Advice on letting agents' charges

imported_drumstick

My boyfriend and I are about to pack up home and job to go travelling for a year. But as my partner bought his property and we don’t have time to sell it before travelling, he needs to let it while we’re away.

We don’t want to give the hassle of managing tenants etc to family so we need to get a letting agent/estate agent to cover the management for us. We don’t have any previous experience of this so we’re unfamiliar with the various charges that we’ll get hit with. I remember reading an article in the Saturday Guardian ‘Jobs and Money’ section last year which highlighted letting agents’ charges, particularly the hidden charges that you don’t get told about upfront, and there was some advice about what to be aware of. I seem to recall many of the charges were deemed to be unjustified and the implication was that there was scope for trying to negotiate away some of them.

I’d really appreciate any advice anyone could give if they have any experience of what questions we should be asking agents before employing them. I’m also going to try to find that article, presumably at the library!

Many thanks in advance!

imported_drumstick

Me again!

I've just realised I may be using the wrong terminology - by 'letting agent' I mean an estate agency for example who agree to manage your property being rented out, for a fee (15% or whatever).

keepthereceipt

charges for full management will usually range between 10% and 15%.

You will have to pay VAT on top.

First try and contact other landlords in the area and find out who they use and if they are happy with the service they get.

The agency letting business is full of charlatans, I'm afraid to say. A good starter would be to find a member of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (https://www.arla.co.uk).

You want piece of mind whilst you are away. Don't try to cut corners. Ensure that everything is well maintained, checked and the boiler is covered with something like BG's 3 star cover and you have a gas safety cert. If furnished all items must have the fire retardant label.

Read your agreement with the letting agent carefully so that you know how much they will charge if something breaks down. For example, the washing machine breaks down so the managing agent gets a replacement from Comet but will add a handling charge (perhaps 50 quid) plus charge VAT on the whole lot, so you need to understand all of this in advance.

Good luck.

garysletters

I dont pay more than 10% to any of my agents. Any charging more should be flexible enough to come down a bit.
I always go with a reputable high street agent (though this hasn't meant a hassle free ride all the time), as they tend to attact better tenants.
some agents charge a % on top of repair costs others dont.
Some charge fees for reference checks, arranging the contract, renewing a contract, and even simply to register your house with them. all seperate fees.

The main way I work out who to go with is to imagine myself as a tenant. Where would I start to look first????
Thats why I use the high street agencys! Most agents fees even out in the long run!

Just ask all the agents in your area what their charges are,