Tip 1: Don’t search specifically for rental broker
You have brokers who only do rentals, or brokers who do the whole range of services (sales, purchases, rentals, appraisals). The latter category includes us. There are many good “rental agents” but also many amateur and unskilled rental agents. Therefore, don’t just search on the term “rental agent” but also just on “real estate agent”.
Tip 2: Affiliated with trade association
It is best if brokers are affiliated with NVM, VBO or VastgoedPro. These brokers have quality guidelines and honor codes to adhere to, up-to-date working documents, a database of transactions, mandatory annual courses to keep their knowledge up to date, a legal department they can fall back on, and their own disciplinary jurisdiction in case you end up in a disagreement with your broker.
Tip 3: Check the track record
See what properties the broker has for rent or what he has already rented. Then look at his way of presenting. How are the pictures, how accurate is the ad, how well is the text put together. Google the broker and look for reviews. These do not necessarily have to be rental reviews, but may also be other reviews (as long as they give a good idea of the service).
Tip 4: Tricks to check how good the real estate agent is
A good real estate agent will ask you if he can see the home before he sends you an offer. If the realtor says he doesn’t have to come by, then you have a good chance that you are dealing with a “quickie Japie. The broker who does visit; does well when he….
…asks a lot of info about your property
…has already taken rental references
…has already looked up information about your property and taken it with him
…giving you tips on getting rental-ready
…is asking you about the desired target market and what you think is important in hiring and in tenants
…makes a rent point count for you
…can tell you why you should have a BENG label instead of an old cheap energy label
Tip 5: Substantiation of value
The broker issues a rental market value in his proposal. But did he also substantiate this value with references (of other recently rented properties)? If so: top! If not ask for rental references.
Extra tip: You can also try to estimate the rental value of your property yourself. Go to www.pararius.nl and search for your street or neighborhood. Then click on the map. On the map you can see quite clearly what is available for rent in your immediate area, how big it is and what it looks like. Save the most important rental references by taking a quick screenshot of them, for example.
Tip 6: Marketing
On which (rental) platforms will your broker promote your property? We work standard with Funda.nl, Pararius.nl and Huurwoningen.nl. If your broker is only going to promote it in his own network or on his own website, that is too brief. You want to have a wide reach and attract enough interested people.
Tip 7: Photography
Does the broker take the photos himself? Then that’s really a dealbreaker. Go for a real estate agent who will send a professional photographer to visit you and take at least professional photos and floor plans. In addition, 360 degree photos and a video would be helpful.
Tip 8: Costs for the rental agent
Look at the price. Typically, throughout the Netherlands, the price of a rental agent is about 1 month’s rent excl. VAT. If your house is rented out for €1000,- the commission will be €1210,-.
Anything that deviates far from this pricing is something to be extra keen on. If we start renting out houses for half the money, we will never be able to put the required hours into a rental file that are needed.
Tip 9: Screening policy!
And then actually the most important thing of all: ask the broker what screening policy he has. In this, we’ve created an overview for you handy blog with what our tenant screening policy is like. If this broker has an equally good screening policy, then that’s great, but make sure that the actual conduct of these screenings is put in writing in the engagement letter and also that you, the client, get the complete rental file.
Hope this blog got you well on your way. If you want to rent in Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland, we can also help you with the rental. Please feel free to contact us. You can also find more information on our rental agent page.