Rental pricing analysis
Comp-based rent recommendation against current active and recently leased inventory in your submarket — priced to lease in weeks, not months.
Tenant placement — Seattle & the Eastside
You manage the property. We find the tenant.
Leasing-only service for Seattle and Eastside landlords who self-manage: pricing analysis, marketing, showings, full screening, a Washington-compliant lease, and documented move-in — for a one-time fee of one month's rent.
Placement at a glance
- One month's rent, one time. No monthly fee, no contract lock-in — the market runs 50%–100% of a month; we publish our number.
- 2–4 week target lease-up on well-prepared, accurately priced rentals — against a 35–45 day 2026 Seattle-area average.
- Designated broker accountable. Adriano Tori, WA Lic. #27660 — a licensed brokerage, not a lead-gen site reselling your listing.
- 1,241 five-star Google reviews. Tenants recognize the brand, which means more applications per listing week.
Page author
Adriano Tori
Designated Broker, Founder & CEO — RexMont Real Estate · WA Lic. #27660
Adriano leads RexMont Real Estate — the most-reviewed real estate brokerage in Seattle and the Eastside. 1,200+ closed transactions, $1B+ in production, and 1,241 five-star Google reviews.
Tenant placement in Seattle costs 50%–100% of one month's rent — RexMont charges one month, flat — and a well-prepared rental should lease in 2–4 weeks even in 2026's 35–45 day market. I'm Adriano Tori, Designated Broker of RexMont Real Estate. Placement-only is the right product for a specific landlord: you live nearby, you can handle a maintenance call, but the finding — pricing, marketing, showings, screening, first-in-time compliance, lease paperwork — is where mistakes get expensive. One bad placement costs a year of headaches and often an eviction that runs $3,000 to $7,000 or more. This page covers exactly what our placement service includes, what it costs, and how it compares to full management.
What one month's rent buys
Professional marketing
Photography guidance, listing copy, and syndication to Zillow, Trulia, HotPads, Apartments.com, and the portals Seattle tenants actually search.
Showing coordination
Scheduled and screened showings, weekend availability, and follow-up with every prospect — vacancy days are the most expensive line item in a landlord's year.
Full applicant screening
Credit, income at 3x rent, employment, past-landlord references, eviction search, and background within Washington-permitted scope — the same standard on every applicant.
Washington-compliant lease
Current RCW 59.18 lease package, disclosures, and Seattle-specific addenda where the property sits inside city limits.
Move-in documentation
Condition report with photos, deposit handling per RCW 59.18.270, and a tenant orientation that sets payment and maintenance expectations from day one.
Placement-only vs. full management
| Tenant placement | Full management | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | One month's rent, one time | 8%–10% of monthly rent, ongoing |
| Marketing, showings, screening, lease | Included | Included |
| Rent collection & enforcement | You | RexMont |
| Maintenance coordination | You | RexMont, 24/7 |
| Compliance & notices | You (we set you up right) | RexMont, attorney-ready |
| Best for | Local, hands-on owners with time and vendors | Remote owners, busy professionals, portfolios |
Honest guidance: if you live out of state, own more than two doors, or have never served a Washington notice, placement-only will cost you more than it saves. If you're local and hands-on, it's the highest-leverage $2,000–$4,000 you'll spend on the property this year.
Why 2026 is a bad year to wing the leasing
Seattle-metro vacancy is running 6.7%–7.2% in 2026 — a renter-favorable market. Median asking rents are flat to slightly down year-over-year, new supply is still absorbing, and concessions are back. In this market a mediocre listing with phone-camera photos and a guessed price doesn't lease slowly — it doesn't lease. Every extra vacant week on a $3,000 rental is $700 gone.
Placement is also where legal exposure concentrates. Seattle's first-in-time rule, Washington's source-of-income protection, the Fair Chance Act limits on criminal screening, and King County's fair-housing ordinance all bind at the application stage. Screening criteria have to be written, published, and applied in order — improvising is how self-managing landlords end up in demand letters.
And once the tenant signs, the deposit has to sit in a Washington trust account with the bank disclosed per RCW 59.18.270, the move-in checklist has to be completed and signed, and the lease has to carry the current state and city addenda. We hand you a file that's complete on day one — because the same file is what protects you at move-out.
Related services
If placement isn't the right fit
In writing, in the management agreement
Six written guarantees on every account.
- Paid-on-Performance Guarantee
- 30-Day Leasing Guarantee
- 12-Month Tenant Guarantee
- Eviction Fee Guarantee
- Pet Damage Guarantee
- Cancel-Anytime Guarantee
FAQ
Seattle tenant placement — frequently asked questions
How much does tenant placement cost in Seattle?
Seattle tenant placement fees run 50%–100% of one month's rent, typically $1,250–$2,500 depending on the rent level. RexMont's placement-only fee is one month's rent for a new lease, which covers rental pricing analysis, professional marketing, showings, full applicant screening, Washington-compliant lease execution, and documented move-in. Renewal leases on properties we manage run 50%–75% of one month's rent.
How long does it take to find a tenant in Seattle in 2026?
The Seattle-area average is running 35–45 days in 2026's softer, higher-vacancy market. Well-prepared and accurately priced rentals still lease in 2–4 weeks. The biggest driver is week-one pricing: overpriced listings sit 60+ days and usually end up conceding more than the overprice would have captured.
What is the difference between tenant placement and full property management?
Tenant placement is a one-time service — we market the property, screen applicants, sign the lease, and document move-in, then hand the keys back to you to self-manage. Full management is ongoing — rent collection, maintenance coordination, compliance, and owner reporting for 8%–10% of monthly rent. Placement suits local, hands-on owners; full management suits remote owners, busy professionals, and multi-door portfolios.
How does RexMont screen tenants?
Every applicant gets the same pipeline: TransUnion or Equifax credit pull (target 680+), income verification at 3x rent gross monthly minimum, direct employment verification, past-landlord references for the prior two tenancies, eviction and judgment search, criminal background within the scope Washington law allows, and photo ID verification. Consistent criteria applied to every applicant is both the fair-housing protection and the bad-tenant protection.
Does Seattle's first-in-time rule apply to my rental?
Yes — Seattle requires landlords to screen applications in the order received and offer the unit to the first applicant who meets the written criteria. That makes publishing clear, lawful screening criteria before listing essential. RexMont builds the criteria with you up front and documents application order so the placement is defensible.
Do you offer leasing-only service on the Eastside?
Yes. The same placement service covers Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish, Issaquah, Bothell, Woodinville, Newcastle, and Mercer Island. Eastside placements frequently involve corporate relocation tenants on employer timelines, which rewards fast, professional showing coordination.
Can I switch from placement-only to full management later?
Yes, at any time. Owners who start with placement often move to full management after the first 3:00 AM maintenance call or the first out-of-state move. Because we placed the tenant, we already hold the lease, screening file, and move-in documentation — the transition is a signature, not a project.
Start here
Tell us about the vacancy.
Address, unit type, target move-in date, and last rent (if any). We'll reply with a rent recommendation, a marketing plan, and the placement timeline for your submarket.