homes for rent by owner (Birmingham, Excel: real estate, rentals, credit)

[acline2011]

Anyone know any homes for rent that you dont have to go through a rental company?

[harry chickpea]

You take a large chance by trying to rent privately. Craigslist and other scams, where scammers "rent out" property that they don't own, abound. A rental or property management company is as much protection for you as the landlord. I rented in a number of places, and always used a real estate agency or rental agency. Even years ago, the risk was too great. Private rentals can often be from individuals that can't keep their own finances in order, or that refuse to fix anything properly, or like to "inspect" whenever they want to peer into your lifestyle.

[JesseRohr]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

You take a large chance by trying to rent privately. Craigslist and other scams, where scammers "rent out" property that they don't own, abound. A rental or property management company is as much protection for you as the landlord. I rented in a number of places, and always used a real estate agency or rental agency. Even years ago, the risk was too great. Private rentals can often be from individuals that can't keep their own finances in order, or that refuse to fix anything properly, or like to "inspect" whenever they want to peer into your lifestyle.

As one who owns many rental properties, I could not disagree with you more. What terrible advice with no evidence to support your case.

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by JesseRohr

As one who owns many rental properties, I could not disagree with you more. What terrible advice with no evidence to support your case.

I also owned a rental property in the Birmingham area for many years. I understand the desire to cut out the middleman, there were many times I wanted to do so myself. You are certainly welcome to your opinion, and I am certainly willing to provide evidence to support my case. These first four links relate to Craigslist scams alone:

https://www.consumerreports.org/cons...obably-a-scam/

Online scam is targeting Alabama renters

Rental Properties and Craigslist Scams

https://whnt.com/2017/05/04/huntsvil...on-craigslist/

This thread:

//www.city-data.com/forum/vermo...on-county.html

shows another problem that can happen when renting from an individual. The boilerplate of the standard rental agreement used by realtors in Birmingham is as good a rental contract as I have seen, and would prevent such nonsense.

I do not deny that there are professional and above-board private landlords. What I am stating is that when renting privately, one must perform due diligence prior to signing any contract. That is not something most people do well without guidance, and renting from a larger management firm is safer. Dipping into the private rental market is like dipping into a barrel where there are some good apples and some that are rotten, some about to rot, and some that aren't even apples. On the owner side, I had to do a deed in lieu to recover the property I had sold to a private landlord when he went belly-up. That evidence is in county records.

I trust that I have sufficiently provided evidence to back my statement. I would suggest that you step back from using the word "terrible" so freely, especially when it is obvious that you have a financial interest in disputing something.


Also - as an aside and something I will pass off to another moderator if I think any action needs to be taken to avoid any personal bias or impropriety, soliciting real estate business in any form on City-Data is a serious violation of the terms of service that can result in expulsion. That rule is larger than any personal disagreements we might have. Please re-read the TOS and posts relating to realtor conduct for more guidance. Thanks.

[steveklein]

As someone who has been both a tenant and landlord in "private" deals, I much prefer private versus using a rental company.

As for tenant protection when renting through craigslist... it just takes a little bit of common sense. I skimmed through some of those scams... the fact that people still fall for this kind of stuff in 2019 would be comical if it wasn't so problematic for those that get scammed.



Also,

Private rentals can often be from individuals that can't keep their own finances in order, or that refuse to fix anything properly, or like to "inspect" whenever they want to peer into your lifestyle.

Private rentals can also often be from individuals whose finances are in great order, fix things the right way as soon as possible (because, you know, it is their home... and they have more skin in the game than a middle man). As for "inspections", sure, but it isn't like someone who works at a rental agency couldn't do the same thing.

Anecdotally, I've been "checked up on" much more frequently when I go through a rental company compared to the owner directly. Go figure... when the owner is the only person that had a set of keys, I was bothered less than when dozens upon dozens of people at the rental agency and their contractors had access to my home.



So basically, as with all things in life, it is buyer beware. If something seems fishy, then protect yourself.

But clearly you can score a better deal financially by cutting out the middle man.

[JesseRohr]

Originally Posted by steveklein

As someone who has been both a tenant and landlord in "private" deals, I much prefer private versus using a rental company.

As for tenant protection when renting through craigslist... it just takes a little bit of common sense. I skimmed through some of those scams... the fact that people still fall for this kind of stuff in 2019 would be comical if it wasn't so problematic for those that get scammed.



Also,


Private rentals can also often be from individuals whose finances are in great order, fix things the right way as soon as possible (because, you know, it is their home... and they have more skin in the game than a middle man). As for "inspections", sure, but it isn't like someone who works at a rental agency couldn't do the same thing.

Anecdotally, I've been "checked up on" much more frequently when I go through a rental company compared to the owner directly. Go figure... when the owner is the only person that had a set of keys, I was bothered less than when dozens upon dozens of people at the rental agency and their contractors had access to my home.



So basically, as with all things in life, it is buyer beware. If something seems fishy, then protect yourself.

But clearly you can score a better deal financially by cutting out the middle man.

Excellent post.

[acline2011]

I guess I will just have to go driving around and look for "for rent" signs in yards. That could take a while.

[JesseRohr]

Originally Posted by acline2011

I guess I will just have to go driving around and look for "for rent" signs in yards. That could take a while.

There are several free and reputable sites.

[Cdarocks]

There have been a few times we have had to find rentals for one reason or another (moving in and out of the area, building a house, etc.) By far and away, our best experiences were with a private landlord. It's not even a close contest. I started by talking to rental agencies every time and was always treated like a shifty low life simply because I wanted to rent. Isn't that their business?? It was the strangest thing. We didn't pursue any of their options or even fill out applications. No thanks. No one needs that.

On the other hand, meeting a private rental owner in person was great. They were always happy to rent to us with minimal fuss as we are also homeowners with excellent credit and jobs, no smoking and no pets. Depending on your reason for not wanting an agency, a private owner is a really great choice. Fortunately, we had local owners who cared about their properties. I am sure there are others with horror stories, but it worked out for us. I think this was 3 separate times, and we found multiple good options each time.

We are considering a move to Birmingham, and may be in the market for a great rental again while we figure out where to buy. It's a completely new area to us.