how to find private landlords/properties?

braun_2

Any tips on finding private landlords/properties?

I've given up on estate agents as they are generally useless and charge way over the top.

The trouble is, most properties on gumtree are agency and there are only a couple of flats in the local paper whereas I require a 2-3 bed house.

sandsni

Sometimes private LLs advertise in shop windows (local newsagent for instance). Is there a community centre/church/sports club in the area? It might be worth asking there.

You could put an ad in the paper or on Gumtree under "houses wanted" and specify you don't want agents (probably won't stop them trying, but you can refuse to reply to them).

tbs624

As above post, plus contacting the local LL association or the national LL associations for contact info for self managing LLs.

Some Councils hold lists of "accredited" private sector LLs.

Do take the time to check out the background of the potential LL, in the same way (edit:as) s/he will want to check you out.

benjus

Gumtree is the only site I've come across that has more than a tiny number of private rental properties.

Unfortunately Gumtree changed their charging model a couple of years ago and it now seems to be biased towards agents rather than private landlords - bumping your ad every day becomes quite expensive, and paying for a subscription is hardly worth it if you've only got one property to let. Sadly no-one has come up with an alternative website that has actually established itself in the market. On the plus side, there seems to be fewer obvious scams on there now.