Rent Admin Fee

adg1

axomoxia wrote: »

An agency can't charge an upfront fee to the candidate ,so why should a letting agent be any different?

Its not an upfront fee. Its a fee for the work they do for a tenant to find them a house.

axomoxia

hellokitty08 wrote: »

Yerh but I am saying if they did, it would be my choice to pay them if I did. I could always choose not to by using a different agency. Same logic applies. If I thought that the recruitment agency had all the best jobs, or the job that i wanted I would have to decide if I wanted to pay the fee (same)

I could of course vote with my feet and not pay the recruitment agency and use a free one! (still the same principle if you ask me!)

Actually in fact this is a very good analagy (probably spelt that wrong) If you can advertise jobs with the job centre, (which is actually free) then why do people use recruitment agencies that they have to pay a commision too? Answer, because they choose to!

Actually you'll find that companies will use agencies rather than the job centre because the agencies add some value to the recruiting process. A technical role requiring a specialist skillset is better served by an agency specialised in that area of business. However in all cases it is the always company that pays, not the client.

Now, returning to what you have said, you think that recruitment agencies _should_ be allowed to charge an upfront fee. They cannot by law do so, so why do you feel the law should be repealed?

Come to think of it, when I buy I house, should I also pay a fee?

axomoxia

adg1 wrote: »

Its not an upfront fee. Its a fee for the work they do for a tenant to find them a house.

I thought a letting agency works for the landlord. Does the landlord pay anything for the agency finding them a tenant?

tbs624

adg1 wrote: »

Its not an upfront fee. Its a fee for the work they do for a tenant to find them a house.

The LA is contracted by the LL to find a Tenant for the LLs property. The LA earns commission( generally as a percentage of the annual rental) for getting a paying Tenant in situ.

adg1

This is certainly a can of worms for everyone. :rotfl:

LA fees are there and they are there to stay. Some will charge more than others.

We all have to remember that a letting agent is a business and has associated costs -

Office - so you have somewhere nice to sit and talk over your requirements
Staff - Who will take your requirements and view houses with you driving you between properties until you find one you are happy with
Cars - To take you to the houses on the market with them
Petrol - for the cars
Telephones - to contact you whenever a new instruction comes to market that suits your search
Utilities - for their offices

Would you go to an agent that has no office, is based in the back of a transit van, but only charges a tenner for references, or a highstreet agent, registered with all the associated professional bodies and charges £185?

Quite frankly, £185 is cheap. The average move in money costs for one of the countries largest agents totals about £500. THATS high.

If you don't want to pay a fee, look for a private landlord and rent through them. If you are happy to pay a fee, go to an agent.

Also, say the rent for your dream home was 1000pcm and the admin fee was £300. Why not offer £5.78 p/w below the asking price? Thats only £25 pcm and most landlords would be willing to accept an offer in this region. There - free administration from an estate agent!

adg1

tbs624 wrote: »

The LA is contracted by the LL to find a Tenant for the LLs property. The LA earns commission( generally as a percentage of the annual rental) for getting a paying Tenant in situ.

They are indeed. Remember, though, that they also do a lot for the tenants i ntheir search. If a tenant is not happy with a fee then either drop the weekly rent by the fee divided 52 weeks or find a private landlord.

axomoxia

adg1 wrote: »

This is certainly a can of worms for everyone. :rotfl:

LA fees are there and they are there to stay. Some will charge more than others.

We all have to remember that a letting agent is a business and has associated costs -

Office - so you have somewhere nice to sit and talk over your requirements
Staff - Who will take your requirements and view houses with you driving you between properties until you find one you are happy with
Cars - To take you to the houses on the market with them
Petrol - for the cars
Telephones - to contact you whenever a new instruction comes to market that suits your search
Utilities - for their offices

Would you go to an agent that has no office, is based in the back of a transit van, but only charges a tenner for references, or a highstreet agent, registered with all the associated professional bodies and charges £185?

Quite frankly, £185 is cheap. The average move in money costs for one of the countries largest agents totals about £500. THATS high.

If you don't want to pay a fee, look for a private landlord and rent through them. If you are happy to pay a fee, go to an agent.

Also, say the rent for your dream home was 1000pcm and the admin fee was £300. Why not offer £5.78 p/w below the asking price? Thats only £25 pcm and most landlords would be willing to accept an offer in this region. There - free administration from an estate agent!

So, the landlord does not pay anything then?

adg1

axomoxia wrote: »

Come to think of it, when I buy I house, should I also pay a fee?

Would you though? If it was your perfect house, the best you'd seen in your whole search? And the EA wanted £100 to do all the paperwork for you and keep on top of both sides to ensure it went smoothly. Would you pay that fee or lose the house?

Just a thought.

axomoxia

adg1 wrote: »

They are indeed. Remember, though, that they also do a lot for the tenants i ntheir search. If a tenant is not happy with a fee then either drop the weekly rent by the fee divided 52 weeks or find a private landlord.

Two bites of the cherry then.....

Poster boy for letting agency regulation

adg1

axomoxia wrote: »

So, the landlord does not pay anything then?

This whole debate has not centred around the landlords % fees. It has centred on the OPs refusal to pay an agent the admin fee of £185. The landlords side is different and I'm sure another thread complaining about %s charged by EAs to them will probably start at some point.

All I was saying was there is a way to get free admin if you are prepared to negotiate a bit with the EA and LL on rental values.