Anyone used UPAD or House Network to let their property?

blandlord

Hi All,
I need some advice!
I live in Oz and have had some lovely long term tenants in my flat in London for the last few years. They have sadly decided to return to their home country so now I am looking for new tenants.
My Mum & Dad 'manage' the property for me and are happy to continue doing so, however finding a new tenant is a bit too beyond them.
Having had our fingers burnt by going through a high street letting agency for the last 3 years (and being charged each year for a finders fee) I was looking at UPAD and House Network who seem to do a tenant find service for much cheaper. Mum & Dad will be more than happy to conduct viewings as long as someone else advertises/fields the phone calls.
So, are UPAD and House Network too good to be true? Do they really deliver? Has anyone had an experience with them good or bad?
Also, on the contract/ reference/ credit checks side, has anyone got any recommendations for a company to use for that (I know UPAD do that service, but I'm looking for recommendations)?
Thanks in advance

Doozergirl

Have used HN several times for letting, each time with success, not had a bad tenant yet, fingers crossed!

The first time we used them was in 2006 and the same tenants are still in that house.

David_Lawrenson

I have used them many times.
Costs about £60 I think for two property ads.
You upload property description and photos to Upad and overnight your ad goes up on all the portals like Rightmove, Zoopla etc and they (UPAD) then send you emails of interested tenants or, if you prefer, the tenants can call you (its your option)
You can amend the ad dead easily and the amend goes up overnight.
You can then do the rest - tenant check, ref checking of tenants, signing agreements and move in.
Suggest you get a good guide book - e.g. "Successful Property Letting" to tell you how to ref check tenants and what your landlord responsibilities are.
I have found Upad works very well and for those wanting to be more hands on it is best option and much cheaper than high street letting agents.

rogermebluff

I have upad a number of times for houses in Swansea, Cardiff and London. They are always let. Better than keep re-posting on the sites individually and as a Landlord I have no access to Rightmove unless it is through upad so a great advantage.

CREI_2

I have used Upad. The service does what it says. No surprises, full access to the UK market and all the things a landlord needs to market a property. I continue to use it when I have a vacancy. Well worth the money compared to the fees charged by a letting agent.

Tangent: Given your parents are handling the 'management' it might be good if they or you know the current rules and regulations. To stay current I would recommend you join the NLA (National Landlord Association) so you get regular updates when the laws change. You can also use the NLA hotline if you have a legal question related to tenancy. It works out that Upad is an approved supplier to NLA members. The NLA also has a deal with the MyDeposit folks so you can correctly protect the tenant's deposit (legally required and expensive if you get it wrong).

With Upad and a landlord association (NLA or similar) you should be able to handle things from OZ given you have someone to show the unit.

If you have questions get in touch. I do not use this site that often. A number of UK landlords use another site so you can check in there if you want to discuss other landlord topics. Google "Property Tribes"

CREI_2

Completely off topic.

I just noticed that I have been thanked 3 times in 2 posts yet my post count says I have only posted once. I assume the individual post is the one right above this so no idea how someone can be thanked when the system does not think I have posted before. #JustSaying

landlord01

Dear All,

I have just let a property using UPAD Tenant Find Service. The service is excellent and for just a fraction of the cost of using a high street letting agent I found an excellent tenant. If you have time you can conduct all the viewings yourself but if your busy you can ask for UPAD to conduct all the viewings which is what I did.

All potential tenants must be thoroughly credit checked using a top credit referencing service such as offered by Tenant Verify or Homelet. Then for peace of mind I would strongly recommend you take out a rental guarantee insurance product which will also cover you for any potential legal fees. I have been a full time landlord for 15 years and for the last 2 years have taken out a rental guarantee on all new lettings.

You normally have a months notice that your old tenant is leaving and so I recommend you start advertising straight away and so you have plenty of time to find a new tenant. Using UPAD your advert will appear on over 950 property websites including Rightmove, Findaproperty etc.

Rental voids and rental arrears is what kills your cashflow return on rental property investment and so that is why I use UPAD for all my Tenant Find requirements.

It does not always happen exactly this way but my last letting with UPAD resulted in my old tenant moving out Monday and my new tenant moving in Tuesday. An outstanding service UPAD, thanks again.

Doozergirl

Hmmm. I'm starting to think this thread smells slightly of Spam. Anyone else?

huangdi

can anyone else with more than 1 post recommend these companies?? seems dodgy so far

blandlord

Thanks all for the replies.
Good advice about the NLA too - I will check out their website.
Am bumping as well in case anyone else has an experience with either company to offer.

PasturesNew

I'm kind of looking for somewhere to rent (only kind of as generally I can't afford the 1-bed flats that don't have drugs dealers as neighbours).... and I've never heard of upad - and never even knew housenetwork did rentals.

On the other hand, maybe they have nothing near me.

Edit:

I tried upad, not much choice in how much rent to pay during the search choosing ... and then it was 0 properties in my whole county. So then I ran it with no maximum. 0 properties.

I tried HN: 0 in my county. 2 within 200 miles of me.

Not a lot of cop are they!