by ARC IDEA CO

Created on: May 07, 2010   Last Updated: May 11, 2010

Many people have a misconception that in order for a unit to be rented out or vice-versa, you need a property or real estate agent. The truth is you can actually do it yourself. Well, in the past where Internet was not so widely used, to a certain extend, an agent is usually required to do the job due to the work involved.

What do rental agents do?

1. The agent needs to publicize the intention of the landlord to rent out the apartments, flats, condominums or house with details and indicating the desired rental price on the papers.

2. Another agent, who incidentally has ready tenants, will try to contact the agent putting up the advertisement in the hope of matching the deal.

3. The agent will then liaise with their clients, the landlord and the potential tenants to the apartment or the material real estate for a viewing session.

4. The agent representing the landlord would provide a standard copy of a tenancy agreement which terms and agreement clauses can be found anywhere on the Internet for both parties, the landlord and the tenant to entered into a tenancy agreement.

5. When the deal is done, the agent who represents the landlord will take his commission which is equivalent to half of a month's rental fee if the tenancy agreement last for 2 years, the commission will be equivalent to a month's rental fee. As for the agent representing the tenant, he will get the same amount from his client.

But, as the Internet became more and more widely used, this has really in my opinion eliminated the need for an agent to get involved in sourcing for tenants or landlords. Tenants and landlords can placed their advertisements anywhere like Property Guru to indicate their intentions without help from agents.

I do not see much value of getting agents involved in rental agreement because tenancy agreement format can be found anywhere readily on the Internet and if there is any issues or disputes between the landlord and the tenant, it will still fall back on the tenancy agreement. If there is a need to take up a civil suit against the other party, the tenancy can be easily referred to.

Having a witness to your agreement may helps legally when dispute over the signing of the agreement occurs. But generally, I would say it is more cost effective if you were to get your own tenants or source for your very own apartments or unit for rental.

In times of rental scams, the case will be handled by police and there is nothing your average property agent could do. That is why, in my opinion you do not need an agent for rental agreement. The standard market knowlege landlords and tenants should know is that usually, tenants need to pay a one month security deposit with renting an apartment, unit, flat, house or condominium. This is a form of collateral in the event when any parts of house was found damaged by the tenant and/or default rental payment.

If the tenant fails to pay the rent for a month, landlords have the rights to evict the tenant as per typical tenancy agreement. If the tenant persists in not moving out, landlords in most countries in the world would be advised to seek court's eviction order for the tenant to move out from the property.

It is actually not that hard. If you were to learn more about tenancy issues and you will eventually realize that it is not really necessary for agents to get involved. As this is primarily based on my personal opinion, it is still up to individual to decide for themselves eventually whether to engage the assistance of agents when looking for a place to rent.

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