I was wondering what is the job of a real estate agent for a rental property?...are they suppose to check on references,credit history of the potential tenant?..if there is issues with the tenant do they assist the owner?...
The buyer agent is responsible for bringing the seller agent a client. Both agents ensure that both parties are happy with any reference checks or whatever. The value added is just a series of very minor paperwork and gathering of documentation like credit report and drafting the agreement etc. Surely advice is thrown around somewhere.
Do they assist owner? Probably not. After they collect their commission, they'll probably never want to talk to you again. This is why most people prefer to have a friend or relative as their agent.
What a real estate agent does will be highly variable. The minimum level of service is very minimum: they'll put an ad on MLS, and help you find a tenant if they've got nothing better to do.
Good agents may also take pictures of the property, put ads up on other sites and/or in the newspaper, show the property to tenants (or let a buyer's agent bring tenants by), and if you're really lucky, they may help you do a credit check or swing by staples to pick up a lease document for you.
Bad agents (and I've seen many) will put the ad up on MLS and then not even return phone calls from prospective tenants -- and if they do, they may just try to sell the tenant on buying, not owning, so they can get a buyer's agent commission, and not a month's rent from your rental ad.
I don't think any will help you out with the ongoing stuff like collecting cheques or dealing with issues down the line. For that you want a rental agent or property manager, not a real estate agent (though sometimes a rental agent who will help with that also happens to be a real estate agent).
If you're in Toronto, some people I can recommend 2nd or 3rd hand (don't own a rental myself):
http://landlordrescue.ca/service/
