UK Landlord Forum / Life

l am new to property market and don't live in Edinburgh. l chose this property manager as l needed someone to rent for me. Her charge of 8% was attractive. But the initial charge already took away more than half the rent, granted she did say that the flat required 3 alarms to be installed, smoke and carbon monoxide alarm l think. That cost £258 including installation. Are the charges excessive?

in April statement she 'mistakenly' charging again for gas certification of £75. l had already been charged  £75 at the start of the tenancy (in August 17) along with an unnecessary 'cleaning' fee of £65 for an already tidy 2 bedroom flat. She had also had an 'AD / check in and check out' fee of £100 though she doesn't use any sites that cost money like citylets. She exclusively uses Gumtree and shop window.

The flat also has a garage that was rented out on 15th January 18, payment was received on that date from the renter but l didn't get payment till 15th February 18. l thought rental payment should be received at the start, not the end pf the month?

Lastly, are landlords not suppose to have the contact details of the tenants, eg mobile numbers / emails? Since l asked her for this and she was reluctant in giving those details, saying l am the only landlord who requests this information. Do landords who use property managers not request contact details?

I have still to contact her about this recharge of £75. what should l say?

thank you for your advie

Mable

Yes,the charges for "installing" the alarms does sound very excessive.These do not usually require a tradesman,just a DIY/oddjob man.Have you checked the contract you signed? You would normally expect to be informed of the cost involved for any work before agreeing to it.Even with full management,I have often arranged my own tradesmen as they are usually much cheaper than the ones used by agents.Assume you got invoices for these jobs?

It is not usual for tenants contact details to be passed on,but you should have their name off the lease,and of course you have the address,so you could write to them.Bear in mind though,you could then leave yourself open to being hassled by tenants.

With regard to the Gas charge,simply tell her you expect the money to be refunded to you,and query the check out fee while you are at it.She sounds very crafty,they often are,so you need to show you are not a soft touch.

It is possible that the alarms were hardwired into the mains, which would cost a bit more than standalone ones.  But even so the cost quoted is still excessive.  If they were hardwired ones, depending on how they were done, they make have required modification to/connection into the property electrical system which would require a qualified electrician and you should have been given an installation certificate if that was the case.

In Scotland the regs require alarms are mains wired and interlinked

3 alarms at £20 (why use cheap if someone else is paying or even better use cheap and charge expensive)
Wires and connections (£20)
Call out fee (£60)
2 hours to install (with cup of tea break) (£120)
Maybe more if you have to interlink them/run new wire
+
Vat
+
Agents cut

Voila ... over 260 easy
Money for old wires...

Get a quote up front if you feel you will not be happy.

Quote from: mable on April 25, 2018, 10:30:45 AMl am new to property market and don't live in Edinburgh. l chose this property manager as l needed someone to rent for me. Her charge of 8% was attractive. But the initial charge already took away more than half the rent, granted she did say that the flat required 3 alarms to be installed, smoke and carbon monoxide alarm l think. That cost £258 including installation. Are the charges excessive?

I do not believe so. The items themselves are relatively cheap, but the installation (and potential mark-up) is what you've probably ended up paying much more for.

Quote from: mable on April 25, 2018, 10:30:45 AMin April statement she 'mistakenly' charging again for gas certification of £75. l had already been charged  £75 at the start of the tenancy (in August 17) along with an unnecessary 'cleaning' fee of £65 for an already tidy 2 bedroom flat. She had also had an 'AD / check in and check out' fee of £100 though she doesn't use any sites that cost money like citylets. She exclusively uses Gumtree and shop window.

Everyone can make mistakes, it's how quickly they rectify them when pointed out (and accepted) that makes all the difference. The charge for advertising and check-in is, again, about labour. It doesn't matter to you where the Agent is advertising on your behalf - what matters to you is that you get a Tenant (hopefully the right Tenant) - and the Agent cannot do that for you without expending a level of effort - effort they charge you for, as they're running a business. You've employed someone to do something on your behalf in a hands-off manner yet you now appear to be falling into the trap of micro-managing and questioning and you are casting aspersions about your own Agent not being trustworthy in a public forum (thankfully you have not mentioned any names).

Quote from: mable on April 25, 2018, 10:30:45 AMThe flat also has a garage that was rented out on 15th January 18, payment was received on that date from the renter but l didn't get payment till 15th February 18. l thought rental payment should be received at the start, not the end pf the month?

Rent should be received up front. Any Agent that takes much longer than a couple of days between their receipt of incoming rent and your receipt of incoming rent may have serious cashflow problems you should be wary of. It's not that it's not coming to you, it's that it's coming to you late... late by one month, it seems. I would consider that not acceptable.

Quote from: mable on April 25, 2018, 10:30:45 AMLastly, are landlords not suppose to have the contact details of the tenants, eg mobile numbers / emails? Since l asked her for this and she was reluctant in giving those details, saying l am the only landlord who requests this information. Do landords who use property managers not request contact details?

Choice. Are you hands-off or more hands-on? What do you want the contact details for, exactly? Always ask yourself why you are doing something.

Quote from: mable on April 25, 2018, 10:30:45 AMI have still to contact her about this recharge of £75. what should l say?

Firstly, ask... it may be some kind of financial year reset. I would not really be happy with that. But it being April seems coincidental. I would prefer August to August for this GSC, but even if it continues to run April to April from now on, you have effectively lost £25, haven't you? That being around 4 months of the current GSC, valid from August 2017, now being shortened for a financial year reset? I dunno... ask... find out. Could be another mistake, could be how an experienced Agent goes about things... maybe it was all explained to you, maybe it's detailed in the Agent's terms of business you signed, maybe you didn't express interest at the time... your eyes may have glazed over, thinking it would be an easy ride and your millions would just roll-in? We can't say.