Hello,
I am trying to rent a property from out-of-state and I have a realtor helping me. I found a property on craigslist and the owner of the property accepted my application.
My question is I would like to have my realtor handle this for me - to view the house, make sure its legit, exchange the deposit, and get the keys, basically to have the realtor deal with the owner and I wanted to know how much California agents charge for a transaction like this - is there a certain percentage I will pay her? I will be paying her as the landlord isn't requesting her services. It will only be for this initial transaction and I will be dealing with the property owner after I obtain the keys. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Typically when real estate agents lease a property, they are paid a commission of one month's rent. As with all fees in real estate, this lease fee is negotiable, but you're probably looking at that ballpark.
Best of luck with your new rental, and make sure you have that realtor send you LOTS of pictures, including pictures of the block and surrounding area, as well as getting a sense for what kind of people live there.
Cheers,

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Brian
Rental Lease - state-specific rental forms from EZ Landlord Forms

As WebLandLord mentioned, do as much research as possible about the property via online, through your agent, and have your agent ask the landlord questions that aren't available online...such as "how long do tenants typically live in this property?", "what are the reason previous tenants have left?". Also, be sure to visit the City's police website to review any crime stats, etc. Good luck!