Rentals in the Back Bay are a game, but I make all the rules…

…is what I would have said if Bravo turned my life into a reality realty show….but, of course,they didn’t, and I most certainly do not make the rules in the Back Bay Rental Market. But here’s an inside look at my life as a Real Rental Agent of the Back Bay.  Step inside…who knows, maybe Bravo will want to turn my life into a reality show after all!

Step 1: Follow up with customers

This seems simple enough as customers contact us through the Internet, more often than not leaving only an email address, making it easy enough to take time out my busy day to send out an email: “hey, how you doin? what are you interested in? a 1 bed in the back bay available NOW for 1000 dollars a month?” …. Not possible, but let’s see what we can do! Finding amazing deals like this can be impossible, but if you still want to find one of them then your best option is to contact this Real Estate Listing Team.

Step 2: Call landlords

This should also be simple enough, but when landlords of major real estate management companies have dozens of rental reality-star-wannabes calling them 20 times a day, they tend to not be the most approachable grapes in the bunch. But hey, you have to get your questions answered and your customers satisfied, so you forge ahead. Ask Matt Giangregorio, he’ll fill you in on all there is to offer these wonderful and wacky heroes we call landlords.

Step 3: Find keys

This, my friends, has been the trickiest part in starting out as a rental agent: where to find keys. It could be as simple as getting a lockbox code or as hard as driving, biking, T-riding, or walking out to the far reaches of (GASP) Allston/Brighton. When you have customers to satisfy, previews to attend, places to go, and people to see, tracking down keys can take a BIG chunk out of your day.

Step 4: Call Tenants

This is fairly simple to do, seeing as most people don’t answer unrecognizable numbers in the fear of stranger danger. But leaving 10-15 messages to show 3-5 apartments? Sometimes you find yourself repeating the mantra “Hi, this is ______ from _____ hoping to show your apartment tomorrow around ____ if this is a problem give me call back at ____,” in your sleep.

Step 5: Go on a showing

This is usually the easiest part of the process, except when people cancel on you last minute, throwing a wrench in your whole Step 1-4 routine. But, we just want to help the customers rent, the landlords to be happy, the current tenants to find another place to live, and to move on to other fish in the sea, so we cordially accept and whip out our planners, iphones, droids, and/or blackberries.

Step 6: Application Process

Hallelujah they want to rent! But what happens now? The time spent getting your customer from the showing to the office usually ends in too much contemplating over whether the decision they are about to make is the right one. Understandable, as it is a big decision, but when you have put in the work from 1-5, changing your mind at the last minute can be a bit disheartening. But hey, another day another drama in the Real Rental Agents of the Back Bay.

Step 7: Signing

So you have a bite and your customers have gone through the application process. But the work does not end there. At this point you are sweating, hustling, and probably swearing under your breath trying to collect checks, make a deal sheet, faxing, scanning, emailing, calling, and texting before the deal falls through. Because, that’s right people, a deal can fall through in a second. Take it from me with my first deal ever! The papers were signed, the money was in, the T’s were crossed and the I’s dotted, come to find the tenant has decided to renew until September and the apartment is no longer an option for my customer…so what do you do?

Step 8: Drink. Heavily.

At the end of the day, there’s nothing more refreshing and comforting than a box of wine to fall asleep with you on the couch while you cry watching Kim Richards confessing alcoholism on Bravo… Until the next day when the process starts all over again.

So, what do you say, BravoTV? I think we can find some juicy drama in here to last several weeks and drawn out reunion specials. Lots of sweet and spicy characters to entertain you until your customer is ready to take the next step….. Buying and selling real estate: dun dun dun.

And if your a tenant looking for your next apartment in Boston or a Landlord trying to get your place rented, get in touch with me, and I’d be happy to give you a first hand look at one of The Real Rental Agents of the Back Bay….if you think you can handle it!  😉