First and foremost, don’t get yourself into a situation where you are working with multiple agents! Each agent has (or at least should have) the ability to show you all listed properties with any company, not just their own. There is no need to deal with numerous different listing agents, and most certainly no need to shuffle through numerous tenant’s agents. A tenant’s agent is usually at absolutely no charge to you, as they share their commission with the appropriate listing agent who is employed by the landlord, so it is in your best interest to always choose one single agent to represent and assist you in your rental search. A good agent will additionally go out of their way to not only show you all that is publically available on the local MLS board, but also monitor privately advertised properties that may be suitable as well. In essence, if you work with only the listing agents, you will have to deal with numerous individuals, will not be represented by anyone that has your best interest in mind, and will have to negotiate on your own. You would essentially be saving part of the listing agent’s commission for not having your own agent, while making their job easier as they solely represent the interests of the property owner, and making your own life harder. Why not have a professional assist you with all the mentioned points and more, at no charge to you? It sometimes baffles us too. That’s why as the first prelude to anything whatsoever, we recommend that you hire a professional tenant’s agent to represent and assist you. To review our offered services for renters, select the “Our Services” tab above.
When selecting an agent, make sure to do it based on their qualifications. They should in particular be good negotiators. A referral from a friend that has had a pleasant experience is the best way to go about it. Rental agents are either sales agents that happen to have time and are bored, agents that have solely dedicated their focus to rentals and may also be working as Landlord representatives, or they may be hustlers. The latter is true in a lot of instances in the Southern Florida region. With recent market slowdowns, the rental hustler group of agents has seen exponentional growth. Attempt to avoid hustlers at all possible costs. Generally, their aim is to sign you into a lease as quickly as possible in order to pocket the little commission that is available, then they move on to the next victim. Now, your goal in hiring an agent should be to find someone that has your best interests in mind, not theirs. With a hustler, you are essentially a means for them to get to the commission, they rarely care about your best interests. They will be unclear, they will lie, they will deceive, and then they will say goodbye. Hustlers are not only detrimental to you, they also most often than not cause issues with the listing agent and/or property manager, as your dissatisfaction with the Hustler also becomes an overall dissatisfaction with the entire experience. It is badly reflected upon those entities as well, even though they may have absolutely nothing to do with what the Hustler has said or done.
Look for an experienced agent who has previous experience in renting properties, not all real estate agents are qualified to handle rentals. Pay close attention to the agent’s reputation, some will actually lie in order to get you to rent out a property, such that they can get paid. If you have any concerns about the business practices of an agent, keep looking. Whatever you do though, make sure to select an agent with whom you get along. Personality clashes can poison a working arrangement and lead to more than just hot tempers. Be certain that you get along well with your agent before entering into a working relationship, and be sure to research the agency’s past, look up whether or not any past claims have ever been filed against them. You can do that by either visiting the state’s regulatory body online (DBPR in Florida for example, DPOR in Virginia), or by researching the company online and reading reviews. Another website that may or may not be useful is the local branch of the Better Business Bureau.
