If you are asking yourself, “Can I hire a Realtor® to find a tenant and then manage the property myself?” you have arrived at the right place.
My answer is yes.
For owners who are comfortable handling rent collection, maintenance, and the ongoing landlord-tenant relationship, hiring a real estate professional specifically to market the property and help find the next tenant can be a practical alternative to full-service property management.
This arrangement can work especially well for owners who know their properties well, are comfortable being landlords, and live nearby.
On the other hand, an owner who lives far away, is unfamiliar with managing a rental, or simply doesn't want to handle the day-to-day responsibilities may be much better served by a professional property manager.
There Are Really Three Choices - not Just Two.
Many rental-property owners think they have two choices: manage everything themselves or hire a property manager.
There is a third option: hire a real estate agent to help with the marketing and leasing process, and then continue managing the property yourself once the tenant is in place.
Here is a quick comparison of the three options in a table format:
| Owner Handles Everything | Tenant-Placement Assistance | Full Property Management |
|---|
| Owner determines rental price | Agent assists with rental pricing | Manager handles pricing |
| Owner advertises property | Agent markets property | Manager markets property |
| Owner responds to inquiries | Agent responds to inquiries | Manager handles inquiries |
| Owner coordinates showings | Agent coordinates and conducts showings | Manager handles showings |
| Owner handles applications | Agent coordinates applications | Manager handles applications |
| Owner prepares leasing documents | Agent prepares lease and related forms | Manager handles leasing documents |
| Owner collects monthly rent | Owner collects monthly rent | Manager handles rent collection |
| Owner coordinates maintenance | Owner coordinates maintenance | Manager handles maintenance |
| Owner manages tenant relationship | Owner manages tenant relationship | Manager handles ongoing management |
This middle option may be a good fit if you:
- Know your rental property well.
- Are comfortable communicating with your tenant.
- Have a system for collecting rent.
- Can coordinate repairs and maintenance when needed.
- Want to remain involved in decisions concerning your property.
- Don't necessarily want to handle advertising, inquiries, scheduling showings, applications, and preparation of the lease.
In other words, you may enjoy being a landlord but not necessarily enjoy finding your next tenant.
And those are two different jobs.
What Can a Real Estate Agent Do During the Leasing Process?
This will depend on the services offered by the individual agent and brokerage.
In my own work with residential landlords who manage their properties, my role is concentrated primarily on marketing and leasing.
That can include helping establish a competitive rental price, marketing the property through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and other online exposure, responding to inquiries, coordinating and conducting showings, coordinating applications and rental-history information, and preparing the lease and related forms.
If the property is still occupied, I can also coordinate showings with the current tenant.
The property owner remains involved in the process, reviews applications and makes the decision whether to accept or decline an applicant. After the lease is signed and the new tenant moves in, the owner resumes - or, more accurately, continues - the role of property manager.
When Might Full Property Management Be the Better Choice?
Tenant-placement assistance isn't right for every landlord.
Full-service property management may make more sense if you live far from the property, own enough rentals that management is consuming too much of your time, don't have reliable resources for repairs and maintenance, or simply don't want to deal with the ongoing responsibilities of being a landlord.
There is nothing wrong with deciding that you would rather delegate those responsibilities.
The question isn't whether self-management or professional management is universally better.
The better question is: Which parts of owning a rental property do I want to handle myself - and which parts would I rather have someone help me with?
Why I Offer This Type of Leasing Assistance
I have worked with residential landlords who prefer to manage their own properties for many years.
Some know every detail of their rental. They have their preferred handyman, contractors or home-warranty company. They know how they want repairs handled. They have established relationships with their tenants and want to remain directly involved.
What they don't necessarily want to do is start from scratch every time a tenant moves out - determining the rental price, advertising the property, responding to inquiries, arranging showings, coordinating applications and preparing a new lease.
That's where I can help.
My role isn't to take the property away from an owner who wants to manage it.
My role is to help the owner get from “my tenant is moving out” to “my next tenant is moving in.”
Then the owner can get back to doing the part of property ownership they are comfortable handling themselves.
What One Long-Time Landlord Client Says
"Steffy has provided me with an array of real estate and related services dating back to 2015. I have relied upon her ever since, and she has never let me down, from purchases to rental transactions (listings and leases) to recommendations for repairs, improvements, and general trends in the marketplace." - Jeff M, Google Review
So, Do You Need a Property Manager?
Maybe.
But needing help finding your next tenant doesn't automatically mean that you need someone to manage your property year-round.
If you enjoy managing your rental but would like professional assistance with the marketing and leasing process, tenant-placement assistance may be the middle ground you've been looking for.
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