Any letting agents reading this?

G_M

Can't help noticing the increasing number of threads/posts voicing dissatisfaction (and worse) with the service which letting agents provide.

By both tenants, and landlords.

OK-we know that satisfied customers tend not to post, so praise is unusual even where due, but...

I know we have solicitors who contribute to the forum, and financial advisers, as well as tenants and landlords. But never see agents.

Are there none reading the forum, or are you just keeping quiet to avoid further verbal missiles?????

Come on guys and girls! A few of you must be honourable! Stick up for yourslves! :beer:

whalster

GM - landlord zone is the place for agents in their forum it seems ,there are loads on there .You would imagine the logic goes that they will pick up business , it is a very letting agent friendly place where even their perception of a negative comment never mind humour is met with a ban !
This is the difference in a site that relies on advertising revenue compared to this one they live in fear of those who put the sausages on the plate for the sunday morning breakfast.

whalster

Just re-read your post the ' a few of you ' Man that is barbed ! you harsh old soul you

johnbusby

Probably too busy selling their grannies on ebay....

I have had numerous contacts with letting agents (large chains and smaller businesses) and never been anything but disappointed

I find them unprofessional, unreliable and have a complete lack of knowledge on the regulations which govern their business. Regulation, with some kind of cap on the non refundable 'referencing fees' they charge, really cant come soon enough in my opinion

I live on a reasonably busy street on the outskirts of Bristol and they are opening up at a rate of knots. There are now around 9 of them condensed within a space of around a quarter of mile. To me this rapid expansion is likely indicative of the ridiculous profits which they must be making - making hay while the sun shines (and the government stand by!)

G_M

GM - landlord zone is the place for agents

Yes - have seen them over there.....

whalster wrote: »

Just re-read your post the ' a few of you ' Man that is barbed ! you harsh old soul you

If I posted over there as I post over here I wouldn't last two minutes......

But even over here I get ticked off from time to time!

unmissable

There are good agents out there.

I have been using a letting agent for the last 12 years and they are FANTASTIC. They sort every problem with the house, quickly and efficiently. If it is an 'emergency' they just 'do it' and tell me later. If it can be sorted in slow time, they ask me how I would like to proceed (and will get more than one quote for the job).

In 12 years I have never had more than 2 months (total) empty, although I have accepted slightly lower rents to achieve this. £50 a month less on £1000 pm rent takes almost a year to recoup.

I would recommend them to anyone, and their management fee is lower than most.

I also have a holiday-home agent who is equally caring and responsible in looking after my property. They are a bit slow on passing on the money, and also use (what I consider) some contractors who are over-priced. However, they do have a monopoly in the area and I would not change them because their caring and responsible service outweighs the niggles.

MentalMinnie

Martin & Co...WORSE. AGENTS. EVER.

Don't say i didn't warn you!!!!:mad::money:

newsgroup_monkey

unmissable wrote: »

There are good agents out there.

I have been using a letting agent for the last 12 years and they are FANTASTIC. They sort every problem with the house, quickly and efficiently. If it is an 'emergency' they just 'do it' and tell me later. If it can be sorted in slow time, they ask me how I would like to proceed (and will get more than one quote for the job).

In 12 years I have never had more than 2 months (total) empty, although I have accepted slightly lower rents to achieve this. £50 a month less on £1000 pm rent takes almost a year to recoup.

I would recommend them to anyone, and their management fee is lower than most.

Do your tenants feel the same?

Do you think that £500 or more just to be "introduced" to a property is acceptable? Tenants are often not as well-off as home owners. A thread the other day talked about someone being taken in for a "long term let" only to find that they would be kicked out after 6 months. That's £450 in fees they are going to have to find again.

Do they employ people to find specks of dust when a tenant leaves so that they can justify a "Deep Clean" to a company they employ and then add their even more ridiculous administration charges?

Do they know the law? A lot of private landlords know the law far better than LAs.

I also have a holiday-home agent who is equally caring and responsible in looking after my property. They are a bit slow on passing on the money, and also use (what I consider) some contractors who are over-priced. However, they do have a monopoly in the area and I would not change them because their caring and responsible service outweighs the niggles.

Agreed. I've dealt with HH agents and they do seem to be much friendlier from both sides. I guess it's because they are used to short lets and therefore have to be more amenable to tenants.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

I've rented a lot in London and the professional, efficient ones do exist but are in the minority.

If more landlords were aware of how both parties were being fleeced by unnecessary charges, I think standards might improve.

My favourite tactic of letting agents is the way they pompously include vaguely legal sounding phrases in letters riddled with sub-GCSE spelling and grammar errors.

newsgroup_monkey

I've been considering my earlier post and it makes me sound like I have a gun for all LAs and I don't.

I'm in the unenviable position of having been a house owner for many years, but found myself in the rental market having only rented privately for a year in the mid '90s (my first jobs were live-in).

The first place I rented, the LAs were OK. They looked down on me and talked to me like I was some sort of child which was rather annoying as it was a relationship breakup that required me to get my own place. But their fees were reasonable and in the end, we seemed to have some mutual respect. Unfortunately, I needed somewhere bigger and they didn't have anything suitable.

Which is where I ended up going to with the largest LA in town. I was warned about them, I knew one of the directors shenanigans (his wife and my ex-wife were friends). I also happen to know a couple of people who did contract work for them. Even the old LAs warned me about them.

To be fair to them, with the exception of their extortionate fees, they've left me alone. They only do inspections when the LL asks them to (3 times in nearly 6 years?). I've spent more time directly communicating with my LL than the LA. With a couple of exceptions, nothing major has gone wrong, but when it has, they are completely disinterested and have made it clear to me and my LL that they are happy to take our cash, but not happy to do any work for it.

My LL has said on more than 1 occasion that they wished they'd not signed up.

They're snidey, they try and enforce unfair and illegal conditions. They are well known for keeping deposits. If (and I suspect it will) go to court, I have ex-tenants on my side who will back me up. They are hated and despised in our town. My wife feels so strongly, that she wouldn't rent or buy a house off them if it was the last place in the world. My old LL is selling their house and have already said they won't sell through this agent.

Which brings me to my current LA.Breath of fresh air. Similar to the first, reasonable charges but more importantly, the lettings department has qualified and experienced agents. They spell out what they expect of you and what they expect when you leave. What is regarded as wear and tear etc.

Time will tell of course... they could be as sneaky and conniving......

princeofpounds

My thoughts?

After a hard week trying to extract maximum profit from both tenants and landlords, with a boss 'ripping you a new one' for not being top of the monthly sales board every Friday, I suspect most agents simply couldn't be bothered to come here and post in their free time.

It's not like they are doing it for the love of the job most of them.