Letting - Agent or private?

Jeff_Bridges_hair

So I am thinking of renting me house instead of selling as I dont live there anymore and want to wait a while until the market picks up again and to earn some extra money to throw in my savings.

Im wondering which would be best - let it through an agent and let them deal with everything for a fee or let it myself?

I wont be too far from my hose but its still 70 mins by train/50 by car roughly so I wont be close enough to always be at the beck and call of the tenants should something go wrong and I do have to pop over to Europe from time to time with work so Im thinking an agent would be best.


Obviously I should get a few quotes from agents and what they will do for their fee every month but was looking for any other advice from those with more knowledge as to what I should be asking them


thanks

JBH

whalster

I have always let my own ,read up on everything meet your prospective tenants fully ref. them and go on gut feeling too.
The worry over living away although you are not too far can be mitigated by such as 24 hour PA on private landlord directory ,assuming you know a plumber and electrician joiner etc etc you can add as many as you like and they will contact them for you.
Good luck with it all

cabbage

We've decided to use a letting agent for the first time. There are letting agents that charge a fee for finding a tenant and references but then they hand it over to you to collect the rent. They also offer the full package and collect rent.

There are companies that can do the references for you and arrange insurance that are not letting agency

Do you have a mortgage? Does the mortgage lender know your plans? They might want you to change to a buy to let mortgage. You need to let your buildings insurance company know.

Anything left in the property forms part of the tenancy and therefore the landlords responsibility if it goes wrong. We were advised to remove the built in washing machine for this reason.

You will need a gas safety check and although not a legal requirement, you might want to do PAT electrical testing.

princeofpounds

want to wait a while until the market picks up again

Good luck.

so I wont be close enough to always be at the beck and call of the tenants

Not really the most fantastic attitude to take into being a landlord.

Would be better if you framed it as living up to your obligations as a landlord.

Werdnal

Whether you use and agent or not, you as landlord are still ultimately responsible for property, the tenancy and all the legal aspects of letting. The agent are merely a third party in the middle of the deal who can help or hinder you!

Firstly, you need to be aware of all the obligations and regulations surrounding letting. As you appear to have been a member of MSE for sometime, you may already be aware of this, but a good starting point is here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=41160642&postcount=12

You need to ensure you have all permissions, insurance, health and safety requirementss etc, covered, and be prepared to handle and cover the cost of all repairs and maintenance in a timely manner.

Choose an agent wisely, they need no minimum qualifications or experience and many get things wrong - you will be paying for their mistakes! You may not want to be at the beck and call of tenants, but this is part and parcel of being a landlord. You can hand over all requests for repairs and maintenance to the agent to deal with, but you will then likely be paying a premium for their appointed tradesmen (agent will call the first emergency plumber in the yealow pages, rather than shop around), have no control over the standard of work completed, plus the agent will put their % on the final bill for arranging this for you!

You are also responsible for the ensuring correct protection of the tenant's deposit - if agent fails to do this by the book, or disappears into administration, you are responsible for returning the full deposit amount to the tenant! It is essential you also ensure the agent arranges a full and thorough inventory of the property, otherwise deductions for any damage or repairs at the end are impossible to prove, and any doubt sides with tenant, not you!

Ask to see all references and credit checks done on the tenant, as the final decision on their suitability is yours, not the agent's!

However, before you do any of this, check you have permission to let from your lender, and ensure you will have sufficient cash contingency to cover that mortgage, your own living expenses and other cost if you are faced with a bad tenant and eviction with no rent coming in. It can take several months and a court case to get them out - you will have to do this yourself or pay a solicitor as agents cannot represent you legally!

Many is the house-owner who has thought letting when they cannot sell is a good idea, only to find the costs spiral out of control when things go wrong ... potentially affecting not only their letting property, but the roof over their own heads!

Jeff_Bridges_hair

Thanks very much for the info folks.

I dont have a mortgage on my property so that is not an issue and know some good solid tradesmen in the area who are friends so would be putting the work their way anyway should something goes wrong and would get them to do all the testing prior to letting too as they are all certified to do so.

Didnt think about me having the final decision on the tenant - thought that would be down to the agent but is taken. All adivce taken on board.

princeofpounds wrote: »

Not really the most fantastic attitude to take into being a landlord.

Would be better if you framed it as living up to your obligations as a landlord.

Indeed, though I really dont want to be called over every single minor thing and would prefer it if someone else would be the first point of contact ratehr than it being me.

G_M

DIY - cheaper. And you are on top of things and know they are being done. Many LL's delegate to agents and have no idea what is going on with their tenants, with repairs, with statutory obligations.

Agent - costly. But saves time and stress (hopefully.It can ADD stress!). Advice.

Basically if you have little experience and little time/inclination to learn, use a professional.

If you have contacts with trusted local contractors, you can rely on them, rather than an agent's (commission led) contractors, and don't need to be nearby.

Remember if you use an agent, it is up to you to tell them what to do. eg if you want to delegate everything, you can. If you want final say on repairs, tenant selection, depsot registration etc.... then tell them. They work for you.

New Landlords (information for new or prospective landlords)

sandsni

Jeff_Bridges_hair wrote: »

Didnt think about me having the final decision on the tenant - thought that would be down to the agent but is taken. All adivce taken on board.

Not all agents can be trusted to follow up references, many use the same online services that you could use such as Homelet. Last year we made the mistake of thinking, like you, that the LA would make sure the tenants were suitable and references were legit. We also made the mistake of thinking the LA would relay information between us and the T accurately, much to our detriment. Needless to say we weren't so quick to take the agents' word for it this time.

If you do decide to employ an agent, make sure they know exactly what you expect, and don't sign anything without reading (and understanding) it fully. And make sure THEY know all the regulations and legalities inside out. If you're going to employ someone to take some of the hassle out of it for you, make sure you're not going to spend your time cleaning up the mess they've left. At the end of the day it will be your responsibility.