UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi all,

Im a new landlord having let my property about a month ago.

Apologies if this has been answered before but if a property is fully managed that means if issues arise the agent deals with them and lets me know if I need to authorise spend etc?

So far the agent has been phoning/emailing for all sorts of things that i thought they would deal with, so im thinkinng what am I paying them for!

I had an issue with a shower not working, they said they would investigate/get quotes etc.  All went quiet.  Suddenly yesterday I had a call from LA, shower is broken.  You need to fix it!  Hold on I need to fix it, what are you doing!  Then received an email listing lots of other items where I was copied from a reply from the tenant to the LA.

The again I am new to being a landlord and as im sure others have said its a steep learning curve.

The issues listed make me look a bad landlord!  Should I reply direct to the tenant or keep going through the LA?

Your expectations should be driven by the Terms of Business you signed with the Agent - not your... well, expectations. That should outline - in black and white - what they are responsible for doing. For example, if you've signed up to a Full Management package then your expectations are kinda on the money... you would authorise spend as need arose, or you would pre-authorise spend up to a certain amount, so you don't act as piggy-in-the-middle or roadblack... whereas if they're just doing a Rent Collection service, then... no... and sometimes you can't even depend on them to act as effective liaison between you and your Tenants.

Clarify with them... not with us, because you have the agreement and each agreement will be different. That isn't meant to send you away - it's just saying we don't know what you've signed up to... although I can comment on your expectations for 'fully managed'. Remember, it's not uncommon for Agents to inflate maintenance and repair costs presented to you.