There are two ways to earn income from residential real estate - through profitable sales and by renting out housing. Moreover, if in the first case we are talking about a one-time receipt of funds, then in the second, the property owner can count on long-term passive income, which makes this strategy similar to placing savings on a bank deposit.
However, Russians consider renting out housing a more effective way to earn money than a bank deposit. According to surveys by the analytical center of the National Agency for Financial Research, citizens named the purchase of real estate as the most reliable investment (49%). “Buyers who choose the rentier route receive a certain amount from month to month, but the downside is the payback period is 15-18 years long,” notes Natalia Kuznetsova, general director of the Bon Ton real estate agency.
According to the INCOM-Real Estate company, currently 44,644 residential real estate properties are rented out within the old borders of Moscow alone, of which 88% are apartments and 12% are rooms. Over the year, total supply increased by 27.5%. That is, the number of Muscovites renting housing increased by a little more than a quarter during this period.
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“The growth in rental supply is evidence of the social vulnerability of a significant segment of the population. Indeed, for many, renting out housing is becoming the main source of income,” comments Oksana Polyakova, deputy director of the apartment rental department at INCOM-Real Estate.
As noted in, today one-room apartments are the most in demand on the rental market. More than 30% of all tenants are looking for this particular type of housing, although during the crisis the share of rooms in the rental market also increased.
The essence of the concept
What does commission mean when renting an apartment? A commission is a reward for the intermediary's assistance in renting housing. In fact, this is payment for services actually provided to the citizen. What does a citizen who contacts a realtor pay? When concluding contracts with agencies, the following services are paid:
- Selection of options that meet the stated conditions.
- Presentation of the filmed object with on-site visit.
- Conducting negotiations with the owner.
- Drawing up a contract and being present at its conclusion.
A specialist will help you competently evaluate all the advantages and disadvantages of the rented housing and check the technical condition of the equipment.
By contacting a realtor when renting or renting a residential property, the tenant saves a lot of time searching for a suitable option, and the owner saves on searching for a respectable and solvent tenant.
Is it possible to do without the help of real estate specialists?
When looking for an apartment, many do without the services of a realtor, turning directly to the owners.
A transaction without an agent does not involve a commission . However, recently there have been fewer and fewer advertisements from direct owners, as they prefer to use the services of intermediaries.
Is it possible to rent an apartment with the help of an agent, but not pay a commission, and do without it? Theoretically, this is possible, but in relation to the realtor it will not be entirely ethical. The option is as follows: while showing an apartment with an agent, the tenant can secretly agree with the owner to conclude an agreement without an intermediary. If he agrees, they can meet on the appointed day and sign the papers without paying the agent who brought them together a commission.
Kinds
A commission is a one-time amount paid when renting or renting a property. It should be distinguished from rent for premises. You can learn about what the payment for renting a living space includes, as well as what the tenant must pay for, from our articles.
If you negotiate directly with the property owner, there is no commission at all.
The commission paid to the agent is of two types:
- When renting living space. It is paid by the client renting the living space . He pays for the provided, selected options and their demonstration.
- When renting out living space. This type is paid by the owner for selecting tenants and negotiating with them.
In both cases, support for the signing of a bilateral agreement is paid.
Hidden commission from a legal point of view
From a legal point of view, a hidden commission qualifies as the taking of property; interpretations and opinions of lawyers differ in details, but in one thing they are similar - this is pure deception of the client.
In most cases, the actions of realtors fall under Article 159 of the Criminal Code Fraud, that is, the theft of someone else’s property or the acquisition of rights to someone else’s property through deception and abuse of trust.
As a rule, real estate fraudulent schemes do not shine with sophistication, and are mostly simple-minded, known to many, and are not particularly difficult to investigate. However, only isolated episodes, and even the most egregious ones, for example, during which serious material damage was caused or real estate was completely and irrevocably stolen, receive wide publicity and go to trial.
Basically, realtors, if they realize that their cunning plan has been discovered, try not to wash dirty linen in public and not bring the matter to court. They make every effort to compensate the client for damages and make amends to him before the trial, solve the problem quietly and part ways amicably.
Who trades in stealth?
It is generally accepted that mostly fly-by-night companies are trying to push through hidden commissions in transactions for the purchase and sale of secondary real estate. However, large metropolitan offices are also guilty of this and often indulge in this. And indeed, the chance of running into a fraudster in an unknown office is much higher than in a real estate agency with a big, respectable name. But greedy realtors, who are driven only by the thirst for instant profit, who live one day at a time, do not care about business reputation, and who have no business education, and completely lack any signs of moral principles, exist both here and here.
Who will pay?
Who pays the realtor's commission when renting an apartment? According to the established tradition in the real estate market, the realtor's commission is paid by the tenant .
But this, as a rule, is when renting out housing in the low and middle price categories .
But for the rental of luxury real estate with a high rent, the owner of the property pays, since most often the rental of such housing is a business.
In very rare cases, by agreement of the parties, the commission is divided between the two parties to the transaction.
Read on our website about how to confirm expenses for renting housing on a business trip, as well as how to receive compensation for renting an apartment to a military personnel.
What is a safe transaction on Avito
Avito is a platform for making money via the Internet and more. With the help of Avito, people can sell and buy any product at different prices. In order to protect people from fraud, the creators of the service introduced a secure transaction on their resource.
What is a safe transaction on Avito? These are the service rules that were introduced to protect users from losing money and fraudulent schemes.
The rules will help you sell and buy goods on Avito without any problems. Everyone will benefit - the seller and the buyer. Below we will look at how a secure trade works.
Size
How much should you pay a realtor when renting an apartment? The average fee is the amount of the requested rent. This is usually between fifty and one hundred percent of the estimated rent.
The amount of the commission may also depend on the type of transaction being made. The selection of housing can be carried out by one agency or together with a partner. If two agencies work for you at once, then you need to pay them 100% of the monthly rent . They will divide this amount among themselves.
The size of the commission also depends on the liquidity of the proposed option. Simply put, the more profitable the property in terms of price-quality ratio, the higher the commission.
Dangerous ploy: they lure you into an auction
When demand for an apartment exceeds supply, an auction is held between those wishing to rent it. For example, when students come to the city before the school year in August and look for inexpensive housing to rent.
An agent lists an apartment at a low price in order to quickly find more potential tenants. Schedules viewings for everyone at the same time and starts bidding right during viewing. Clients are asked to name their price and sold to the highest bidder. So the price of an apartment is raised by several thousand rubles.
The largest auction I participated in was of 15 people. The largest I've heard of is out of 50.
Rent a property without an agent
How to rent an apartment without commission? As noted earlier, you can rent a suitable option without intermediaries, but finding it is quite difficult, and sometimes almost impossible . But there are several ways to get information without paying a commission:
- Come to the inspection together with a realtor, and, if the owner is present during the inspection, try to arrange a meeting with him later and conclude a deal directly .
- a figurehead instead of yourself for inspection , and after finding out the address, contact the owner.
- Access the database and find an option there.
Of course, all these methods are scams, but they help save some money.
In addition, you will not pay any money as a commission if you find housing to rent on your own.
What does it mean to “rent an apartment without commission”? Study advertisements on special websites and in newspapers, advertise your desire to rent a home.
Dangerous ploy: They advertise an apartment without the owner’s consent
This is how photographs are obtained. The agent calls the owner who is renting out the apartment and says that he has a client and wants to look at the apartment this evening. Sometimes they say that there is a client, but first the agent will look at the apartment without him - supposedly to make sure that the apartment is suitable and not to show the client unsuitable options.
Already at the apartment, the agent says that he needs to take a photo to show the client. Or this is what a fake client says and argues that he wants to show his mother, wife or husband for advice. This is how the agent gets photographs. He advertises the apartment and waits for calls from real employers. When the client appears, he calls the owner and again asks for a viewing.
Documents upon registration
When paying a commission to a realtor, it is worth drawing up an agreement with the agency . Carefully study what you have been given to sign before giving away money. It may happen that the owner is a fake .
If you paid a commission to a realtor, and then for some reason the owner suddenly terminated the contract or turned out not to be the owner at all, you will not be able to get the money back.
If the contract specifies a specific commission amount, and it is signed by you and the agent, then in the event of force majeure, you can demand a refund of the paid commission from the agency. Perhaps even through the courts. Reputable agencies always formalize the payment of commission as expected; this can also become some guarantee of the purity of the transaction .
Do not rush to enter into contracts and pay commissions to private agents , this can lead to trouble.
How is it different from collateral?
Commission and deposit are fundamentally different concepts. A commission is paid to the realtor for his work in finding an apartment to rent, and a deposit is transferred from the tenant to the owner of the apartment as a guarantee that the terms of the contract will be met.
Typically, these amounts are paid by the employer once, which is why the concepts are confused.
What is collateral? This is an insurance option in case of unscrupulous tenants moving in, property damage, and the tenant vacating the premises without warning.
The terms of the deposit must be specified in the rental agreement. In case of eviction and there are no complaints from the owner regarding the condition of the premises, the property in it, or payment of utility bills, the amount of the deposit is returned to the tenant.
How to rent an apartment without being scammed?
Is it possible to get my money back if there are problems?
The answer to this question is negative. The agency is responsible only for those services that it provided to the client.
Thus, if the realtor has fully completed his tasks, then it will not be possible to return the paid commission (if problems arise between the tenant and the landlord) for an apartment rented through an intermediary.
At the same time, under a rental agreement, claims can be brought against the other party in court.
Thus, involving a real estate agency in the procedure for renting (renting) an apartment can significantly speed up and simplify this process. At the same time, it is very important to choose a reliable and conscientious realtor.
