There is an old and much-heard theory in the marketplace that giving a property to several agents to find tenants and then rewarding that agent with the management will secure a tenant quicker.
Not only is this untrue, it can also cause you more hassle and cost you more money than giving the property to one agent.
This theory assumes that agents can only cast a limited net to the tenant marketplace so many agents would logically mean more exposure. The main flaw in this argument is the revolution of the use of the internet for finding rental properties. All agents subscribe to the same real estate property portals, and since tenants are looking at the same websites, there is no need to have the property featured several times by different agents. In fact, seeing this makes tenants naturally wonder: What’s wrong with this property that it has to be advertised by many agents?” – decreasing its perceived value at first impression.
Another disadvantage of using many agents is the difficulty of negotiating with prospective tenants. Often there are several applications coming in at once, and when more than one agent is involved, the owner has to deal with several agents to try to pick the right tenant. If only one agent had been involved, all enquiries would be funneled through that agent who can give you a clear idea of which applicant can be best for your property.
Another danger with putting several agents in competition with each other in this way is that the “race” to get a tenant becomes more important than getting the RIGHT tenant. Agent 1 might speed through an application in order to get the business, and the owner might approve this applicant, unaware that Agent 2 has received a much better application. Agent 1 is in a “race” to get there first, and may place a tenant in your property which may cause you problems in the long run.
No matter how you look at it, the only way to secure the best possible tenants for your valuable investment property is to use ONE agent who is working in your best interests.