Register Real Estate Advisors

Hi everybody! Here is this week’s White Board Monday!

This week it is on finding rental properties. RREA can help you find any rental property you need, be that a home, apartment or commercial space.

Call or email today to get started! 281.288.3500 or info@rrea.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. (National Association of Realtors) – Nationally, consumers’ appetites for rental properties increased real estate-related web traffic by 27 percent last month, reports Experian Hitwise.
The websites boasting the largest year-over-year increases in traffic were devoted to rental or rent-to-own listings, said Heather Dougherty, research director for the global information services company.
According to Hitwise, the ten most popular search terms on real estate sites in the last year were:
1. rent to own homes,
2. rent to own,
3. foreclosure,
4. for rent by owner,
5. Puerto Rico real estate,
6. houses for rent in Orlando,
7. apartments for rent in Michigan,
8. low income apartments,
9. houses for rent by owner, and
10. reverse mortgages.
Traffic coming from social networks to real estate sites increased 61 percent year-over-year last month.

When landlords need to find renters for their investment properties, they call me to list those properties so they can find prospective renters without any hassle.  Sometimes they ask me to help them screen those rental applications.  As a Realtor, it is not ethical for me to screen the applicants, only to present them to the landlord.  The rental decision has to be that of  the landlord.  However, if you are a landlord and have rental applications you need to screen before renting your property, there is a company that might be able to help you.  I point my investor clients to Nextstep Tenant Screening located in Katy, Texas.  This is a company that offers:

• Equifax Reports
• Fico Scores
• Nationwide Criminal
• Nationwide Eviction
• SSN Validation

They are members of Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax.  If you need help screening for your rental properties you can contact them by email at sales@nextstep-online.net or 800.516.0734.

Right now, many people are renting instead of buying because of the recent credit crunch. Since interest rates are so low, some people are even choosing to buy a new house and rent their old one until the market gets better for selling. If you would like help listing your home as a rental or if you are looking for a rental property, I can help you find what you need. If you need help finding a place to rent I charge half a month’s rent for my commission. If you see a For Sale by Owner Home, you can still use your own Realtor to show you the property. It can be very uncomfortable touring someone’s home with the owner standing over you. Not to mention it isn’t safe knocking on someone’s door and entering a stranger’s home alone. I can show you the property and gather information on comparable houses in the area to make sure you offer what the property is worth, not what the homeowner wants it to be worth. I am the Spring area specialist. Out of 415 Realtors in the area, I am the only one with an exclusive market snapshot offered for the 77373 area. As your real estate professional, I can help you with all of your Real Estate needs.