If you’re a landlord with rental properties, it can be tough to fill vacancies, and that can mean you lose a lot of money the longer it’s sitting empty. It’s time-consuming and stressful to fill rentals, so landlords might opt to work with a real Estate Agent to fill a vacancy.

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Real Estate Fees for a Rental

The fees are the biggest reason you might want to avoid bringing in a professional for your rental. The amount an agent charges will depend on the responsibilities they’ll be expected to handle, but there’s usually no set commission.

That said, a real estate professional should be able to tell you upfront what they will charge.

There are different ways agents can handle it. As an example, some agents might charge half the month’s rent. Other agents might do a lease-up fee, which is half the rent plus costs, like what’s associated with checking credit for potential tenants.

The most common arrangement overall is the equivalent of a month’s rent that’ll go to the agent. When you’re talking to potential agents, you can get them to write out the services they’ll provide you as part of that so you have a clear picture of what the fees cover.

You’ll only pay the commission if the real Estate Agent fills your vacancy.

What Are the Benefits?

While the cost is the downside, the benefits can outweigh that if you’re a landlord.

First, your agent will be the person who’s interacting with any potential tenants, which can be a lot of work and back-and-forth communication. They can also schedule viewing appointments so that you can put your time and energy toward other things.

Many real estate companies already have access and subscriptions to tenant screening services, so they can screen tenants for you to ensure application information checks out.

Landlords often hope that simply listing a rental will be enough to attract tenants, but it may not be.

Agents can create ads and marketing and have access to a broad network, including other agents. They can promote your property in many ways and reach out to prospective tenants directly when creating ads on a site like Realtor.com or Redfin.

A real estate agent knows the market value for a property if they have experience in your rental area. They’ll assess the details, like the square footage and amenities, and compare it to other properties. Their goal will be a balance between getting the highest possible rent and ensuring the property’s not sitting vacant for extended periods.

If you’re working with a professional real estate agent, they probably already have a general lease agreement they use, and that’ll include needed clauses, like the duration of the lease, the amount of rent to be paid each month, details of the security deposit, and details on how a tenant can and can’t use the property. You’d otherwise probably have to pay a lawyer to draft a lease agreement if you don’t already have one or at least to review it.

Finally, if you’re a landlord with multiple units or properties, it can be almost impossible to find the time to get tenants in all of them, even if it’s your primary profession. A real estate agent alleviates most of the burden for you.  

Yes, your goal as a landlord is profitability, but without qualified, vetted tenants filling your rentals, that won’t be possible. Exchanging peace of mind and a lighter workload for a small commission may be invaluable to your business.