Should you hire a realtor to help you find a rental home (or condo or apartment or townhouse)? If you’re making a short distance move in a community you’re familiar with, probably not—but in some cases the headaches you save could be priceless.

I’m currently helping a client from New York find a single family rental home in Tampa. He made the right decision enlisting a realtor, considering there are two adults and four school age kids in his family!

Tampa has so many wonderful family neighborhoods—Carrollwood, Tampa Palms, Town ‘n’ Country, Virginia Park, the list goes on—but each of these neighborhoods has a vibe all its own, and when you’re moving a big family 1,100 miles across the country, you want to get it right the first time.

Real estate agents make it their business to know everything about the markets they work in, especially the subtle (and not so subtle) differences between neighborhoods, even those in the same general area. According to my unscientific data, if you drive from MacDill AFB to the furthest point of Tampa, say Odessa or New Tampa, that’d be about 30 miles! If you don’t have a lot of free time on your hands, it makes sense that you might consider hiring a realtor to find your rental, even if you were only moving from one side of town to another.

As you might have heard, Tampa’s real estate market is the fourth hottest in the country, behind only Austin, Phoenix and Nashville. In a rental housing market with plenty of available apartments and homes, it might take only a few days to find a place to call home. But in markets with a limited number of rentals, you could be searching for weeks. That’s when having an agent pays off.

Your agent will also help you read, understand and negotiate the terms of your lease.

Much like buying a house, the trick is being fully prepared with everything you need, including the paperwork, a good credit score and some cash. When there’s competition among rental properties, the person who’s the most prepared usually wins the day.

Christy Rosen Clement is a Pricing Strategy Advisor®, Seller Representative Specialist®, Military Relocation Professional® and REALTOR® at Palermo Real Estate Professionals in South Tampa