Should I Just Trust The Letting Agent - or am I being conned?

Odd_Job

I've been using a letting agent to rent out my house for the past few months, but recently I've noticed they're getting quite free and easy about the amount of work that needs doing on the property. I'm a good distance away and can't practically get to the house.

I'm looking for advice as to whether I should query things, or just accept that it's part and parcel of renting out a property.

The most recent thing was a few days after one set of tenants moved out and the new ones moved in, the syphon and ball (?) went in the toilet and had to be replaced at the cost of about £110. Firstly, this was a new bathroom 18 months ago, so would it realistically be needing replacement parts so soon? I wasn't made aware of any issues that would mean the tenant would be excessively flushing the lavatory. Also, surely if it was broken as soon as the new tenant's moved in, it had been broken when the old tenant's moved out - which strikes me (maybe naively) as a bit odd that it had never been brought up before. Had the previous tenants just been not bothering to flush the toilet for their last few days?

Are they conning me or am I just being a bit precious?

Another thing, even though when it was first rented out I had all the gas works checked and certificated and all that, a couple of weeks before the old tenants moved out they said they had to replace the gas hob because a kitchen fitter had looked at it and said the gas hob was unsafe. They advised a certain type of hob replacement because it was the only one they could get at short notice (different colour to the rest of the kitchen) - I made a couple of enquiries myself and found out this was untrue.

On top of these bits and bobs, the woman who tends to deal with me is very rude and didn't get in touch to even tell me they'd rented the house out - again, not sure if that's bad service or if I'm just being precious and should shut up, be grateful and let them get on with it.

Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks in advance.

princeofpounds

Personally (and that's all it can be, given I can't go inspect the place!) I wouldn't trust a letting agent an inch, LL or T.

Regarding the repairs, it's very possible they are trying to make a little extra money from you, but it's not excessive enough to leap to the conclusion they are directly conning you. New bathrooms (like any piece of machinery) are more likely to have a breakdown in the first year or two and when they are very old. The first period might be any defects or mis-fittings popping up, the latter just wear and fatigue. So your flushing mechanism may, or may not, have been broken.

As for the hob, that could just as easily be explained by laziness than conning you, assuming that it really did need fixing.

It's quite possible that these things did need fixing but the workman they employ bungs them £20 for each job too, you are never going to know.

I would be more concerned that they rented the place out again without telling you! Normally all tenants should be approved by the LL at the final stage, unless you have expressly delegated that power in your service agreement.

So I don't get a good feeling about this lot, but they are probably no worse than most. If the tenant in place seems ok, I would be inclined not to rock the boat until they leave or unless more strange repairs crop up.

Of course, the best way to be sure about what is going on is to have a proper relationship with the tenant, just so both sides of the story are known. Many LL/A/T problems are caused by the LAs miscommunicating between both parties in their own interests.

Arthritic_Toe

Any little repair is seen as a handy money-making opportunity, especially if you are remote and unable to inspect. The toilet thingy was probably a bit awkward to flush and the new tenants probably requested that it was fixed. The new parts would have been about £15 in Wickes and taken about half an hour to fix. The rest of the £110 will be a random number to cover the callout and admin.

cherry-picker

I've had mixed experiences with different letting agents, some vey good and some bad. It's difficult to know for certain whether you're being ripped off if you're at a distance, but remember, you are the customer. If you're not sure about the work that the agent is telling you needs to be carried out then insist on paperwork or ask for the old parts to be sent to you.

For example, with the work on the ball float. As these aren't large parts ask for the old parts to be posted to you. They may think that its a strange request but if they are taking the mick then they'll be less likely to try it on in future if they know you're going to ask for this type of thing. If you don't want to pay postage you could always ask for photos to be emailed to you - everyone has camera phones these days so this is a reasonable thing to request.

With the gas hob, this sounds like a strange one. If you're renting a property then you have to have gas appliances regulalry checked and certificated anyway, but this needs to be done by a registered "gas safe" expert. I wouldn't accept the changing of a gas appliance on the say so of a kitchen fitter unless they can validate that they are registered with "Gas Safe" and are qualified to issue landlords gas safety certificates. However, if someone raises a concern that an appliance is dangerous you are obliged to get it checked and made safe as soon as possible, particulalry if you have a tennant in the property and it is an "essential" piece of equipment like a boiler or a cooker.

I find some of the lettings websites have quite a lot of good information for private landlords on there. Try w w w.lettingaproperty.com for some general information. The key piece of advice I could give is to remember that you are the customer of the lettings agent. You are paying their fees so they need to realise that they are beholden to you and not the other way round. If you're not satisifed with the service that you're receiving make it clear to them that you expect a better level of service and do it in writing. If you're still not happy, appoint another agent.

G_M

I'm afraid you have a choice:

pay an agent for full managment and accept that there will be costs added on that you just have to absorb in return for doing nothing yourself, having no tenants ringing you up, no visits to make to the property and no stress (apart from worrying if you are being ripped off!)

Or become more hands-on. Get to know your tenants. Get them to call you when repairs are needed, then drive over, check, and do some DIY yourself to save money. Get involved in pre and post contract inspections so you know what condition your property is in; Get involved in tenant selection. Talk to the contractors the agent uses, or find your own contractors and tell the agent to use them.

Since you are curently 'hands-off' you will never know the truth about these repairs.

tbs624

Don't ever let an LA dictate to you - they act for you, on your behalf. If you are not happy with their "business methods" check out the small print of your contract with them and ditch them. If the LA is being rude to you then it's likely they are also rude and offhand with your Ts.

No training, qualifications or specific expertise necessary to set up in business as an LA. It shows.

As G-M says, you could get get Ts to report damage direct to you and then get yourself a reliable tame property repairer with whom you deal direct - check out the local LL association for recommendations.

maninthestreet

A syphon and ball (float) needing replacement after just 18 months of use sounds odd - my toilet still has the same syphon and ball as when I moved into my house 13 years ago.

Doozergirl

G_M wrote: »

I'm afraid you have a choice:

pay an agent for full managment and accept that there will be costs added on that you just have to absorb in return for doing nothing yourself, having no tenants ringing you up, no visits to make to the property and no stress (apart from worrying if you are being ripped off!)

Or become more hands-on. Get to know your tenants. Get them to call you when repairs are needed, then drive over, check, and do some DIY yourself to save money. Get involved in pre and post contract inspections so you know what condition your property is in; Get involved in tenant selection. Talk to the contractors the agent uses, or find your own contractors and tell the agent to use them.

Since you are curently 'hands-off' you will never know the truth about these repairs.

Agree. My personal choice would be to be more hands on yourself. No-one will look after a property in the same was as you will want to and they will certainly not look to save you any money. I don't they purposely set out to con you, they just couldn't care less how much things cost. I'd want to see the property, know what to expect further down the line - what needs replacing, whether their inventory taking is accurate. The property will deteriorate naturally, but that funny coloured hob is just the start of your property becoming less attractive for future tenants because the person doing it just doesn't have your attention to detail, or frankly the will to do that much for someone they don't know.

I deal with tradesmen all the time and it's a battle sometimes because they will also sometimes want to pick the easiest way for them. Considering toilets often don't cost as much as £110, I'd have a hernia. Not only this but you are paying how much of the monthly rent as a fee?

Honestly, full management is not only much more expensive than managing it yourself in the short term, I genuinely believe it will cost more in the longer term as well. One of these homecare service agreements to cover as much as you can probably still costs less than the LA's basic fee every month.

Wings

princeofpounds wrote: »

Personally (and that's all it can be, given I can't go inspect the place!) I wouldn't trust a letting agent an inch, LL or T.

Regarding the repairs, it's very possible they are trying to make a little extra money from you, but it's not excessive enough to leap to the conclusion they are directly conning you. New bathrooms (like any piece of machinery) are more likely to have a breakdown in the first year or two and when they are very old. The first period might be any defects or mis-fittings popping up, the latter just wear and fatigue. So your flushing mechanism may, or may not, have been broken.

As for the hob, that could just as easily be explained by laziness than conning you, assuming that it really did need fixing.

It's quite possible that these things did need fixing but the workman they employ bungs them £20 for each job too, you are never going to know.

I would be more concerned that they rented the place out again without telling you! Normally all tenants should be approved by the LL at the final stage, unless you have expressly delegated that power in your service agreement.

So I don't get a good feeling about this lot, but they are probably no worse than most. If the tenant in place seems ok, I would be inclined not to rock the boat until they leave or unless more strange repairs crop up.

Of course, the best way to be sure about what is going on is to have a proper relationship with the tenant, just so both sides of the story are known. Many LL/A/T problems are caused by the LAs miscommunicating between both parties in their own interests.

My very reasons why i stopped using agents, and now self manage my properties.

To the OP either make content with the tenant direct or ask a friend, relative to make a visit.