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Of all the types of clients out there, the ones I cringe over working with is renters. I have found that renters have the least regard for my time. They schedule appointments, then don't show up...even after a confirmation call to make sure we're still on. They tell you they have good credit and then when you find out their credit score is 3, they come back with "oh, yeah...I meant to tell you about that". And why does it seem they ever have the money they need for their security deposit and 1st month's rent? All renters aren't like this, but in my experience, a very high percentage of them are.
Yesterday a woman called me about a rental listing of mine. We had a nice discussion about the property and she asked if she could see it. She didn't have an agent and I couldn't find a nearby agent to meet her there. I had to go out myself. I scheduled a 6:30 appointment with this woman. She'd given me her home and cell phone numbers and before I could ask her to call me if anything came up SHE ASKED ME! I was on my way to the appointment and came upon an accident. I called her to let her know I may be about 5 minutes late because of an accident blocking the roadway. She said "no problem, we'll just wait for you". Thankfully, I arrived on time....but my appointment wasn't there. I waited for 20 minutes at the house and called her on both numbers she gave me. Of course she never answered either number.
In order to make sure I'm properly servicing my listings and my client, any prospective tenants without their own agent will see the property when I hold it open. Yes, I do rental open houses. Yesterday I got snookered for not following my own rule lol. I'm not going out of my way to show my listings to people who can't take 30 seconds out of their busy lives to give the courtesy of a cancellation phone call. It costs me more than my commission on a rental to drive out and sit for nothing than it does for someone to call and tell me "nevermind".
I try my best not to show rentals to potential tenants. It honestly just doesn't pay enough for my time. Some Listing Agents are so cheap in their co-op fee, I wonder who would be willing to show their rental? I think that many Listing Agents want the other Agent to do all the work for 10% of the first month's rent. Really - you want me to bring the client and do all the paperwork for $75?
I did assist someone that found me on C-D that was moving cross country. I felt an obligation to her as she knew nothing about the area. I previewed a bunch of properties before she arrived before renting. At least 3 listings had been off the market for several weeks without the listing being updated or the Agent calling me back. Their office apologized for the "error".
I don't work with renters as an agent - but I'm a landlord many times over and yes, as a whole, I've been screwed time & time again by potential renters not showing up.
It depends on the property but I rarely do one on one appointments any more. I either do open houses or I've schedule a slew of potential tenants to come at the same time in the hopes that at least one will actually show up.
I work with renters, and I treat them exactly the same way that I do buyers, with the same requirements from me.
Why do I work with them? I have lots of relocation clients who prefer to rent for six months to a year before buying, to make sure that they know which part of town they really want to purchase in. When it does come time to buy, guess who gets to be their agent?
Having been a renter, and now owning two homes myself (country home and city home, which is currently a rental property, so I'm also a landlord), I understand that renters become buyers. Sometimes several times.
I work with renters and have had some good and way too many not so good results. Like TexasHorseLady, I work with relocation clients who want to test an area before they commit and that makes sense. Of course I hope that they will use me if/when they decide to buy.
I also work with renters, mainly because so many agents don't! Sure, every now and then you might get "stood up" or they might think my time is worth less than theirs, but I've had several tenant clients that turned into buyers. Plus, they can be a great source of referals. There's no doubt that leases don't pay well, but it's better than digging ditches!
I used a realtor for an apartment search a few years back. I then used her to buy my house. She also sold houses to three people that I sent her way and I would send more if I knew of anyone looking. I would think its more about the contacts and not the money from that particular transaction.
I used a realtor for an apartment search a few years back. I then used her to buy my house. She also sold houses to three people that I sent her way and I would send more if I knew of anyone looking. I would think its more about the contacts and not the money from that particular transaction.
I used a realtor for an apartment search a few years back. I then used her to buy my house. She also sold houses to three people that I sent her way and I would send more if I knew of anyone looking. I would think its more about the contacts and not the money from that particular transaction.
I try not to disrespect anyone's time...renter or seller or purchaser. However, that trait, I find, is hardly reciprocated and when it is, I always thank the other party for being on time. In this economic climate, many former owners are forced to be renters and it may be a difficult time for them. I try to treat all well, but I also respect my own time. If you do as much legwork as possible over the phone, I find it eliminates some of the surprises...like 3 credit scores, etc. And meeting someone at a property not having done as much as you can on the phone, via email, checking them out via google or whatever, well that can be downright dangerous to all of us.
I have never had, however, a rental open house and don't think I ever will.
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