Renting through a property management company, any tips/recommendations/experiences? (Baltimore: leasing agent, condos)

[Niubee43V3R]

We are trying to rent a 2br condo close to Columbia Mall area, currently there are 3 condos falls into our radar in terms of affordability and location. We have never rented from a broker/property management company before, and to be frank it sounds a little intimidating when considering the repair/maintenance in such situation based on what I saw online. Anyway, I did not find any review regarding the specific office or agent, nor could I find a neighbor with experiences with them since all those condos are individually owned and managed by different brokers. So I hope here we could get some related info and recommendation:

1. real property management metro: it was a big national company, the property was listed under realpropertymanagementdc.com, but the leasing agent is in Columbia MD (office is off Old columbia rd I believe). The online review for this company (DC address) is kinda fishy. Agent sounds nice and willing to help though.

2. Long and Foster (office in Hickory road), agent sounds pretty much indifferent when I called for info, and online review looks bad in terms of tenant experience for its VA offices, no reference on this specific office.

3. REmember LLC/Star Management. The agent was super nice and patient when I called, but I googled this company, and it turned out to be a 3-man small company or may be a family business. It's different from the Star Property Management in Baltimore I believe.

Are there anyone currently renting from those three companies can tell me a little bit about the experience especially when it comes to solving some problems? And a general recommendation or tips regarding renting with broker is welcomed too.

Thanks in advance.

[davecj]

I work for Long and Foster as well. We don't offer management services as a brokerage as far as I know. What you are seeing is an agent that will act as your representative and show you MLS rental properties and get a commission as a 'finder's fee'. The landlord pays to have the house advertised and once the lease is signed you'll deal directly with the LL.

The others are management companies that still act as a landlord but on a much larger scale. More than likely the agents work for the mgmt company and are paid by filling units in the building.

[Niubee43V3R]

Thanks for the reply. Indeed the realtor from Long and foster just list the property for her friend. I'll deal with the owner directly once renting the unit. We checked the unit and it looked pretty nice and some recent renovations, hopefully the owner is a responsible landlord (she wanted to sell it initially, but you know the market).