Wow, July rentals were on fire. The trend continues in August. Good rentals are going quickly. I can't stress enough the importance of looking during the week and starting your search early as I do with  my clients. That's why my clients win. If you are still trying to do this on your own try looking Mon-Thur instead of the weekends. Less competition and therefore a better chance of getting the rentals before the weekend.

Scams still on the rise as well as foreclosures. BE AWARE! Just go to some of my previous post for reminders.

The inventory is decent. Best times to search for September is right now.

Stats. The BEST of the BEST rentals are renting within 3 days. The good rentals are renting in 14 days or less.

If you have pets please put together a pet resume as recommened by the SPCA. Go to google type in pet resume and the first link you will see will show you how and why you should do this.  

WARNING, The YouTube posting demonstrates what I've been warning people about for along time. Though this posting was in CA, it is also happening here in our area. Again, use a professional!!!!!! Do not risk locating a rental on your own. Take care and if you ever have questions, please call me at 703-748-6154 Eddie

Market is still heating up as we enter July. This is a very busy time for people looking to rent. Competition is heavy and more of you are getting frustrated with searching. My company remains at 99% placement rate. Rarely do we show more than 2-3 properties before our clients are happy.

Also, be aware that many owners that purchased within the last two years are asking HIGH Rents to cover there mortgage. Many are asking for you to pay condo fees or HOA fees. With me, you don't pay them. If you decide to continue looking on your own please be aware of this trend. These are people on the brink of foreclosure.

We are getting even more people contacting us who have been kicked out of there homes due to owners being foreclosed. If you didn't get the message before, get it now. DO NOT do this on your own unless you are an expert in leasing in Northern VA!!!

As far as market rents, rates are nudging upward though there are still some good deals to be had. I have places now offering thousands off the rent. 2 and 3 months free. If you need help give me a call. Thanks! Eddie

Reading an article today about a family who has paid $30,000 in rent since last August and a $7,000+ deposit all lost as result of an owner who purchased a home he couldn't afford. Unknowingly and at no fault to the tenants a Realtor came knocking on the door and told the family the home was being foreclosed upon.

If you are reading this and you are thinking of renting AND you are thinking of renting from a for rent by owner BEWARE! As you may have read my previous posts on this foreclosure problem, most renters are doing the for rent by owner thing and paying too much and possibly renting from someone who may be on the brink of being foreclosed upon.

So the question is, is there any protection. The sad answer is no. Todays laws do not apply to todays unique market. is there anything you can do? No again. Can you minimize risk? Yes you can! Stay away from Craigslist unless the properties are listed with legitimate companies both Realtors and or Property Management companies. Property management companies typcaill collect rent from the tenant and in some cases pay the mortgage for the owner.

Call me if you are searching for rentals.

Thanks,

Eddie

Hello fellow renters! We love our clients! So far in 2008 ALL clients have found a home through us that they applied for. ALL of our clients have said they wished they used us from the beginning and not have to look online for hours, days and weeks and months. ALL clients have said what we charge isn't enough for what we do. Don't worry, not raising our price yet Only $100 for singles or families and $200.00 for goups of 3 or more adults (unrelated). With us it's about 3-5 hours and you're done!

Not much to report at the beginning of May. The rental market is HOT! Be ready to put down a deposit if you see anything that makes sense. Do not wait or it will be gone!

Latest scam to watch for>>>>

People breaking into vacant homes primarily foreclosures and changing the locks. Then they advertise them on sites like Craigslist and when you meet with them they let you in and you hand them a deposit, 1 st month rent and they are gone. You move in only to find out you have been scammed. This is real!! As I've said before. Use me! Don't go for rent by owner!

One more side note. Any Derringer Fans out there? Rick Derringer of popular fame with songs like Hang on Sloopy and Rock & Roll Hoochie Coo played at Jaxx in Springfield. Some freinds bought some tickets for my birthday and we had a great time. Great Show for a guy hitting 60!

Another Scam to Watch Out For! Using Craigslist or some other For Rent by Owner website! DON'T! Use a professional! Use Eddie!

Spring is in the air and once again the rental market is heating up. My last rental open house rented in 5 minutes with 2 applications. If you are looking for rentals and taking a lax approach to your search....don't unless you want to be in a perpetual state of looking. It is amazing to me still after 23 years how people think that they home they want is just going to sit there and wait for them as if no one else is looking.

Example, I had 3 girls looking for a place. They wanted to look in the evenings (WRONG) starting at 6PM. Avg time it takes to show 3-5 listings is about 2-4 hours depending on traffic ect. This would mean that you are looking to perhaps 10PM at night!! What are you crazy?

I start with all of my clients at 10AM in the morning. We have plenty of time, we are not walking in on people while they are sleeping or having dinner. The other reason is that you have to get the application in NOW if you want the house. These girls wanted to look and then go home and take a few days to think about it and then submit an application. NO NO NO! This is not how to win. We are talking about a roof over your head. You wait, you lose. My clients don't lose!

Look early, look at the right time and be ready. Simple

I welcome your comments and please visit my Facebook Page

The Rental Market is Heating up further. As more and more new hires and transfers come to the area and deciding to rent vs. buying it really fuels the need for quick decisions to be made on homes for rent. The good news is that all of those homes that are not selling sometimes go on the market for sale. This essentialy creates a balance from the high demand which is a good thing for renters. Prices are stable and not really going up but certainly not going down.

We are just now coming out of the time where apartments offer good deals like free rent ect. However....there are still godd deals to be found. I know of a place that wil give you a FREE plasam TV! AND>>>>> 2 MOONTHS FREE! At the end of the day this is a good deal.

Renters still getting caught up in the foreclosure disaster. Again, use a professional servie like us. Do not go to people renting out there own home unless you are certain they are not going into foreclosure.

People are still telling me they find it frustrating to use Craigslist (A disaster) in my opinion. Probably the most unorganized listing service out there. No way to organize the types of homes you want and most are overpriced.

Until next time, rent responsibly!

Hi, I'm not even going to say it again. I'm just going to let you know that an agent told me today that someone she knew was kicked out of his rental because the owner was getting foreclosed upon.

Here's the kicker....The tenant had bad credit so he paid the FULL RENT IN ADVANCE!!!!

He lost every cent and got thrown out!

If you're going to rent

DO NOT GO THROUGH A FOR RENT BY OWNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Use a professional like us to help!

This is a Nationwide Problem. See some YouTube Videos from other areas.

Hello All! Hope your rental search is going well. What's not going well is the foreclosures that are widespread in our area. I've said it before but I feel I must say it again to whomever reads this.

BEWARE!!!!! If you are still trying to do this on your own, going through Craiglist of any For Rent by Owner website BE CAREFUL! If a homeowner is trying to rent there own home out this means they are trying to save money or worst case trying to TAKE your money.

Most of the phone calls I am getting right related to the topic are coming from renters who are getting put out on the street because the owner did not disclose his or her home is going to foreclosure. So what happens? They take your deposit and first months rent and then the 2nd and 3rd months rent and keep the money never paying there mortgage payment. You get a notice to be out in 2 weeks.

This is real folks!

Shameless plug If you want a far better way and safer way and faster way to find a rental just give me a call. I work for you. NOT the owner.

If you have any questions just call me at 703-748-6154.

Thanks!

Eddie

Hello and welcome to my blog. 2008 is starting off great! New year but same old tune. All of my clients are gonig through the same process. Looking on Craigslist, Realtor.com and other sources trying to find a rental. According to my latest survey nearly 90% of you are taking 3-4 weeks or longer to find a suitable rental. I've said it before and I'll say it again and again. THERE IS A FAR BETTER WAY!!!

On my website I say Computers have no experience. They are dumb and only show you what you search for. Here are some facts. What "most" people set out to find does not exist! True, you have an idea or a picture in your head but does it truly exist for your budget? Probably not. With someone like myself with 23 years of experience I already know that you will most likely rent something you're not even thinking about.

Eveyone always asked me....Eddie, is there an online rental search website that works. The anwer is YES and it's not available to the public. My computer system literraly blows anything you have access to away. I have the latest listings and I can organize the information in seconds. Try this now. Go to Craigslist or Realtor.com and organize the list by type of property or by price or by DOM or days on the market. It is not possible. The most important number to me is days on the market.

Do you know how many days the avg good rental takes to rent?..................Answer: 14

When you look at the online ads do you know if the rental has been sitting on the market for days? Weeks? Months? No you don't. So you read this great ad written by an overpriced for rent by owner and you get there and your jaw hits the ground and your thinking to yourself, did I just walk into the wrong place? Trust me folks, they are out there and in big numbers.

Anyway, one more reminder to watch out for the for rent by owners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Many are going through foreclosure.

If you want a great service! Call me for your next rental! Thanks! Eddie