Which Letting Agent?

sioban_2

I want to go to Australia for at least 2 years and will need to rent my house. I have a bit of equity in the house so hope that the rent will cover my mortgage with enough left over to cover the unexpected such as repairs or periods of non-rental.

I have seen numerous letting advertise in the local vicinity (Paisley) so am looking for any recommendations/ones to avoid. I would be looking for property management but would want to be able to use my own tradesmen for any repairs etc

Any advice would be gratefully received as I need to find the right agent when I am going to be so far away.

anselld

Check out reviews here ... http://www.allagents.co.uk/

Also, bear in mind when discussing their fees how much they charge tenants as well as how much they charge you. Agents are not averse to charging both parties for the same thing and/or high fees to tenants for application/renewal which they don't tell the LL about (but which might still put off applicants).

Mrs_Z

Do you have consent from your mortgage provider to let the house? If not, you should as you could be in trouble with your insurance should anything go wrong...

sioban_2

Thanks very much for link and advice - I visited a couple of agents today and was fairly impressed with info which one was able to give, so will check out review.

Also visited Building Society to check that I am able to let.

sioban_2

Have checked out reviews and they are all really bad in my area - are there any good agents out there!

somethingcorporate

Unfortunately my experience is it is tends to be picking the best of a bad bunch rather than having one that stands out as being any good. Ours is supposed to be a quality, premium company but they are very disorganised. They did get us a brilliant tenant though, so we'll put up with the slack admin in return.

What part of the country are you in? perhaps someone local can recommend one.

G_M

Be very cautious with your choice. The last thing you want while you are halfway round the world is poorly selected tenants, or an agent who doesn't know how to deal with issues like rent arrears, damage, maintenance etc. Who fails to inspect. etc etc

They will all say the right things but reality may be very different.

Ask for names of landlords already on their books, and talk to them. If they refuse (data protection etc!) be suspicious - happy landlords will give consent to be used for references!

Do a 'secret shopper' visit as a prospective tenant and see how you are treated, and what charges are imposed - a tenant who feels disgruntled with excess charges/poor service will take it out on the property/ the landlord! A happy tenant, however,.....

Check their complaints procedure, just in case. Are they a chain with a Head Office to turn to? Do they have a code of conduct? Read it.

Are they members of ARLA? the Property Ombudsman Scheme? another body that you can turn to?

Read the contract carefully and don't be afraid to ask for changes - what will they do for their money and what will they NOT do? Will they go to court on your behalf to get rent arrears/eviction orders? Or will they wash their hands at that point and suddenly say these problem tenants are your problem..... in Australia!

How often will they report back to you so you know the rent is up to date, the tenants have not done a bunk or worse, the property is in good condition etc etc

If you expect them to arrange maintenance on your behalf, do you want them to check with you first or just do it? What are their contractor's fees like? Do you have your own contractors you want them to use?

And read ALL of this too.

Oh - and sort out the tax side too - if you're overseas the agent has to deduct your tax unless you get HMRC permission. See the link above.

sioban_2

Thanks for all this advice - I am very nervous about the prospect of renting out my property and very aware of how stressful it could be if things go wrong when I would be so far away, so really need to find a good agent. I had thought of contacting agents as a prospective tenant but hadn't thought of asking for landlord details - will definitely do that.