Tenant Placement is Key to Buyers and Renters

As the economy and housing climate are driving more homeowners to consider renting their properties, the need for quality, efficient property management services is growing, too. But the model is shifting. While homeowners are still obviously concerned with property maintenance, rent collection services and vendor management, the main concern is finding qualified, reliable tenants - quickly. And especially in the case of higher-end homes, this can be difficult.

“I believe we’re seeing this shift in part because people are looking to rent their homes long-term or with a lease to purchase option, instead of, say, as a vacation rental,” says Joyce Kelly, Founder and Co-Owner of Denver Rent a Home. “The financial and emotional risk is higher when people are renting their property in lieu of selling because of market conditions.”

Consumers should consider the following factors when selecting a property management company:

• Licensing. Many property management companies in Colorado are not licensed with the Colorado Real Estate Commission (it’s not required unless the company manages a certain number of properties). A licensed company must abide by the laws of the Commission and is legally accountable to both the homeowner and tenant. Without proper licensing, consumers can easily be subject to fraud and identity theft with no recourse.
• Tenant Pre-Qualification. The company should take the time to pre-qualify all tenants by running a confidential background check including credit and prior criminal and rental history. This saves time up front for both parties and mitigates the financial risk for homeowners.
• Real Estate Experience. Experience matters in this housing market; companies with real estate experience (building, selling, managing) understand the needs of buyers and sellers and can efficiently navigate the landscape.
• Cooperative Relationships in Community. It’s important that the company has established positive relationships within the real estate community. Many for-sale properties are turning into rentals and a solid network of brokers means a bigger inventory of homes as well as real time insight into various neighborhoods and the market as a whole.

In short, consumers need to be wary of companies that don’t have the proper licensing, qualification procedures and experience. While this may seem obvious, many people don’t understand the licensing requirements or where they run risk in a rental situation. People should also ask to speak to current clients, so they can better understand the customer service experience and what to expect throughout the process.

Denver Rent a Home has focused on streamlining the tenant placement process and taking the hassle out of the hands of the homeowners. The company recently launched an online tenant pre-approval service on the company website, www.denverrentahome.com, where prospective tenants can fill out simple forms to get pre-qualified for any of the available listings. Applicants are run though a thorough confidential background check and the company spends a lot of time up-front getting to know their clients and the properties in person.

“We really want to make sure we understand our clients and know the properties as if they were our own,” says Mary Ann Mauriello, Managing Broker at Denver Rent a Home. “We understand people are putting their trust in us to place great tenants in their home(s) and we take that very seriously.”

- August 3, 2009, Joyce Kelly, Founder and Co-Owner, Denver Rent a Home

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DenverRentaHome.com now allows homeowners to post their properties online for FREE for two weeks, followed by a low monthly fee thereafter. Also, prospective tenants can now get pre-qualified online! Visit www.denverrentahome for more information or call 303.681.6767.