Advice wanted from experienced landlords please?

zcrat41

Hi guys,

Hoping some of you more experience landlords could help me out with a bit of advice.

I'm about to let my house; small 2 bed terrace cottage. I've had a few lettings agents round and have picked one that I think gave a professional service and a reasnoble rent appraisal (not to high, not too low). However, I'm not sure what of the 3 options I should do;

1) Tenant finding only
2) Managed scheme - 10% of monthly rental
3) Rent guarantee scheme - 12.5% of monthly rental

Any suggestions?

I'm quite comfortable with all 3 options;

1) Parents have local commercial property so have good contacts in terms of tradesmen. I work in the family business so pretty flexible in terms of being able to sort stuff out immediately.

2) Feel it would take the pressure off. However, feel I'd be paying £57 a month purely to answer the phone as I have to pay for problems to be fixed anyway!

3) If I'm going for option 2 I may as well go for option 3. However, I can easily cover the mortgage if property is vacant or there are issues with tenants. Although I'd prefer not too obviously!!!

Sorry for it being a bit long, would appreciate some help!

Thanks
ZC

MX5huggy

If you are local, I would go option 1. I am 4 hours drive away from mine so use option 2.

zcrat41

Thanks MX5 - I only live and work about 4 miles away and have to drive past it everytime I go to the supermarket.

Jowo_2

Do the agents belong to a professional body such as ARLA?

dizziblonde

As a tenant I've always prefered renting from landlords going for option 1. Found it much much easier to get stuff repaired and not been fobbed off when I've been able to call them up and say "X looks like it needs doing if you want to take a look at it" rather than have to fight through a letting agency to get them to ring the landlord to get the landlord to return the call saying yay or nay etc etc.

MIL rents their house out on fully managed and she's happy with that - but they've got a fair distance between them and the property.

clutton_2

dont find your own tenant.... professoinal scammers can smell new amateur landlords a mile off.... i would use an agent for 6 months while you read up on your obligations as a LL - join national landlords association and read their website (they also have a great legal helpline) and read www.landlordzone.co.uk from front to back.. there are excellent property lawyers who post on their and finally buy Tessa Sheppersons books on renting.... then... manage yourself. Property tribes is also a great property website.

BitterAndTwisted

zcrat41 wrote: »

Hi guys,

2) Managed scheme - 10% of monthly rental


2) Feel it would take the pressure off. However, feel I'd be paying £57 a month purely to answer the phone as I have to pay for problems to be fixed anyway!

You would, and you'd most probably be paying through the nose for it as well. This is a nice commission-earning scam for a lot of letting agents with their "approved" contractors.

ViolaLass

For the sake of comparison, what does the rent guarantee actually guarantee you? Half the year? All of it?

westlondonbuyer

I agree with Clutton - go fully managed until you've learnt the ropes. I see from your post that you're renting out your own home (as I was) so that implies other stuff is going on in your life...chances are, you won't have time/energy to train yourself up in advance of the tenancy.

Thereafter, manage the tenancy yourself: hard experience taught me I was much, much more attentive to my tenants and to maintenance issues than the agents ever were, even though I was in a completely different timezone

Rather than go down the "approved contractor" route, find yourself a good 24-hour reactive maintenance company and a trustworthy general handyman - their rates will be the same (or possibly more expensive, because you won't benefit from the agent's economies of scale) but there will be no commission to pay on top and the contractors will usually be more reliable and do better work because they're personally known to you.

zcrat41

Excellent advice. Thanks very much.

WestLondonBuyer - you're right - I'm moving in with my fiancee and we're getting married in June so it is going to be a very busy 6 months.

Clutton - Fab advice. I'd definitely not trust myself finding a tenant; I think the credit checks etc are too important. I've had a good dig on Landlordzone already but there's a lot to work through!

Viola lass - it guarantees you until they can get the tenant out of the property I think but good point - I'll double check that.

Funnily enough, since I posted this I was thinking of doing 6 months managment and then going it alone!

Thanks once again for your advice

Jowo - they are ARLA registered; they're quite a well known and respected local company.

Dizziblonde - I've been in that situation too. Once in a houseshare we managed to find out our landlords name and address and contacted them about niggling problems that were just not getting fixed. They were embaressed and rather angy with the letting agents!

Brb

If going for option 1 read your contract carefully (well with all options do so too) but some LAs sneak in a clause that means if at end of fixed term if their T stays, renews then you will have to pay them a fee for doing basically nothing. I do hear of Ts getting S21s simply because a LL wants to avoid this fee.

Also be aware that some LAs know less of housing laws/Ts' rights etc than you do right now! Anyone can set up a letting agency. No experience, no qualifications necessary blah blah blah. It's an unregulated industry. You are also legally responsible for the actions/inactions of your LA.