Property Letting advice required
Discussion
I'm going to Let out my house in the next couple of months and am contemplating doing everything myself, how hard can it be, I'm a surveyor and my partner's a lawyer.
Where is best to advertise the property that won't attract local undesirables and credit worthy tenants who aren't going to leave me with rental voids?
Or am I better off sucking up the letting fee of 1 month's rental and then paying the monthly 6% management fee and washing my hands of any hassle?
Where is best to advertise the property that won't attract local undesirables and credit worthy tenants who aren't going to leave me with rental voids?
Or am I better off sucking up the letting fee of 1 month's rental and then paying the monthly 6% management fee and washing my hands of any hassle?
If it's in Essex I can heartily recommend Jamie at www.concordproperty.co.uk who did a great job for me at much less than I thought.
Alex L said:
I'm going to Let out my house in the next couple of months and am contemplating doing everything myself, how hard can it be, I'm a surveyor and my partner's a lawyer.
Where is best to advertise the property that won't attract local undesirables and credit worthy tenants who aren't going to leave me with rental voids?
Or am I better off sucking up the letting fee of 1 month's rental and then paying the monthly 6% management fee and washing my hands of any hassle?
ONE MONTHS RENT AS LETTING FEE!!!!! My rental business is in the wrong area! Apart from that, I'd suggest you use an agent to filter the dross and set the thing up for you and then if you're happy to deal with it after that, do so.Where is best to advertise the property that won't attract local undesirables and credit worthy tenants who aren't going to leave me with rental voids?
Or am I better off sucking up the letting fee of 1 month's rental and then paying the monthly 6% management fee and washing my hands of any hassle?
Must go and lie down.
XJS07 said:
Alex L said:
LFB531 said:
ONE MONTHS RENT AS LETTING FEE!!!!!
I've had two agents round to quote and both have said the same, struck me as steepDifferent areas, different rates.
Good luck!
I'm hoping to find a long term tenant as I'm not interested in selling the property any time soon.
The letting fees appears to be very similar for the 2 agents I had round but one offered a 6% management fee while the other was 12%.
I'd be happy with 6% but think lumping the best part of £1,000 for marketing my property is excessive
The letting fees appears to be very similar for the 2 agents I had round but one offered a 6% management fee while the other was 12%.
I'd be happy with 6% but think lumping the best part of £1,000 for marketing my property is excessive
shirt said:
6% for fully managed down south? and 'only' a month's rent as letting fee up front? walk away mate, walk away.
i've just signed the forms to let my place in the uk out. letting fee is £99 with a 10% monthly charge.
is a couple of % of the rent really worth the time and effort?
It is the call out remedial fees that will hit/hurt your rental income.i've just signed the forms to let my place in the uk out. letting fee is £99 with a 10% monthly charge.
is a couple of % of the rent really worth the time and effort?
Together with my wife, we self manage our properties, using only a letting agent to find potential tenants.
The only disadvantage of self managing is that the transaction/dealings are more on a personal footing, as apposed to on a business footing if using an agent.
The agents we use for finding potential tenants, charge the tenants and not us/the landlord, so a better type of tenant is found.
I'm paying 10% fully managed (SE London). Got them down from 11% and waived the finders fee. If agents want the business they will negotiate. Do some research and find a good agent in your area.
If you have never let a property before and/or don't live near the property being rented then why not do fully managed for 6 months. Gives you a decent introduction in to all the things you need to do, but someone else has the day to day issues of dealing with the tenants and the expertise you need to call on if anything gets sticky and you need to evict or deal with any other issues. Obviously the downside is you get less money per month.
My property is now fully managed, having started out down the DIY route with the first set of tenants. I'm definitely preferring the less hassle / less money option.
If you have never let a property before and/or don't live near the property being rented then why not do fully managed for 6 months. Gives you a decent introduction in to all the things you need to do, but someone else has the day to day issues of dealing with the tenants and the expertise you need to call on if anything gets sticky and you need to evict or deal with any other issues. Obviously the downside is you get less money per month.
My property is now fully managed, having started out down the DIY route with the first set of tenants. I'm definitely preferring the less hassle / less money option.
Alex L said:
I'm hoping to find a long term tenant as I'm not interested in selling the property any time soon.
The letting fees appears to be very similar for the 2 agents I had round but one offered a 6% management fee while the other was 12%.
I'd be happy with 6% but think lumping the best part of £1,000 for marketing my property is excessive
the long term is as only good as the contract length. Check with your mortgage company, but they will probably expect you to have an AST with a renewable contract length no greater than 12months.The letting fees appears to be very similar for the 2 agents I had round but one offered a 6% management fee while the other was 12%.
I'd be happy with 6% but think lumping the best part of £1,000 for marketing my property is excessive
sure, tenants/estate agents may tell you of their intentions, but that is not always realistic.
Hi Alex, been letting out a couple of properties for 7 years now, defo manage yourself if you are handy with a spanner (or have good tradesman). I found the letting agents tradespeople were, well, thats just say I always needed to redo their handywork so knocked management on its head early on. The only other item to consider is taking out rent guarantee insurance if the tenant stops paying. We have always had it and used it many times. Even the best tenants circumstances can change overnight leaving you up the creak.
markbigears said:
Hi Alex, been letting out a couple of properties for 7 years now, defo manage yourself if you are handy with a spanner (or have good tradesman). I found the letting agents tradespeople were, well, thats just say I always needed to redo their handywork so knocked management on its head early on. The only other item to consider is taking out rent guarantee insurance if the tenant stops paying. We have always had it and used it many times. Even the best tenants circumstances can change overnight leaving you up the creak.
+1, Excellent advice, some what reminded me of a letting agent once calling out a plumber to hit a stuck radiator thermostat valve with a hammer, and charging me £120 for the privilege of doing the same.my advice if you are 120 miles away would be to get 3 numbers from recommeded tradesmen of each trade, plumber, sparky, heat engineer so you are never stuck when the boiler goes wrong, lights go out, tap wont turn on! and remember ALL tenants "say" they want it for the long term.
Edited by markbigears on Friday 9th September 18:19
Update time, I've got the property on Gumtree and have already had multiple interest and hopefully a couple of viewings tomorrow evening.
Now, my girlfriend is a lawyer (albeit litigation) so the contract isn't a problem, however I'm unsure on what else I need to obtain from the tenants.
Assuming one of the two people viewing tomorrow wants to proceed, do I take their details and undertake a credit check, if so where would anyone recommend and do I pass this cost onto the tenant? Presumably worth obtaining previous landlord references, is it worth obtaining employers references?
Anything else I've not thought of, apart from the gas safety certificate which is in hand and which scheme to dump the deposit in?
Now, my girlfriend is a lawyer (albeit litigation) so the contract isn't a problem, however I'm unsure on what else I need to obtain from the tenants.
Assuming one of the two people viewing tomorrow wants to proceed, do I take their details and undertake a credit check, if so where would anyone recommend and do I pass this cost onto the tenant? Presumably worth obtaining previous landlord references, is it worth obtaining employers references?
Anything else I've not thought of, apart from the gas safety certificate which is in hand and which scheme to dump the deposit in?
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