Where to advertise rental property in London?

[philv]

Hi

where do private landlords advertise rental property in London?
Not sure where I should advertise.

Rightmove?

Other?

Thanks for any help.

Cheers.

[Rangeroverover]

depending on level of rent try Gumtree

[philv]

Rangeroverover said:

depending on level of rent try Gumtree

Thanks.

[WillB]

depending on the property size, spare room is also good (and free)

[superlightr]

philv said:

Hi

where do private landlords advertise rental property in London?
Not sure where I should advertise.

Rightmove?

Other?

Thanks for any help.

Cheers.

I presume this is for a self contained property not a room?
why are you not using a letting agent?

It sounds like if you don't even know where to advertise then you may not be aware of the regulations regarding letting?
What documents do you plan to give out when you let a property? What type of checks and experience are you going to rely upon when choosing a tenant?

Happy to try and help/guide you but curious as to what you think you need to do and what are the consequences of you doing it wrong -v what you really need to do and the real consequences of getting it wrong?

[philv]

superlightr said:

I presume this is for a self contained property not a room?
why are you not using a letting agent?

It sounds like if you don't even know where to advertise then you may not be aware of the regulations regarding letting?
What documents do you plan to give out when you let a property? What type of checks and experience are you going to rely upon when choosing a tenant?

Happy to try and help/guide you but curious as to what you think you need to do and what are the consequences of you doing it wrong -v what you really need to do and the real consequences of getting it wrong?

Govt letting guide
Gas cert (not applicable)
Elec certificate (not mandatory)
Deposit protection details within 30 days
Inventory
Contract plus lease details for compliance
Epc
White goods operating instructions
Electric boiler operating instructions

Reference -> rent insurance

I am going by landlordzone.
Although those above are off the top of my head.

If letting in my small town i would only use tne local paper.

But i am not an expert on where people in london search.
Although i'm more up to date as of today.

Advice always appreciated.

Cheers

[superlightr]

philv said:

superlightr said:

I presume this is for a self contained property not a room?
why are you not using a letting agent?

It sounds like if you don't even know where to advertise then you may not be aware of the regulations regarding letting?
What documents do you plan to give out when you let a property? What type of checks and experience are you going to rely upon when choosing a tenant?

Happy to try and help/guide you but curious as to what you think you need to do and what are the consequences of you doing it wrong -v what you really need to do and the real consequences of getting it wrong?

Govt letting guide
Gas cert (not applicable)
Elec certificate (not mandatory)
Deposit protection details within 30 days
Inventory
Contract plus lease details for compliance
Epc
White goods operating instructions
Electric boiler operating instructions

Reference -> rent insurance

I am going by landlordzone.
Although those above are off the top of my head.

If letting in my small town i would only use tne local paper.

But i am not an expert on where people in london search.
Although i'm more up to date as of today.

Advice always appreciated.

Cheers

Electricity - You are under a duty to ensure the property is safe to use. If a tenant dies as a result of dangerous wiring/equipment you will be liable. We recommend a PAT test every year and an EICR ( electrical installation condition report) before a new let and every 5 years.
Deposit protection & prescribed information within 30 days of receiving the deposit NOT the start of the tenancy. fines if you get it wrong. Just be careful about this.

Smoke and Co alarms? Legal requirement.
How to rent booklet, EPC and Gas cert (if required) must be given to the tenant - get it signed for. vital to ensure you can recover the property.

How are you referencing the tenants? make sure you are careful

As an agent we would advertise on Rightmove etc which gets your property seen to a massive number of tenants as well as our own list of waiting tenants so we can often let a property within days of taking it on. newspapers are too slow and useless for finding tenants these days.

We can give landlords a realistic letting price bases upon our experience and knowldge of what lets and prices but will try for higher for a LL wants. Dont price the property too high - better to let it quickly with minimal voids periods then have void periods as this will cost you more long term.

We are very careful with the referencing process (self employed and family business not all agents are ! ) - make sure you do the normal checks ie CCJ/bankruptcy/IVA, employment, previous landlords but check their driving licence address match up with the other docs check passport photos are correct, do they have a legal right to rent? - ask for 6 months worth of bank statements to see if they can actually afford the property.
Read between the lines of previous landlords references and employment references. Interview the tenants - do they smoke, children, are they telling the truth? etc? will they move others in behind your back? Do some social media searches on them.


Inventory - make sure it is very detailed most private landlords dont have a clue on this.
Maintenance repairs - read up on the new laws on timings and getting them sorted as you will be barred from recovering the property for 6 months if you get it wrong.

Do you know how to give notice/get the property back?

Your on the right track but I would recommend using a letting agency if this is your first let just so you can get used to the process/paperworks etc - use them on a tenant find basis only if you wish. Make sure they are NARLS/ARLA Safe Agent give it to a dedicated Letting Agent not an Estate Agent who does Letting as well. Most properties are worth many hundred of thousands of pounds with many thousands of pounds of rent being discussed, with many criminal and civil penalties if a landlord gets it wrong. - you can DIY but make sure you really do understand the process and consequences. Often a mistake now will only show 6 mths down the line.

Edited by superlightr on Thursday 10th December 10:29

[nyt]

I usually pay a site such as: http://www.urbansalesandlettings.co.uk/landlord-pa... to get the property on rightmove etc. I usually have reference checks included.
Make sure that the site doesn't charge fees to the tenants and lists your property as 'No Tenant Fees'. Agents in London can charge upward of £500 to the tenant (as well as the charges to you) and 'No fees' is a big plus point for your property. I guess that agents must have much bigger overheads than are obvious.

Don't forget gumtree - I have let several properties through this site. It seems to be particularly popular with foreign workers in banks.
Always do a google for 'rental property london' or similar and put your listing on any new sites that may have popped up.

Beware- there are lots of scams in london. Make sure that you take up references (including CCJs etc).
The latest scam seems to be people trying to let well located properties with the intention of renting them out through AirBnB. This has happened to a couple of friends and someone tried the same with me last month - company let but refused to accept a clause that the property would only be occupied by employees. Perhaps it wasn't a scam but you have to err on the safe side.

You can AirBnB it yourself. The return is probably twice that from a regular let. There are even agencies that arrange the end of occupancy clean/checkout.
It's certainly a possibility as the London market is very quiet between now and end-January.

Feel free to PM me if I can help further.

Good Luck.


ETA: Good, well lit photos make a world of difference.

Edited by nyt on Thursday 10th December 11:13

[Ozzie Osmond]

superlightr said:

why are you not using a letting agent?

^^ This.

Don't forget you need to check the citizenship/immigration status of your tenants, get electrical test certificates, make sure tamper-proof smoke/CO2 alarms are installed, etc etc. An agent will be up to speed on all this stuff.

[philv]

Really appreciate tne replies.

I am going to get rent insurance....and as a prerequisite for tnat also pay for referencing ccj etc.

For tne Pat test - i will get electrician to do this prior to each let.
Elec safety cert by electrician as well prior to first let and tnen every 5 years.

How much would an elec certificate and a pat test be approximately in london?

Thanks again

[philv]

Ozzie Osmond said:

^^ This.

Don't forget you need to check the citizenship/immigration status of your tenants, get electrical test certificates, make sure tamper-proof smoke/CO2 alarms are installed, etc etc. An agent will be up to speed on all this stuff.

Mainly because of tne cost.
The estate agent said tney would charge 8.4%.
So i assume tnat is about average for letting agents?

Ok.....tamper proof smoke/co2 detectors.
Electrically connected i presume (not battery).

My brother in law is an electrician but it is a fair old journey for him to london.
But with pat, elec cert, smoke/co2 alarms it might be best using hom.

[nyt]

Ozzie Osmond said:

superlightr said:

why are you not using a letting agent?

^^ This.

Don't forget you need to check the citizenship/immigration status of your tenants, get electrical test certificates, make sure tamper-proof smoke/CO2 alarms are installed, etc etc. An agent will be up to speed on all this stuff.

I'm sure that the OP has his own reasons but in London (I don't know about other areas) letting agents are quite expensive.

Say a place rents for £1,500 a month (about the London average I think the costs are:

2,160.00 - Agent fees 12% + VAT
120.00 - Preparation of tenancy agreement
120.00 - Preparation of inventory
120.00 - Gas check through their supplier.
200.00 - Reference checking
120.00 - Electricity checks through their supplier
100.00 - Section 21 preparation
120.00 - Deposit lodging

These fees are payable annually so long as the tenant stays (apart from inventory & reference checking)

So, about £3,000 (when you add VAT to all of the smaller charges) of £18,000 rental goes to the agent. 16.5%.

Sometimes it's possible to negotiate the agent fees down to 10% if there's a shortage of properties. It's almost always possible to negotiate the second (and subsequent) years fees to 10%.

The agent's fees are usually not refundable if the tenant decides to leave after 6 months. I guess that's fair enough as the agent did what he was paid to do but that can leave you paying agent's fees, reference checking etc all over again

In summary, taking into account the mortgage payments on what's likely to be a £500k property, maintenance etc etc that £3k being paid to the agent represents the year's profit.

[nyt]

philv said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

^^ This.

Don't forget you need to check the citizenship/immigration status of your tenants, get electrical test certificates, make sure tamper-proof smoke/CO2 alarms are installed, etc etc. An agent will be up to speed on all this stuff.

Mainly because of tne cost.
The estate agent said tney would charge 8.4%.
So i assume tnat is about average for letting agents?

Ok.....tamper proof smoke/co2 detectors.
Electrically connected i presume (not battery).

My brother in law is an electrician but it is a fair old journey for him to london.
But with pat, elec cert, smoke/co2 alarms it might be best using hom.

8.4% is a competitive rate. VAT will be added to that though.

Gas / electricity: https://www.landlord-certificates.co.uk

Smoke detectors - I don't think that they have to be mains. Battery is legal. Fit more than one to be on the safe side.

Don't forget the EPC test - http://londonepc.co.uk

At 8.4% I'd be tempted to use the agent for the first year. Perhaps you can persuade him to forego renewal commission? Especially true if you're not in london to arrange viewings. Do get a list of all of the extra charges though. They add up.

[superlightr]

nyt said:

Ozzie Osmond said:

superlightr said:

why are you not using a letting agent?

^^ This.

Don't forget you need to check the citizenship/immigration status of your tenants, get electrical test certificates, make sure tamper-proof smoke/CO2 alarms are installed, etc etc. An agent will be up to speed on all this stuff.

I'm sure that the OP has his own reasons but in London (I don't know about other areas) letting agents are quite expensive.

Say a place rents for £1,500 a month (about the London average I think the costs are:

2,160.00 - Agent fees 12% + VAT
120.00 - Preparation of tenancy agreement
120.00 - Preparation of inventory
120.00 - Gas check through their supplier.
200.00 - Reference checking
120.00 - Electricity checks through their supplier
100.00 - Section 21 preparation
120.00 - Deposit lodging

These fees are payable annually so long as the tenant stays (apart from inventory & reference checking)

So, about £3,000 (when you add VAT to all of the smaller charges) of £18,000 rental goes to the agent. 16.5%.

Sometimes it's possible to negotiate the agent fees down to 10% if there's a shortage of properties. It's almost always possible to negotiate the second (and subsequent) years fees to 10%.

The agent's fees are usually not refundable if the tenant decides to leave after 6 months. I guess that's fair enough as the agent did what he was paid to do but that can leave you paying agent's fees, reference checking etc all over again

In summary, taking into account the mortgage payments on what's likely to be a £500k property, maintenance etc etc that £3k being paid to the agent represents the year's profit.

Not in London but further South.
We charge
10%+vat full man
8%+vat rent collection no inspections
50%+vat of 1 months rent Letting only - advertising/references/TA

£0 for TA
£0 for deposit holding
No other fees for full man or rent collection

Inventory/gas/elec safety are universal even if you DIY

so on £1500 rent collection service
our fees would be =£120+vat per month = £1440+vat over a full 12 months let. Landlord would deal with maintenance.
When a tenant vacates if the LL wants us to check the property out we charge 10%+vat. £0 for giving the notice £0 for holding/registering the deposit

If you went letting only then our fee would be £750 +vat. LL does the rest.

With the above Full man or Rent collection and to a large extent Letting Only/introduction you benefit from excellent advertising, high street offices with people you can meet and talk to, our considerable experience and knowledge of the letting market to achieve the best rents and let houses quickly, how to resolve issues, how to stop issues in the first place, protecting your legal interest in your £500k property, making sure all the legal requirements are done correctly, acting as a buffer between the LL and T, giving the right notices, keep you upto date on the myriad of law changes, being professional and belonging to national redress bodies with client protection insurance and having someone that actually cares about doing a good job for their clients and getting the best tenants not necessarily the fist tenants and building up a long term successful relationship.


So hardly £3000 or a years profit - but you are also forgetting the capital increase thats occurring whilst the property is let. so your getting the rent + capital increase of the asset.

What if you get it wrong think how much that would cost many tens of thousands of pounds as well as criminal liability perhaps prison.



Fek if you are paying the below then change your agent !!


120.00 - Preparation of tenancy agreement
120.00 - Preparation of inventory
120.00 - Gas check through their supplier.
200.00 - Reference checking
120.00 - Electricity checks through their supplier
100.00 - Section 21 preparation
120.00 - Deposit lodging

Edited by superlightr on Thursday 10th December 12:01

Edited by superlightr on Thursday 10th December 12:08

Edited by superlightr on Thursday 10th December 12:11

[nyt]

superlightr said:

Fek if you are paying the below then change your agent !!

Edited by superlightr on Thursday 10th December 12:01

Edited by superlightr on Thursday 10th December 12:08

Edited by superlightr on Thursday 10th December 12:11

LOL - I'm glad that they seem unreasonable from your side of the table too

Sometimes it's possible to negotiate it depends on the market. Dec/Jan there's no negotiation. Property supply exceeds tenants.

Here's a charge sheet from one of the local agents: http://www.chestertons.com/our-services/sales-and-...

Perhaps you need to be moving a little north.

As an aside, there are many identical properties in the area. Quite often the agent doesn't even bother to view it before taking it on.

Most annoyingly, the local agents don't open at the weekend which always seems ridiculous to me as that's when people look for property. So they don't even provide a knowledgable contact point when you need it.

ETA: for completeness the tenant charges: http://www.chestertons.com/property-to-rent/applic...

Edited by nyt on Thursday 10th December 14:23

[philv]

Thanks again for all the replies.

Right to reside noted.

EPC - i will use the EPC that i received from the seller when purchasing the property .
That should be fine ?
It was only put on the market in Aigust so should be valid still.

Believe me, i would like to use a full management service.
But I have only just managed to balance the budget doing it myself.
Such are london prices, even for a studio.

I will study all this and all on landlord zone.
I will post everythggn i have done on here as a last check!!

Crikey.....now i need to advertise tonights.
Order white goods tomorrow.

Then there`s christmas.....

[Ozzie Osmond]

superlightr said:

stuff which fits my own experience

One of the biggest advantages of using a decent agent is, IMO, not having to deal directly with tenants. Saves a lot of running about and provides a "buffer" if there are any complaints or if things go wrong.

Agents' fees effectively get tax relief at your marginal rate so better than interest costs which are now capped at 20% relief.

[nyt]

philv said:

Thanks again for all the replies.

Right to reside noted.

EPC - i will use the EPC that i received from the seller when purchasing the property .
That should be fine ?
It was only put on the market in Aigust so should be valid still.

Believe me, i would like to use a full management service.
But I have only just managed to balance the budget doing it myself.
Such are london prices, even for a studio.

I will study all this and all on landlord zone.
I will post everythggn i have done on here as a last check!!

Crikey.....now i need to advertise tonights.
Order white goods tomorrow.

Then there`s christmas.....

Wednesday/Thursday adverts tend to get bookings for weekend viewing so do make an effort to at least get the property on gumtree.
The sites that get you on rightmove etc usually require all sorts of proof that you own the property, gas certificates, EPCs. So you probably won't be able to get your property on there tonight.

White goods: tenants always ask for a washer dryer. More to go wrong but a plus when letting.

If you need to paint then a coat of something neutral is good. Vanilla white is my favourite with one wall in a contrasting colour if it's that sort of flat (lets to younger tenants). Don't forget the ceilings.

You'll be tempted to accept the first tenant that wants the flat but choose someone that you like/trust that has a decent job.

[philv]

Thanks again....good advice.

HUm....washer dryer....i was going to supple cooker, washer, fridge freezer.
Lots of different opinions about dryers.

For purpose built flats....where there is an annual ground rent and monthly service charge.
Who would normally pay these?
I had calculated to pay them myself....but is this normally the case or does the tenant pay the service charge each month?
Just double checking.

[nyt]

philv said:

Thanks again....good advice.

HUm....washer dryer....i was going to supple cooker, washer, fridge freezer.
Lots of different opinions about dryers.

For purpose built flats....where there is an annual ground rent and monthly service charge.
Who would normally pay these?
I had calculated to pay them myself....but is this normally the case or does the tenant pay the service charge each month?
Just double checking.

washer dryer - your call. As I said it's more expensive and more trouble.
I try to get a decent guarantee and then I don't have to worry about it for three years.
Shame that you're a touch too early for the sales.

You are liable for ground rent and service charges.

ETA: http://www.bootskitchenappliances.com/product/wd80...
5 year guarantee but not the cheapest.

Edited by nyt on Thursday 10th December 16:00