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My wife and I are looking into moving to a new area and would like to rent initially. It would be good to enlist the services of a local real estate agent in the search for a good rental property as our needs are a little more complicated then the average tenant. We've bought property through a realtor before, so we're pretty confident in how that works. I'm not sure though how the realtor would get compensated when looking for rentals? Do we pay them a fee for their services? Or do they get some kind of finders fee from the landlord?

This will help us decide whether or not to enlist a realtors help in our search.

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    The landlord usually pays a fee to the real estate agent who brings in a prospective tenant that makes a rental application and later signs a lease agreement. If you find an apartment or house through some Internet sites, go to the landlord by yourself, and tell the website that you rented an apartment that you found on its website, the site will pay you some money out of the money it collects from the landlord for advertising on that site.
    – Dilip Sarwate
    Apr 3, 2012 at 13:08
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    @Dilip Sarwate - you give reasonable answers, but you put them in the comment box and I can't upvote.
    – MrChrister
    Apr 3, 2012 at 15:26
  • @MrChrister Thanks for the kind words. You could, of course, click on the "This comment is useful" box. I usually post comments when I feel I don't have a complete answer, and in view of Steven's detailed answer (which I have upvoted), I don't think it is worthwhile converting my comments into a separate answer.
    – Dilip Sarwate
    Apr 3, 2012 at 16:19

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Real estate agents are generally paid by the seller for a house sale, and by the landlord for a rental situation. Landlords go to agents to use their services to list the property, find new tenants, and in some cases even manage the property afterwards.

In my area, both the landlord's agent (who lists the property) and the tenant's agent (who shows properties to tenants) get $400 each when a lease is signed. Generally the listing agent submits the property to the big listing services, and the showing agents search those services to find properties to show their clients.

Agents who list properties will often also post them to general search sites and Craigslist. This way, more prospective tenants can see the property, including those who are searching without an agent. If the listing agent closes a deal with a self-representing tenant, sometimes they get to keep the entire $800.

This knowledge is important to have when you are looking for a place. Your agent will only show you properties listed by other agents, not properties listed by the owner, because then they'd get no commission. So you may want to look on Craigslist etc. But do this before consulting your agent; it would be rude to have an agent show you some places, and then close a deal without them so they do not get paid for their work.

Either way has pros and cons: agents can help you find properties, will know the area and the process well, and can be a resource. But sometimes agents can add barriers or complications to negotiations with the owner/landlord.

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