UK Landlord Forum / Life

Bit of a long story but will be as brief as I can.  Myself and my husband came out of the pub trade 2 years ago, rented a house for 12 months - lovely no bother!!  Landlord sold the house tho!!  So then we rented another property 12 months ago.  Serious damp issues, water leaking, roof leaking, hole in the bath, not heating in main living area.  Walked away after 6 months arguing with letting agent and landlord. 

Found a second property, it's ok, but again some small problems, grill disconnected due to being broken, fire disconnected due to being unsafe, gas oven door not closing properly (5 hours to cook a chicken!!), taps in the bathroom not working properly.  All reported to letting agent, nothing has been done in 6 months.  My mum was my guarantor but she's now asking to be taken off after a family row.  I have been 6 days late with my rent once, due to Child Tax credit stopping and restarting my claim but I could prove the money was due in a letter from the benefits agency. 

I have been trying to get council housing but you all know how hard that is.

So, I'm posting for a bit of help.  I'm obviously going to be given notice to quit due to having no guarantor.  I dont know anyone else who will act as guarantor for me.  I'm not happy with the way both of the letting agents we have used have 'shafted' us when repairs need doing.  I'm also not happy that the fee you pay to the letting agent is usually in excess of £200, and it's a cost I'm finding hard to swallow when they do nothing for the money!  I just want a good landlord.  I know there are bad tennants, and bad letting agents and bad landlords!! But there are also good tennants. good letting agents and good landlords.  I'm thinking about trying to find another property without going through a letting agent - dealing direct with the landlord!  Firstly, I have got no idea where to start!  I've always found our homes via Nestoria etc., and I've tried looking in the local paper but it's not proving fruitfull. 

So .. I'm asking the questions ......

Is it a good idea to deal with this direct with a landlord or better via a letting agent?

Where to look for a property without going through a letting agent?

Sorry for the ramble.  Bit stressed at the mo.  Having tests on my heart at the hospital and stuff, and this just aint helping!!

Many thanks!

N x

Hi Nicola

Seems like you've been through a bit of an ordeal this past year.  In response to your questions, there are pro's and con's for using letting agents but from my experience when I was a tenant they seem to be a middle person that (as you've experienced) can become frustrating as it turns into a Chinese whispers kind of experience when trying to communicate with the landlord, however if you get a good one that does everything properly then they can be fantastic as they dot all of the i's and cross all of the t's in the event that something does go wrong for you.  Although their allegiance will often be with the landlord as they are the one that pays them!

As for finding places that aren't run by letting agents that could prove to be difficult, but you could try to use property portals such as Globrix, or as you've perceivere with the local paper as landlords may advertise directly in there.

I hope that this helps you, and fingers crossed that you find somewhere decent soon!

Hi Nicola,

I hope you are in better situation now, but in my opinion you should deal with your landlord directly. I am sure it will be a good idea, in case you don't receive any positive response from you landlord I think then letting agent is the next idea.

Thanks,
James

Hi Nicola

One thought ... when posting about finding a place you could mention where you live. Maybe a landlord who's reading your post and has a property in your area is willing to take you on? This place might just be working for you to find a landlord w/o going through an agent.

-Armin

Hi Nicola,

Maybe I am a bit arriving at the party, but here is my tuppence worth anyways. As mentioned some letting agents are fantastic for both landlord and tenant. Sadly they seem to be the exception rather than the rule. A good guideline I follow is to assess the condition of the property. If it is well maintained then the landlord obviously cares about the condition of the property (and his investment!!) In these cases, it is more likely that you will have a good responsible landlord. Couple this with a good letting agent and you should be ok - but remember there are costs associated with going through an agent, administration etc.

There are places where you can rent from the landlord, as previously mentioned the local papers can be good, but the adverts tend to be very brief and it is difficult to get an idea of the condition of the property without viewing. Another idea is using the good old interweb (where would we be without it!) Upad offer landlords a fairly cheap way to advertise online through all the major portals. Another one to check is lovemypad.com this appears to be fairly local to properties in Hertfordshire.

Anyways, probably to late as always, these ideas might help. In any event good luck with the search!!

ciaraboo