What to Expect When Using a Rental Agent

Discover and learn how to rent your property with a Rental Agent

You may want to consider hiring a Rental Agent to find qualified tenants if you’re new to becoming a Landlord, don’t want to deal with the pressure of finding a quality person or you may live far away from your rental property or simply just don’t have the time.

Marketing a property and finding quality tenants can be stressful for property owners.  As an owner you might feel the financial squeeze and would be more willing to take on a tenant you’ve met and feel comfortable with but haven’t done your due diligence on.  After all you are looking to cover costs and get someone in there quickly. As with many things in life, rushing a decision can come back to haunt you! Not doing all the required background checks before signing a lease can lead to some tough situations. You don’t want to have a bad tenant and know that you rushed that situation or based it on personality.  This can lead to a bad experience or a lot of frustration that can effect other areas of your life, or even worse force you to end up selling your investment based on a bad experience and not on financial advice.

Hiring a quality Rental Agency or experienced Rental Agent gives you the reassurance that all the proper steps will be taken no matter who applies for your rental property. The emotional factor is removed and a quality Rental Agent will only present you with a quality applicant and not someone who’s Credit Utilization is too high or has a low beacon score on their Credit Report.

Even though a showing can take only five to fifteen minutes, the travel and preparation can add up. It does happen from time to time that prospective tenants make an appointment and then don’t even show up or call and cancel prior! If it took you an hour to drive to the property, you’ll wait 30 minutes for them, they don’t show up and then have to drive back home for another hour! That’s almost 3 hours of your day! If you work, have a family or treasure your time this can be real frustrating and disappointing. With an Agent they usually pre-screen people and set up multiple showings around the same time so their at least getting some people through the unit.

Rental Agents are skilled at marketing your property and knowing what the going rates are in your area. A good Agency website provides options for renters to pre qualify with a company or register prior to looking for a rental property. They’re familiar with creating rental ads so they have the resources to create ads with quality pictures and detailed descriptions of the unit, building and area.

Most tenants put aside an hour or two to send out emails and contact rental properties they have found advertised online and your Rental Agent will respond to them immediately so that they are the first among many ads to be heard from. If you work full time you might not be able to respond as quickly as needed in a competitive rental market. Rental Agents with quality websites and other networking programs usually have prospective tenants already looking for properties which can be a great start.

Rental market trends constantly change and your Rental Agent will know when pricing is trending up or down and track how much action your property is getting. While trying to maximize your income they will minimize the risk of having the unit sit empty due to the price being too high.

Rental Agencies like www.rentingtoronto.com have access to tenant screening services that do the following;

  • Personal Credit Reports
  • Fraud Check
  • Rental Court Check for previous evictions
  • Complete tenant work history profile
  • Copies of recent pay stubs and a letter of employment
  • Provide a detailed lease agreement
  • Be there for any questions or information required
  • HST is included in their one month equivalent fee that is tax deductible

Using an Agency usually costs the equivalent of one months rent and you are able to write that off as an expense against the income you bring in on the property. Just like if you were to buy a new stove for the property and write that off as an expense.

If you do live far away from the unit or just don’t want to deal with the day to day items of managing your property you can hire your Agency as a Property Manager which is usually a monthly percentage of the rental income. If your monthly rent is $1,800 and you pay the Property Manager 10% of the monthly rent, you will end up paying $180 per month or $1,800 for the year. Keep in mind this is additional to the one month you paid for the Rental Agency to find a qualified tenant. As a Property Manager they will meet any Insurance Claims people if something were to go wrong. They will get quotes from trades people or a repairperson and organize with the current tenant for access to the property. They will also organize delivery of appliances and arrange elevator bookings with the property management if located in a condo building.

When you find the right Rental Agent you will use them for years to come. They will become familiar with what you require and understand your needs without having to tell them anything. The tenant pays first and last months rent when signing a lease agreement so this covers all your Rental Agent expenses (one months rental fee) and you’ll have the comfort of knowing your tenant is of great quality and reliability.

Unlike Real Estate Agents RentingToronto.com offers a warranty on the tenants they place in your property! That is unheard of in the rental industry and puts them ahead of any other type of service. They will guarantee that the tenant will stay in the property for at least 11 months of the initial term. Let’s say that the tenant needs to relocate to another city after only 8 months of the initial term. Renting Toronto has already been paid so they will do the whole process again by putting in a new qualified tenant at no extra cost! If your tenant stays the full year and they want to resign another lease, Renting Toronto will provide that lease at no charge as well on any renewal.

The difference between Real Estate Agents and Rental Agents.

  • A Rental Agent deals only with rentals and is in touch with the market to ensure your getting the maximum rent and staying competitive in the market place. A Real Estate Agent might not care if it’s rented as they hope that it sits on the rental market and doesn’t rent which they hope leads to you listing it for sale with them. A Real Estate Agent will list the property on MLS and that is it! Yet another unknown Agent gets involved and brings in a potential tenant that not even your listing agent has met! It is then up to the unknown Renter Agent to provide a credit report that could be from anywhere or not even real! An Agency like Renting Toronto has their Agents meet every person that goes into your rental property to get a better understanding of who they are and what they do prior to even processing they’re application.
  • Renting Toronto does the actual credit, background & employment check themselves along with having the ability to confirm good tenancy prior. With their system they have the ability to report late rental payments or any other issues that may arise.
  • Renting Toronto has a vested interest that the tenant is of the highest quality because of the warranty they provide on their tenants
  • com is there after the lease agreement has been signed for both you and the tenant. Answering any questions you may have and helping the tenant set up utility accounts and following up to ensure that the tenant provides proof of insurance prior to their move in. If in a Condo they will ensure they get the proper documents from the buildings management for move in forms, elevator bookings etc…

All in all it is up to you the Landlord of your rental property to do your due diligence when hiring an Agent. As with many business’ you will research which ones are the best and offer the most bang for your buck. We have done that research and feel that your in good hands with Renting Toronto representing you and your rental needs. They have been in the business of finding quality tenants for home owners since 1999.