Guaranteed rentals

ellies_angel

I lease my house out, Northwood are my agents. I opted for the guarenteed rent. True I receive much less than I would if I had opted for a normal agency fee, but for me I needed to know that I would be receiving a set amount every month. I had no set up fee's, or fees to pay for carrying out an inventory, they recomended an insurance company for landlords which was a better deal than I could get, I have gas/appliance cover with british gas, any problems, the tennants contact Northwood who contact British Gas. I will get a phone call or email to let me know what is happening. I do nothing, they do everything, they carry our quarterly checks. I am happy, no delighted with the service I receive.

Tightnortherner_2

Hi,
We rented our flat while we were travelling for 2 years. If you are out of the country, I cant see how you can do without an agent. Be very careful when you choose one, many of them offer truly appalling service. Ours were very poor at times. Check whether they are in either of the 2 redress schemes. Because we were overseas, we didnt pay tax until we had completed a tax return, and then very little as it was our only income. we filled in an 'Overseas Landlord Form' or something of the sort. Youll probably need agents to manage it for you as well. depends where you are going and how difficult it would be to, say, contact a plumber from there.

nrsql

theartfullodger wrote: »

Call me cynical but you do realise these wonderful companies employ experts in getting out of paying these so-called "guarantees"???
e.g. (just one small example..)

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?33065
Artful

Not saying you are wrong in general but in this instance it looks like the OP on that thread was reading the policy incorrectly.

Saying that neither of these guarantees would be giving money away. They will be profitable for the company on average. What you are paying for is offloading effort and ensuring you aren't the unlucky one - but you will be paying for that peace of mind.
Last time I went abroad I just contacted a letting agent - gave them the keys and told them to get everything put in to storage and let the property. Worked well in this case. I only had a few days warning and had a lot of other things to take care of.