Home Leasing Services

Q & A

In addition to traditional real estate sales, the Cort Schneider Group specializes in assisting homeowners with renting their home out to qualified tenants. As a result of today’s unique real estate market, some sellers have decided to offer their home for lease or lease purchase so they can move forward with their plans. These homeowners hope to attract a tenant that will pay the monthly mortgage and care for the home as if it were their own. This alternative to selling relives the seller of making the house payments while the tenant pays down their mortgage balance until they are able to sell the home as originally desired.

Leasing your home out comes with risks so it is important that you partner with a professional that offers years of experience in attracting and qualifying potential tenants to occupy your home.

Below are some common questions and answers, feel free to contact us directly for additional details or answers to your personal questions.

What services would your company provide (or do you sub it out to someone else)? We (I personally) manage the Lease / Lease Purchase process from start to end.
How much could we expect to get for rent on our house? Just like selling, the market will determine the amount of monthly rent we can attract. We will perform a rent analysis to determine the fair market rent value. The tenant typically pays all utilities, sewer, exterior yard maintenance, carries and pays for their own renters insurance. You would still carry homeowners insurance and pay the real estate taxes.
About how long does it typically take to find a renter? It depends on how well we price the monthly rent compared to the homes condition and features. We should be able to secure a tenant in less than 60 days if we are priced competitively.
How does the screening process work and who administers that? When we attract a potential tenant, we either meet with them in person or speak with them on the phone prior to letting them see inside the house. We have a qualifying document I complete that asks 4 measuring factors that help me decide how much “risk” is involved in leasing to them: (a) Time on the Job (b) Documentable Monthly Income vs. Monthly Expenses (c) Credit History (d) Reserves (average monthly bank account balance). None of these alone will disqualify a potential tenant, but together they write a pretty good story. You can always offset risk by retaining more security deposit.
What would be your compensation and what are the specifics? Our compensation for securing a tenant, drafting the lease agreement and doing all things necessary for the tenant to move in is equal to the first month’s rent and is due upon lease signing. If there is another REALTOR that introduces us to the tenant, they normally get an additional $250 “finder’s fee”.
Do you or the company you use have renters in the wings or know of people that might be interested now? Yes, our office agents own and manage hundreds of properties in St. Charles and St. Louis Counties. Our Company is one of the known recourses for offering properties for rent. We have clients that walk in our office to check out our inventory, and a lot of the REALTORS in our Community refer to us for our inventory. There is almost always a “pool” of potential renters at our disposal.
How much, if not already included, does it cost to have a management company involved? Property management is not included in the compensation for attracting, qualifying and securing a tenant. Most property management companies charge between 8%-10% of the total monthly rent per month. Assuming you rent your home for $1,295 a month, the property management would cost you approximately $104.00 a month.

Call or e-mail us today for assistance with leasing your home to quality tenants!