At a High Level
- While we do support leasing services, our company does not focus on them. Our energy is spent helping our agents help their clients buy and sell as many properties as they can!
- Lease checks are generally handled slowly. Leasing agents usually start pestering you for payment or you will have to start pestering the landlord rep for your tenant rep payment.
- Your landlord clients generally have a less than stellar experience. Leasing is just not that pleasant. They will now associate you with that experience.
- You will likely have to pester your landlord client for payment. This is not pleasant and you are now associated with that.
- Many renter clients have bad experiences with their new landlords. They will come to you for legal advice that you're not qualified to give. You will want to help them, which is also a time suck.
Landlord Representation (Accidental Landlords)
- Many sellers who fail to sell become "accidental landlords" and are not yet educated about the leasing process from the landlord's perspective. It's our job to educate them on the process.
- Your primary goal (beyond leasing the property) is to make sure your client obeys the law. Beyond the obvious, this means they obey Fair Housing laws and Texas property code.
- You must post your tenant approval process criteria and your lease terms on the MLS. We recommend that you use this document (and terms). These are standard terms and a standard process.
- Your landlord must sign this document and attach it to the lease listing agreement. This document states the application approval criteria and lease terms. It states that you will accept the first qualified tenant.
- Your landlord must sign this document and you must provide it in RealScale. This goes over the modifications that they will need to make to their property to meet Texas Property Code.
- Set the expectation that you will notify your landlord when they have an approved tenant. You can share the application with the landlord upon request and with the tenant's approval (which will take time) but approval is not contingent upon their review and can not be revoked upon their review. This is to adhere to Fair Housing.
How to Enter a Lease and Generate an Invoice
Our Process, Policies, (and more advice)
- It is your responsibility to provide the lease invoice to your landlord (if you represent them) or to the landlord's agent (if you're representing the tenant.)
- If you've collected the first month's rent from the tenant as payment, we do not accept personal checks. Any personal check from a tenant will simply be destroyed.
- Recommended Method: Tenants pay the Landlords directly. We recommend they use apartments.com to get payment because it sets them up for future rent collection in an easy way. After the transaction is complete, you send the invoice to the Landlord and we watch for payment.
- Less Recommended Method: Tenants pay you. You pay the Landlord and Bramlett.
- Least Recommended Method: Tenants pay Bramlett directly and we turn the payments around. Tenants must pay via certified funds (cashier's check or money order) if they pay Bramlett and drop the payment off at the office.
- If you're representing the landlord, it's your responsibility to make sure that payment makes it to the office.
- Marelise is the only person who handles lease checks. She checks the mail for checks once a week on Monday.
- As soon as a check is received, Marelise updates the transaction in RealScale with notes on when it was received and when any checks were mailed.
Do You Need to Check on a Payment?
- First, check RealScale for any notes. If you don't see any notes, then copy a link to the transaction.
- Email [email protected] to ask for an update. Include a link to the transaction in RealScale.
- Remember that Marelise checks mail only on Mondays. Please take note of that when you email [email protected].
- Include any details that you think might be helpful.
We highly discourage everyone from engaging in any leasing activities. There are always much more profitable things to do than take a renter client and it's in your and your client's best interest for you to refer them to someone who specializes in leasing if your clients need landlord services. Your core competency is not in leasing and you should set a hard boundary that you won't do it.
