UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi there

I am a new landlord about to let my first property. My original idea was to let a lettings agent manage my property, however the more I research, the more I am starting to want to take on this responsibility myself and save on the 10-15% monthly fee.

I have a flexible job and feel I have the patience, tolerance and skills to deal with tenants and any issues that would arise, and also have good links with manual labour workers such as plumbers, electricians, etc. I am also pretty up-to-date on tenancy laws, tenants rights, etc.

Apart from...

1. Dealing with emergency phone calls,
2. Good contacts with skilled workers,
3. Keeping an eye on market rent levels and increasing if necessary.

... Is there anything else I would benefit from having someone else manage my property? Please let me know If i have missed something.

I would also like to hear your experiences.

Thanks in advance.

Hi Mr X,

I don't think agents have "good contacts" necessarily, and they definitely don't always provide the cheapest solutions. As for keeping an eye on the market, that's easily done. Just look on a website like Rightmove occasionally, and see how much similar properties are renting for. That should give you a good indication of what you should be charging.

In my experience, the only real advantage of using a letting agent is that they will deal directly with the tenants and chase up rent if it's delayed. However, even when the agent can't extract money from the tenant, the responsibility always falls back onto the landlords lap.

I say go for it

Thanks for your response Propertyfag and for strengthening my decision to do it myself.

You are right. I forgot to mention that those things I listed are what I would expect from a GOOD agent, but as you stated, not necessarily what I may get. I cannot afford to leave my most valuable asset in the hands of an incompetent agent (Not all agents, but you know what i mean  )

Also, I am sure the tenant wouldn't mind cutting out the middleman and dealing with the landlord directly.

I agree with Propertyfaq. Having experienced poor service from letting agents, I decided to go it alone. Once you have a valid contract, independent inventory and have credit checked the tenant you are home and dry. As Propertyfaq says, when things go wrong the letting agent invariably washes their hands of the problem.

In terms of tradesmen etc, most agents have their favoured plumbers, electricians etc and I suspect they get a commission for each bit of work they refer.

The only problem I have is marketing/advertising the property. Landlords can't use Rightmove and most online websites charge £50/£60 for this. I find putting an ad in the local paper is a good start. But to complement this I put photos etc on lovemypad.com - it was free when I last used it. You get a reference number for your property. When tenants call I tell them to check out the photos and description. If they want to see more, email me via the website. It seperates the timewasters from the prospects which is a good timesaver.

Seriously, I would recommend managing the property yourself. All the answers you need are on the internet, or you can buy some good books. Why lose 15% of your monthly income for very little service?

Good luck!

ciaraboo

Some very good advice ciaraboo, thanks for that.

You are right, I was also thinking about marketing the property as being a slight problem, as well as taking time out for viewings. I also understand that a reputable agency will attract a much larger pool of tenants, so less void.

So because of this, I am actually thinking to use a trusted lettings agent for finding the tenant and arranging everything (tenancy agreements, inventory, deposit schemes, etc) and then I myself will take over to manage the property. I will also make sure not to use an agency that charges for renewing the tenancy.

From what I have found, I believe this is usually one months rent for this service. If so, I can live with that.

Paying a finders fee is a good option - my only concern is the letting agent may concentrate more on getting the property let out (take his fee) than worrying about the quality of the tenant......just be careful!

Hello Mr X

Ciaraboo makes a good point about the agenda of an agent finding a tenent not necessarily co-inciding with you wanting to find a good tenant.

I feel an agent's best strenghts lay in marketing a property.  They go to a lot of bother at this point and so charge a fee.  They want to be involved the next time you market the property and so "upsell" some services like rent collection and regular viewings to try to establish an ongoing relationship with you.  And so charge a small percentage.  Even though it's small, it's not always good value for money.

You're quite sensible to take on as much as you think you can deal with.  If you want to use an agent for introductions only that's sensible and there's many who will be happy to do that for you.  If you're worried about the conflict of interest Ciaraboo mentions, why not ask to see the references: An good agent who's charging you for the service will be happy to share, because it will prove they are doing their job well.  An agent who's not happy to share can be avoided.

Thanks for the input Jeremy and very good point about seeing the references. I have read a lot of 'horror' stories where the landlord doesn't have a look at the references prior to letting, either due to trusting the agent or because the agent does not allow this. Either way, it ends in a nightmare.

I also feel knowing what is involved in the lettings process is very important. This way you know what is expected of the agent and making sure they don't cut corners.