How to rent a house? Agent?

Question

I'm looking to rent (not buy!) a house in the Southeast US, and I'm having trouble wading through all the stuff online and in the newspaper. All the real estate places want me to buy a house, and all the places advertising rentals are for apartments/townhouse. I want an actual house with a yard and a garage. How should I go about finding a decent place for an affordable price? Where would I find a rental agent (real estate office?), and would it be worth it? Do they even bother with people who only want to rent? What are their fees?

**Please only offer answers regarding housing rentals, not opinions on what I should rent instead, or whether I should be buying instead. Thank you!

Answer 1

Start in the phone book under Rental Agencies.

You can call a real estate agent and ask if he knows any listings that will be turning into rentals. This is a great market for that. People selling get tired of being on the market and just want  to get on with there lives.

Last, drive around in the area that you want to live in and check out the for sale by owners. Same issue with them they get tired of marketing their property as well.

Answer 2

it can be overwhelming combing the internet for a rental.  hooking up with an agent is the way to go.  tell the agent you want a house with a yard + garage, your monthly rent $ range, your preferred neighborhood, and the whole enchilada.  the real estate agent usually gets paid the first month rent (by the landlord) so they do have an interest to help you find your perfect rental.  you shouldn't have to pay a dime to the agent.  you can try remaxx or your local real estate company.  craigslist.com is also a good source.

Answer 3

Check out Craigslist.  Also, I believe Realtor.com just added rental listings.  You can look for the public version of the MLS as well in your area.

In my local area, there are a lot of rentals advertised in the main area newspaper and the local "pennysaver" paper as well.

Some of those advertised will be through realtors, and some won't be.  There's no reason to limit yourself to one or the other.

Good luck.

Answer 4

It can  be very hard to find a rental agent.  They are few and far between ( I know - rentals are a large part of my business )  Go on-line and look at different agent profiles.  Call the local real estate board and ask them for referrals.  Good Luck.