Hiring leasing agents

Before renting to a prospective tenant, property owners will want to make sure they have sufficient income and a strong track record as a renter. Leasing agents have an obligation to thoroughly vet prospective tenants and ensure they are qualified to lease a property. This reduces the likelihood of problems down the line and gives the property manager peace of mind.

Potential tenants don’t find properties for rent in the newspaper anymore. Most of the time, they start their search on Google, which leads them to sites where they can view rental properties and send messages to owners or leasing agents. Leasing agents are most often the ones responsible for maintaining these listings and using them effectively.

Just as technology has changed the way leasing agents advertise rental properties, it has also changed the way they work from day to day. With the proper software, leasing agents can track agreements, monitor problems with rental units, and easily communicate with landlords and tenants. Candidates who use cutting-edge technology are often more efficient and perform better.

Even after thoroughly vetting a tenant, problems can still arise, requiring leasing agents to engage in difficult conversations. In these cases, it’s essential that they remain courteous, respectful, and attentive to the tenant’s concerns — while at the same time not acceding to unreasonable demands.

At the end of a lease term, many tenants will, for various reasons, choose to leave their living situation behind. But for leasing agents, losing a tenant means having to go through the difficult process of finding and vetting a new one, which most would prefer to avoid. In these cases, leasing agents can demonstrate their skill by convincing a tenant to renew their lease.

While ideally tenants and property owners have the same interests, there are times when they will come into conflict. Leasing agents, as intermediaries between owners and tenants, are responsible for promoting a civil relationship between the two parties. They must bring all their skills to bear in addressing these conflicts when they arise.

Prospective tenants are understandably curious about the places in which they’ll be living and often have many questions. Ideally, leasing agents will prepare for all meetings with prospective tenants, but they may at times confront a question where the answer is unclear or outright unknown. Strong candidates will know how to handle these situations to maintain tenant trust.

Leasing agents almost never focus on a single property or tenant. They have to keep track of numerous properties, perhaps hundreds in the most extreme cases, and be able to address concerns with any one of them. This requires leasing agents to develop strong multitasking abilities and organizational skills.

Writing property listings and advertisements requires a sense of a property’s surrounding community, from the average age to school rankings to restaurants. As this is a key part of their role, leasing agents must understand the communities in which they work beyond the numbers: the overall personality of a neighborhood can be just as important as competitive pricing.