Almost no real estate agent in the Snead’s Ferry or Topsail Island area will rent your vacation house for you.
Contrary to popular belief, real estate agents make very little money off of selling homes. They generally receive 25% of that 7% listing fee. Selling a $400,000 property is a tremendous amount of work, and when the house closes for $375k the agent is going to get $6500.
Many area agents sell 1 house every couple months.
A local real estate agent just told me last week the hilarious requests they’ve had. They make very clear up front that they list the home and keep their best interests in mind when marketing the home and usually while selling it as well. But, some people ask if the agent can swing by, spend a little extra time and:
- Mow the lawn
- Take out the trash
- Make sure tenants are not destroying the house
- Pressure wash the house
- Check up on the home after storms
- Repair outlets
- Fix plumbing
- Hire handymen
- Change HVAC filters
You get the idea.
Absolutely none of this is happening – just ask any agent for their horror stories.
Real Estate Companies that Also Manage Properties:
That said, there are some real estate companies in the area who have a rental agency / rental department. These are completely separate departments, run by different people who are hired by one of the brokers (not agents). The property managers often have additional duties (such as bookkeeping) for the rest of the company. They may even work nights or remotely.
If you like the agency you can definitely use one of their agents to sell your home and another person from the business to rent the property. There is, however, often no benefit to doing this.
Your agent is going to want to know that you have everything under control for your house to be shown. It should be well kept, the lawn should be mowed, the HVAC should be maintained, and, if it’s an income property, it should be generating cash to loyal tenants.
Obviously, who is putting freon in the AC unit doesn’t matter, who is cutting the lawn doesn’t matter and who is managing the tenants doesn’t matter. If they happen to rent houses and are good at it, great, that may be an excellent choice! You know what they say though – Jack of all trades.. Master of none… In fact, after Hurricane Florence the WRAL troubleshooting team reached out to some real estate companies who failed to provide vacationers refunds legally owed!
Empty House – Red Flag?
If a home in North Carolina is for sale it may also be rented. Of course, your agent needs to know that it is rented, but that is to be expected of beach houses. In fact, if your house is not rented out or has a poor rental history it may be a big red flag for potential buyers.
I live inland full time but am actively accumulating properties. When I purchase a rental I want that thing rented out, hopefully to a long term tenant, before I purchase. The bank will lend you more money for a home which is rented as well.
A Note on Future Rentals When Purchasing:
All sellers and buyers of real estate along the Carolina coast should be aware that tenants who have paid for vacations basically have the time at the house leased. Even if the property changes hands, their vacation time shall be honored.
Need a Real Estate Agent or Property Manager?
I have been building a list of trusted real estate agents which will be posted on this website shortly. If you’d like a recommendation please feel free to email me and I will send you a few names. I receive nothing in return from them and if you use them or not is up to you.
To learn more about my property management services go here.
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