Letting a property yourself without an agent

want2bmortgage3

Just wondering does anyone here do this, as after instructing an agent 6 weeks ago I've only had 2 viewings and have been messed about once already.

What appeals to me is I could offer the property at a lower rent which would attract more interest, I am just worried about getting a bad tenant and in case they dont pay up on time.

Cheers

clutton_2

drop the rent and stay with the agent

prospective tenants fail to turn up about 30% of the time .......

Pee

Of course you can let a property yourself, but I am seeing a lot of to let signs about, which makes me think maybe there aren't that many potential tenants and they are being fussy... around here properties are usually let without a to let sign going up at all.

KeepYourChinUp_2

clutton & pee have just given you some good advice I have a place thats been up for two months now.

Blackpool_Saver

Make sure you draw up a contract with a solicitor and get advice about your legal responsibilities.

scrummy_mummy_2

Decide on a unique selling point...pets is a good one....offer to accept pets, keep the rent at the same asking price and you should get offers. (Make sure you up the deposit though to cover any possible damage but, in my experieince, kids do more damage to the property than pets!
I take pets (and kids!) and price my property at market minus £25 PCM....I hardly experience any voids.
The agent won't offer to put the asking rent down PCM because they get paid on a percentage of the achieved rent...thus, it is not in the their interest to drive this price down.

G_M

DIY is possible, but takes commitment and KNOWLEDGE. Go to Landlord zone for lots of help. You can minimise bad tenants by doing exactly the same checks as a letting agent would: references, job, salary, credit check etc.

clutton_2

i had a seemingly perfect tenant apply to me today - after i checked out his current landlord, he was £269 pounds in arrears; after i checked out his guarantor i found he earned around £340 every two weeks and was constantly overdrawn (he had sent bank statements); after i checked out the one CCJ he had declared, i found another 3; and when i asked him if he was willing to open a new bank account for the Housing benefit rent to go into - he went ballistic and said no.... he has not been offered a home by me

would you know how to do all that ?

minnie123

Thanks for this thread - I am thinking of renting out my house and keep being advised to do it myself to save money but I am clueless and don't want the hassle so I think an agent is the best way to go.

Jowo_2

It's a lot harder to do than you think and takes an enormous amount of knowledge, time, patience and effort.

I know a number of 'amateur' landlords who can't bear the stress that goes with midnight calls about broken boilers, tenants that can't be bothered to change bulbs and fuses, who don't know how to turn radiators on or set thermostats, who fall out with each other and want to end the tenancy early, who won't wait in for engineers, who lose front door keys and are surprised that they have to pay for the new lock, etc, (and these are good tenants who actually pay on time, report repairs and don't trash the property!).

Professional tenants (those that have better knowledge of housing law) often target naive landlords and that's why they serially go from property to property without paying a penny.

PROFESSIONAL_LANDLORD

prospective tenants fail to turn up about 30% of the time .......

We make it clear that we will call 30mins before to confirm, if there's no reply then it's a no show from us.

Professional tenants (those that have better knowledge of housing law) often target naive landlords and that's why they serially go from property to property without paying a penny.

Absolutely, lots of naive reluctant LL's to pick from.