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Do you Screen Tenants and do Leasing Yourself? - Landlord Forum thread 323500

Do you Screen Tenants and do Leasing Yourself? by Cam on August 28, 2014 @17:42

                              
I have a 3bd, 2bth property in California near one of the universities and I primarily rent out to college students. After struggling for a couple years handling the leasing, I've now chosen to use this online service called OneRent.co to find/screen tenants for my property because they handle the entire leasing process which includes credit/background checks and all of the tenants are already signed up and ready to go on their site. They also have a broker facilitate the meeting with prospects and signing the lease once the deal closes. My question is, do you do the leasing for your rental on your own and why? Does it make sense for me to keep using OneRent (which costs about 10 times less than a property manager) or is it not worth it?


Thanks!
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Re: Do you Screen Tenants and do Leasing Yourself? by Katiekate (New York) on August 28, 2014 @18:16 [ Reply ]
Yes

Even though I am all over the eastern seaboard...I meet prospects. I respond to queries from the ad, and pre-screen and I screen. I usually meet the prospects when I show the place. I try to get everything organized into a single week...I also provides me with time to visit friends

Only thing I don't do is the actual move in. One of my guys does that
Re: Do you Screen Tenants and do Leasing Yourself? by Anonymous on August 28, 2014 @19:02 [ Reply ]
Why would you trust some third party company to screen your tenants? If you have good business sense, you, and only you, are the best judge of qualified tenants, not some service. IMO.
Re: Do you Screen Tenants and do Leasing Yourself? by Anonymous on August 28, 2014 @19:28 [ Reply ]
I do it all myself. I have six SFH and have never rented to college students (my SFH are generally not in the price range of college students in this area).

I would not trust anyone else to do this for me.
Re: Do you Screen Tenants and do Leasing Yourself? by Anonymous on August 28, 2014 @19:30 [ Reply ]
Nice advertisement. I won't click the link because I prefer my computers to be virus free.

No I would never use a third party company that could care less about your property and would stick any loser they could into your property.
Stay involved.
Re: Do you Screen Tenants and do Leasing Yourself? by Cam on August 28, 2014 @20:10 [ Reply ]
Thank you for your feedback, I wanted to clear up some misconceptions. The reason I'm asking about this service because I want to compare it to the experience of using a regular property manager for the leasing part of renting. With this service I'm using right now, they do include me in the meetings with tenants and I'm able to know everything that's going on with the marketing of my property so it's not like I;m handing everything off and not knowing what's happening.

Is the reason that you would not switch to this sort of service because it doesn't have a brand name or reputation? Or is it simply because leasing is relatively easy and any help is not usually needed for that part of renting?
Re: Do you Screen Tenants and do Leasing Yourself? by NFL_LL (FL) on August 28, 2014 @23:27 [ Reply ]
Yes, I do the everything myself. Why? Because I trust me as it is MY property and I have everything to lose.
Re: Do you Screen Tenants and do Leasing Yourself? by Al (CT) on August 29, 2014 @09:54 [ Reply ]
Would you do surgery on yourself too? Act as your own lawyer in court? Use real estate professionals -- property managers, realtors -- to find quality tenants.
Re: Do you Screen Tenants and do Leasing Yourself? by Andrea (GA) on August 29, 2014 @18:03 [ Reply ]
This sure does seem like an ad, but anyway...
I'm confused as to why you were "struggling" in handling the leasing and you don't really explain. Maybe there are certain inconveniences that come with screening applicants and showing a property, but in my experience they are minimal (and only once a year for most properties, if that). Any inconvenience pales in comparison to feeling confident that you have selected the right tenant. You mention credit/background check--but there is so much more to screening and selection than that. A meeting and casual conversation can usually go far to alerting you to a PITA in the making and conversely can help you identify the "best fit".

I'll give you an example. Last year, we had several showings of our SFH. One couple came with credit checks, pay stubs, and bank statements in hand. They both expressed genuine appreciation for the great condition of the home and commented on how dingy others looked in comparison. She also let it slip that she was somewhat of a "neat freak" and that they had previously had rental property themselves (so could understand the LL's perspective). Fast forward a year--we no longer have them as tenants (they purchased a home as we knew they might), but the property was in perfect condition, clean, and never a problem with rent.

A "service" could not have replaced that face-to-face contact. (I could give negative examples too). Here are a few things to consider about a service: 1)How do you know their criteria for credit etc would be the same as yours? 2) Other than credit/background, what else constitutes screening for them? 3) Do they go over lease terms in detail at signing so as to avoid future problems that will land on your doorstep? 4) What responsibility do they take on if they put a deadbeat in your home--pay the rent themselves? And finally, after they've skipped out with your money, who handles the problem tenant(s) they've installed in the property (hint: not them)?

Most people here prefer to be actively involved in their business for good reason. I would only consider such a service under the most exigent of circumstances and then would probably opt for a PM, since at least they will have some responsibility after the lease is signed. Your property sounds like it is in a hot market with many prospective tenants--you shouldn't have problems finding good ones. That's the easy part. That said, it does take a bit of effort to be a LL, and not everyone can do it.

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