Landlords have been always facing the problem of not being able to market their property in the correct way. This is why there is always a benefit of having a real estate agency. They know how the market works and always provide information on the current market conditions and the correct pricing methods.
However there are some things that most landlords do that does not encourage a deal to go through smoothly even through an agent and they are as follows.
Some owners do tend to have a mindset where they are fixed to only provide their properties for rent to foreigners. From the experience of agents, there are many owners who have given their place to local residents and had very less to no issues regarding them paying on time, causing damage to the property or anything else that gives a bad image. Even though there is a market for expat clients, there is an even bigger market for the local crowd and the chances to find a client when your options are open, are most likely to be higher. There is no guarantee that foreigners are likely to be decent enough to provide the payments on time and leave the place without causing an issue because as it depends on person to person. Which is why the landlords must take the decision to be more open minded and be comfortable to give both local and international tenants.
On the other hand, there are owners who are very keen on knowing every possible details about the client to the point of creating insecurities in the mind of the potential tenant. Yes, it is good to be inquisitive and know who you are renting your unit to but at the same time, you don’t want the customer to feel awkward or embarrassed or insulted in any way when asking these types of questions. Renting is also a business and just like any business, there is always the element of loss with things going downhill. Some there is information which the client doesn’t want to share and this could be because of personal issues or they are just unable to share them. Some things like a reference from their workplace is something that the potential tenant would be able to receive but since its from their employer, it would take some time. However not many owners understand this situation and assume that the client is being very distrustful. Situations like this lead to a smooth deal to have changes that makes things problematic as there will be trust issues which will develop eventually. There are situations where the client has been comfortable with sharing all the details that the owner requests for as they would be in a hurry to move in and start their tenancy. However, some owners have been very fussy where they are not sure if the tenant will be able to afford the amount of rent that is being charged and start dragging the deal. There is no absolute thing that can be done by the agent to make sure the tenant will be able to pay on time but it works usually in a way where the clients look for a place where they can afford as they have already mentioned their maximum budget that they can push for. Even through all this, it is very unlikely that the tenant would have an issue to pay the rent on time without any issues and the owners need to understand that. The whole purpose of using a lawyer to draft the agreement and registering the agreement is to make sure that the agreement covers the landlord as and when an issue arises.
Moreover, there are times when some landlords are not willing to pay agents the full months rent which is the standard rate. This is because they think they are not entitled to pay as agents are really quick in finding them the tenants and think it did not cost much to do them. What they don’t understand is that real estate agencies have built a brand with a strong marketing structure that allows them to market properties in such a way that they are able to receive inquiries and find a suitable tenant. This is the service that landlords should be paying for and not because of any shortcuts that was easy.
There are many more reasons to explain why a real estate agency would be the best choice to go to if anyone is looking to invest in property.
Write to marketing@mistert.lk if you want to reach out to our team at Mister T.