This is pending satisfactory return of the unit with no damage. They are going to keep paying until we can get someone to rent again and agreed to pay the difference in rent should we not be able to get the full amount. They also agreed to accommodate all showings of the unit. I also reiterated that bringing the dog in is not an option and would only greatly complicate everything. They say they are heavily looking right now for a new place. Hopefully they don't list me as a reference! :)

Obviously this all sounds great, but we'll see how it plays out.

Thanks Jon and Aaron; I'm reaching out to the tenant to see how we can resolve this quickly and easily. Hopefully we can get her to cooperate, set an exit date and start showing the place ASAP. It shows real well and last time we only got 2 quick showings and both applied right away. Both were qualified but I guess I just picked the wrong one! I'm just worried about the timing, the market here starts to calm down when the summer ends. Not to say that there aren't people looking, but the pool is a lot more shallow now than it was 2 months ago.

Thanks for the input! I was seriously thinking of just renting the place out again and as long as I am not taking a loss, I would release her. I am more wanting to keep the reletting fee because, candidly, I'm pissed off. I don't want, nor did I expect, to have to deal with this and waste time. Financially, for them, money isn't the issue, rent is only 13% of their combined income.

Edit: I also told them that instead of paying, I would just keep the security deposit if the place was left in satisfactory condition as the reletting charge.

Hi All,

Long time lurker here; I just want to make sure I'm playing this right. I have a unit in my 4 Flat where we just leased to the tenant in August. She was separating from her husband and flew through the screening with no problem. When we list all units, we are very clear about the no pets policy, no exceptions. It's in the leases and we had a conversation with the tenant that reinforced this. We had absolutely no indication that this would ever be an issue.

Fast forward to Friday, I get an email that the tenant is reconciling with her husband and he wants to move in. I send a link to the screening site we use and tell them we have no problem adding him to the lease assuming he passes the screening like everyone else. On paper it all seems fine, except he wants to bring his 50 lbs dog, which is clearly forbidden. There was an email with pushback, talking about how wonderful (blah blah blah) the dog is - but I made it clear it's non-negotiable.

I then get a 4 paragraph email (from the husband) with way too much personal information that boiled down to them asking how she can get out of the lease if we cannot accept the dog. My reply was that the lease is still being enforced and that should they want to sublet, they would need to pay the fee per the lease (one month's rent) and any new tenant would need to clear screening. That no matter what, I expect full amount of rent paid on time each month for the duration of the lease. I even offered to assist with finding a new tenant if she would be flexible with showings.

I think my mistake was even replying to the husband, as he is not on the lease and I have absolutely no business with him. I did offer to meet them today, but they went completely quiet. During this whole time, aside from the initial request about the husband, my tenant has kept quiet. I have not acknowledged their personal issues and will not get involved with those; all I care about is my money and the apartment.

Aside from learning not to lease to someone who is admittedly "separating" from their spouse. Is there anything I should/could be doing differently?

Thanks!

I haven't been at this very long myself and am a longtime lurker. But I wanted to point out something else I picked up on in your original post. You stated: "despite sometimes being late on his half of the rent".

I don't know about the rest of you, but I demand rent in full in 1 form of payment (1 check, 1 electronic bank transfer, 1 money order, etc...). I make it clear that I do not accept half payments; 2 people on the lease are jointly responsible for paying and it's their business how that's divided between themselves. I don't want to chase down one roommate for their half or a bounced check. They are jointly liable and need to know the consequences.

Jon was right-start formalizing your procedures now.