Let only vs Fully managed

Chick

Am about to let out my 1-bed flat, have chosen a letting agent but just trying to decide whether to go let only or for the fully managed service.

With both there will be a fee of about 250 pounds when they find tenants, draw up contracts but with the fully managed you pay 10% of the rental income (plus VAT I think- need to check this point).

I will be living in another city to where my flat is so the logical solution is to go for fully managed & also I have never let out property before.

The other side is, where the flat is located I have people that I totally trust & I will be coming back to the town where the flat is every week or two.
So, if there was ever the need for getting gas/elec person this could be dealt with as swiftly as is possible (obviously depending on availability of tradesmen).

Am I being totally bonkers to consider 'let only' rather than a 'fully managed' service? be honest, I can take it...
Chick

david29dpo

i use let only. i do all maintenance myself. in your case you have the next best thing with people you trust. let only will be fine.xx

bordercars

I agree i have 3 let, but with mine i found my own tenants, even if things go wrong an agent will only contract the work out to a buddy builder get a cut from him and you. let only is the only way.

RHemmings

bordercars wrote:

I agree i have 3 let, but with mine i found my own tenants, even if things go wrong an agent will only contract the work out to a buddy builder get a cut from him and you. let only is the only way.

I'm not a landlord, and hence won't offer any advice to the OP.

But I'd like to ask if anyone, either tenant or landlord, has ever had an EA justify the money they charge for "management"? Finding a tenant, that's a useful service for which they should be paid. But in my experience after that, they just get lots of fees for writing letters, and issuing new contracts that don't really need to be issued.

Chick

Hiya,
Thanks for all your responses...it's just a scary prospect as I've never let before, the LA's are very good at making you feel that you will need them- they are selling at the end of the day & I know they target your 'fears'.

I'm not afraid to get things sorted myself e.g. organise the gas/elec person to come out or sort out some repairs. ok, if I was abroad this would not be possible but I will be in London & the property is in Birmingham.

I guess an ultimate nightmare scenario is tenants being in the property & not paying the rent...I am going to take out Rentguard insurance which I have heard good things about.

Yes RHemmings- the main thing for me is, what will the letting agent do over & above drawing up contracts and finding the tenants (for which they will be paid anyhow). It strikes me that whether you are let only or fully managed, if things go tits up with the tenant(s) it's really down to you the landlord.

...I await my copy of Letting for Dummies with much anticipation, getting the 2nd edition off Amazon which is being published next week...

Bordercars & David- I know the whole thing can be a minefield with so many eventualities, what advice would you give a first time landlord, nothing long-winded, just your 'top tips' as it were.

Many thanks,
Chick

Tassotti

I use LAs on a tenant find service only (sometimes I find my own)

For your own peace of mind, use the rentguard rent and legal insurance.

Whichever way you go, make sure the tenant passes the FULL credit check/referencing process and you have two forms of ID for the tenant (one with photograph)

Rentguard require this.

I'd say manage it yourself, but use a letting agent (one that is a member of a professional body like ARLA) to find a tenant, as its going to be difficult to do viewings for you.

Read this

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/successful_landlording.htm

Join the forum there, but don't get too put off because there are many 'horror' stories on the board.

Do a comprehensive Inventory with photographs

Get a template free from

http://www.clickdocs.co.uk/property-inventory-england.htm


Good Luck

david29dpo

i think i have been lucky so far. i use an agent to find and vet only, and pay 75% of the first month rent, and thats it. never had any problems. i do all maintenance myself.

Chick

Thank you for all that Tassotti, very useful stuff...

I think the main thing is that I don't necessarily want a 'hand-holding' service, I am prepared to do my homework & perhaps still run into problems but it is very daunting when it's first time you've done anything like this!

Just to clarify, when you mention the inventory with photos...do you mean everything e.g. walls, furniture, or just items/equipment?

Thanks, Chick

Tassotti

I don't think it's necessary to take photos of all the walls, ceilings, woodwork, etc, but do mention their condition on the inventory.

If there are any stains on carpets, take pictures of these.

Take pictures of all furniture (if furnished) including light fittings (I once had tenants that stole an expensive ceiling fan and I couldn't prove it)

If property has garden, take pictures of condition.

Be sensible about the photos, you don't want the inventory to become a family album :rotfl:

Just cover your back as much as possible. It only takes a bit of time.

MOST important thing, don't accept tenants if they fail the credit check/referencing.

It's better to have an empty property than one with bad tenants in.

skaff

Being a military man i am away alot so a full letting service is ideal for me. The last thing my wife needs is a call at 2am telling her that a pipe has burst! If you do go down this route (a full letting service that is, not signing up for HM Forces!!) don't forget you can still haggle. My 3 properties get charged at 6%! Amazing what you get if you ask!

Goober_Girl

If you feel confident about organising repairs etc and you have people who can see to things when you can't, then manage it yourself, you'll svae a lot of money. I have 10 rental properties and usually only use letting agents to find and vet tenants, although I have found a few myself. I agree with another contributor when he says it is much better to have your property empty for a month or two and wait for the right tenant than to jump in and go with the first one that comes along just to get it rented out. Don't panic if it doesn't rent out in the first week or two, there are decent tenants out there! Good luck and don't stop at one rental!