"I Don't Do Rentals".....Really? Then You Are Losing Some Listings, Aren't You?

Good post Karen----in my area "rentals" are done with disdain. Last Agent who refused to do rentals I heard is out of the business. Also a great point that working for owners is a pipeline to the future sale of their property.

I am in a "niche" Property Management business and I work only for owners. Doing rentals is part of my business. Whoever says that rentals are not as much money as sales is not taking into consideration one important facet of how much money they actually make from a deal: The time spent invested into the deal. If you have a system for doing rentals, it can be highly lucrative...to say nothing of getting cash at the end of the month instead of waiting until escrow closes. 6 months for a $300K Short Sale to (maybe) close or a few rentals in a month------I'm way ahead of the game.

My bread and butter is rentals. I closed about 14 commercial leases last year, which makes for nice steady income. The bonus comes when those tenants move up in the world and buy a building through me, or their landlords hire me to sell the building, because I did a good job renting it for them. It's all about building those relationships.

Hi Karen, I read your post with great interest and I'm glad you were specific in your distinction between clients. I do the same.

I have resolve this problem with partnering in a manner of speaking with another colleague that does rentals like the comment from Deborah. We trade clients.

I usually get 2 to 3 rental calls per week, so I pass them on, and at other times, I just send a list of rentals to the prospects based on their parameters along with the names of the listing agents so the tenants can cal them directly.

I should specify that the only tenants I do are the pro sports athletes for obvious reasons.

Here's the other side of the coin. I have a busy practice. Taking on rentals for me is not efficient nor profitable. That's called the 'opportunity cost' - trading a sale opportunity for a rental opportunity just does not fit in the business model and plan. If you have nothing else to do, perhaps, but if you don't, then you are actually losing money and valuable time.

Hmmm... I try to avoid dealing with representing renters because the pay (often like $150) does not warrant the time. But you have a good point-- so my question early in the first contact will now be "are you on owner who needs a short sale??" or some variation of the=at.

Great post.  We have taken potential renters and turned them into buyers,  We have also found rentals at no charge for people that bought from us later on.  Don't turn away any qualified clients is our moto.

Thanks for the point of view!  (I won't normally work rentals, but will keep this in mind)

With an economy like ours, if there are rentals to be had, you do rentals. I don't particularly like rentals, but I have never said no, and Have Gotten several tenants that became Buyers, and yes the listing opportunity is always there.

Such a great point Karen. Our market is definitely different and I believe it will continue to evolve over the nest five years. There will be a new 'norm' in the real estat industry. We do the same thing, given we specialize in short sales, we've established a network connection with a couple of the property management offices in town to help our clients and overlook the whole notice of default on their record. They get a good "previous home owner" tenant who will take care of the property and we get a loyal client for life who when ready will come back and buy through us.

Hi Karen,  We have a very active rental department but many times get referrals from them.  Should not be overlooked !

In todays market flexibility can help you succeed. Rentals offer lots of potential if handled right.

You got to do whatever you can to help poeple out anyways, because almost everybody that rents a home, eventually buys a home.  And, psecifically now, as you say, they may have a listing for you as well.

You are correct in assuming that a shift has happened.  There are definitely more people requesting to rent right now, in big part due to their recent misfortunes with their current home.  It is very satisfying to be able to be a resource of information to these people.  They need our assistance and you will get listings and loyal clients out of taking the time to listen to their needs!  Great post.

I never turn renter away, but it is not my skill set and I do not advertise it.

Retal lead and quick money, those two don't go together in my market.  Every renter (straight rental lead) wants to look at 25+ homes and for what we get paid, it puts me in the red.  I refer them to a newer agent to assist them.

And then there are the landlords who might be getting tired of owning rentals.

And on the buyer side of the equation there are the folks who have moved to town and want to rent for a while before they buy. Also - the young people who have been renting and now have saved up enough for a down payment.

The rental market is ripe with opportunity for selling!

Karen,

We have been trying for years to get our broker to do property management. But he doesn't want to because of the liability involved. A rental was the cause of the only time he has been sued in 30 + years in real estate.

I would recommend finding an excellent property management firm that you can work with. Referral fees can be paid even on rentals.

Jerry Gray CRB,CRS,GRI,SFR / Allen Tate Realtors / Winston Salem, NC / 336-918-2433