Letting agents in general and recommendations

[gaylad]

I have started to approach local letting agents to rent out a house in the area. My family has rented out a house in Cornwall, and I have a friend who rents one out in Nottingham, so I was expecting that "fully managed" meant a fee of 10% and even that may be negotiable.

The first two I tried were Acorn (14%, negotiable) and Foxtons (17%, firmly non-negotiable). These percentage fees seem eye-wateringly high and presumably mean that tenants end up significantly more in rent, just to pay these companies for their sales teams as there is no real difference in what "fully managed" would mean outside of London.

So, some advice please. As a future landlord is it best to whack up the expected rent and get an expensive letting agent, or should I keep shopping for one that will charge 12%? Some good experiences of using particular letting agents from local small landlords or tenents would be great.

[Dr De Soto]

I recommend Daisylets - local and very professional.

[Loz]

I really wouldn't recommend Daisylets. We had a major issue where they refused to take responsibility for one of their contractors poor work (for check in/out and inventory - rather important parts of the job!) and it took quite a few very heated emails to get any sort of a resolution. I certainly wouldn't use them again.

Personally, I think that if you are local enough, letting agents really aren't worth the sort of money they charge anyway. The forum is an excellent place to find tenants and tradespeople. Contracts and forms for inventories, etc can be found online, especially if you join an association (worth it for the first year for checklists, etc). Do you really need to pay a few grand a year for someone the ring the plumber occasionally?

[Sue]

I've let out my house in the past when I've been working elsewhere, and my experience of having it "managed" by letting agents wasn't good. I gained the strong impression that they were charging me an arm and a leg for sitting back and doing very little.

It wouldn't be fair to name names as it was some time ago, but there were things like bills not sorted (I returned home on one occasion to find the phone disconnected, if memory serves), inventories not properly done, references not properly checked etc.

In the end I used a letting agent just to get the tenants in the first place, and managed it myself. The only minor problem was when I needed to replace a gas hob and was living miles away, but the tenants sorted out a gas fitter and sent me the bill :)

I did once have a major problem when the letting agent let the house to himself and his partner, paid no rent for four months, gave me excuse after excuse, got sacked from his job, and eventually paid up when I took him to the small claims court!!!!

And then a year or so later had the cheek to ask me to give him a reference for a mortgage!!!! I didn't give him one, but I wish I had (a bad one), because in retrospect I suspect that he probably forged one ......

[Willard]

I wouldn't bother with letting agents at all. I agree with Loz, you'll find some tenants on here no problem.

You can run your own credit checks on them, take out Landlord's insurance which protects you from non payment of rent. Download a template tenancy agreement etc. This is essentially what an agent will do. You'll save a lot of money and that money can go towards emergency repairs etc.

[girlelectric]

I strongly wouldn?t recommend Daisylets! Nice as pie before you sign anything and then lots of emails to get anything resolved after signing.

[Loz]

BTW - those fees you are quoted are almost certainly before VAT, so 17% actually becomes 20.4% of the rent, 14% will be 16.8%, etc, etc.

[Penguin68]

John D Wood manage a house for me outside London - they charge full wack (17% + VAT) but they offer a good service, including ensuring my tenant pays on time and in full, being the recipient of out-of-hours calls and producing quite effective workmen to deal with any issues. In 5 years I haven't had any real issues with them. They are also good at keeping me legal (as requirements on Landlords for various checks increase). I operate with them fully electronically (no paperwork) including electronic signature of leases etc.

[worldwiser]

I've been a landlord off and on for about 15 years and have gone through every letting agent you've ever heard of and some you haven't. I honestly wouldn't recommend a single one of them. They are terrible communicators, don't take problems seriously and charge eye-watering amounts for tasks you could easily get done for half the price.

My main tip is: put all of your energy into finding a high quality, engaged tenant who knows something about how to look after a property. A proactive tenant will save you a mountain of stress so it's worth getting right. Don't depend on an agent to fill in a clueless tenant's shortcomings. The best tenant I ever had I found on loot.com. Like others have said, referencing and contracts are just a click away. Also, get bank statements and a signed employer reference too. Don't bother with ones from old landlords, so easily forged.

Get a good relationship going with your tenant, don't put a middleman in the way. If you're on great terms with them you'll get through anything. If you barely know them and always depend on third-hand information, you're in for a bag of trouble.

[MirandaS]

I recently have become a landlord and have a busy work life so fully managing the letting process, checks, rent collection etc was not an option. I went through Ludlow Thompson and opted for their tenant finder and rent collection service. I pay 10% and have chosen to pay this from the first lot of rental instalments. They also have a good warranty and property damage scheme, which means I don't need to take out insurance other than buildings (condition of the mortgage). I have found them very professional and they found tenants that wanted a long lease. There was a slight error on their part and they rented the property partly furnished but in fact it was unfurnished so they provide some items for the tenants. I would recommend using an agent if you are a first time landlord and you have very little spare time.

[Mustard]

Ludlow Thompson! I once rented my flat to an employee of Ludlow Thompson, and she proved to be a dreadful tenant despite managing one of their branches. She only paid rent when she felt like it, moved a cat in without asking permission, there wasn't a garden, and when I wrote to her boss, Stephen Ludlow, to try to get redress, he was unhelpful in the extreme. Couldn't wait to get rid of her.

If you google his name, you will come up with a tribunal hearing in 2012 he and some of his employees attended, The National Federation of Property Professionals, where they were fined for problems with one of their clients. I don't know how to do the link thing, but wouldn't touch them with the proverbial barge pole.

[danielson00]

Ludlow Thompson sound great for Landlords, a complete rip off for tenants though, average of ?400 each in "fees".

So your fees plus tenants fees, trebles all round!

[Willard]

1000 x This:

worldwiser Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I've been a landlord off and on for about 15 years

> and have gone through every letting agent you've

> ever heard of and some you haven't. I honestly

> wouldn't recommend a single one of them. They are

> terrible communicators, don't take problems

> seriously and charge eye-watering amounts for

> tasks you could easily get done for half the

> price.

>

> My main tip is: put all of your energy into

> finding a high quality, engaged tenant who knows

> something about how to look after a property. A

> proactive tenant will save you a mountain of

> stress so it's worth getting right. Don't depend

> on an agent to fill in a clueless tenant's

> shortcomings. The best tenant I ever had I found

> on loot.com. Like others have said, referencing

> and contracts are just a click away. Also, get

> bank statements and a signed employer reference

> too. Don't bother with ones from old landlords, so

> easily forged.

>

> Get a good relationship going with your tenant,

> don't put a middleman in the way. If you're on

> great terms with them you'll get through anything.

> If you barely know them and always depend on

> third-hand information, you're in for a bag of

> trouble.

[wilson]

www.lantanaestates.co.uk

small independent agency who deal with a great deal of block and property management

10% for fully managed.

[purleylettingagents]

gaylad Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I have started to approach local letting agents to

> rent out a house in the area. My family has rented

> out a house in Cornwall, and I have a friend who

> rents one out in Nottingham, so I was expecting

> that "fully managed" meant a fee of 10% and even

> that may be negotiable.

>

> The first two I tried were Acorn (14%, negotiable)

> and Foxtons (17%, firmly non-negotiable). These

> percentage fees seem eye-wateringly high and

> presumably mean that tenants end up significantly

> more in rent, just to pay these companies for

> their sales teams as there is no real difference

> in what "fully managed" would mean outside of

> London.

>

> So, some advice please. As a future landlord is it

> best to whack up the expected rent and get an

> expensive letting agent, or should I keep shopping

> for one that will charge 12%? Some good

> experiences of using particular letting agents

> from local small landlords or tenents would be

> great.

Working with letting agents in West Sussex is still the best option, so I think that you should continue doing it. Having a professional at your side will definitely make your work a lot easier and simpler. Just by searching the Internet, you can find letting agencies that have talented and experienced agents whom you can hire right now. Hope this helps!

[MissWiggy]

Interesting thread and good to see that so many people have been able to find tenants themselves.

Out of interest how do you carry out landlord / employer / affordability checks?

Thank you in advance.

[Brendanse5]

I have used Upad for my last 3 tenants as the cost is just over ?200 and they advertise n Rightmove etc...you have to do the viewings yourself and manage the property but that is easy if you have the time and are local to the property. They also carry out employment/landlord reference for you. I chose these on a recommendation of another landlord I know. I used a high street agent initially which cost considerably more (over ?1000 in various fees) but found out they didn't carry out the necessary checks and I never got paid on time by the tenant so eventually had to give the tenant notice.

[Elphinstone's Army]

Dr De Soto Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I recommend Daisylets - local and very

> professional.

are you kidding? Daisylets? professional? no no no, do it yourself !!