Letting agents failed - do we stand a chance ?

WeeMummy

Guys,

Thanks for your comments. None of which have caused me anything other than tears (and yes, I do mean that!). I came on here to see if anyone had some similar situation to me and all I have had apart from one comment is digs at how stupid and ridiculous I am. We did have two properties under management with this same company. We sold the other one a while back and it came back to us in an acceptable condition. We had no reason to believe this would be any different.

Perhaps we should have been more vigilant but life happens and we have had a really difficult time in the last few years so maybe we haven't been so on the ball. Does that make it acceptable for a company to not do what we are paying for ? I know my thoughts but obviously you think something different.

I am going to leave MSE Forums now as I am just not willing to put up with some of the comments, the wording and just the general nastiness. I am not being overly emotional, I just wanted to discuss with someone with similar experience not be told how stupid and ignorant I am.

And yes we do pay 14%. However, I don't think foul language is necessary there. After all I'm not asking you to pay for it! And we were happy with it.

So please guys have a think before you post, it seems some get a huge satisfaction out of bringing someone down on cyber space.

See you then, I'm off out tonight with my real world friends. Are you ?

G_M

See:


Letting Agents (Tips for selecting, and tips for sacking them)


Given you display a certain niaivity with regards to letting, this might also be of interest:

New Landlords (information for new or prospective landlords)

AdrianC

WeeMummy wrote: »

and all I have had apart from one comment is digs at how stupid and ridiculous I am.

You must be looking at a different thread, because I've not seen any of that. I've seen plenty of constructive advice on the best way out of the mess you find yourselves in, though it seems that's not actually what you were after.

Does that make it acceptable for a company to not do what we are paying for ?

Everybody posting in this thread seems to be in agreement that the agents have let you down miserably, and that you should stop doing business with them immediately.

tbs624

OP - has your (apparently) muppet LA dealt correctly with all tenancy deposits, gas safety certs etc for all of your properties?

You say:

WeeMummy wrote: »

The tenants left a deposit of £800 which they have no claimed (no surprise there!) which might have been something but I then find out that they had cleaners in to the property costing over £300 which had to be taken off. (£17.50 an hour). The cleaning was sub standard and once again no checks were made by the agents. So at most we will get just over £400 as it stands.

but don't mention any deposit scheme?

14% fee to any LA is extortionate btw. Have you trawled back through the formal contract between you and the LA and flagged up their shortcomings so that you can learn from this experience?

Are you still intending to sell the property or rent it out? Either way, having kept appropriate photographic evidence of the property's condition, focus on moving things forward. Talk to the local LL association about which LAs are used by their members but never let any LA dictate to you how your rentals are dealt with.

WeeMummy

AdrianC wrote: »

How F'ing Much?

You said properties, plural, and that you've been renting through them for over a decade. Yet they're still taking one pound out of every seven your properties are earning, and doing next-to-nowt for it? Wow... Some relationship you'd built with 'em.

Constructive ? I would say offensive.

AdrianC

WeeMummy wrote: »

Constructive ? I would say offensive.

If you found that offensive, then I apologise - that was not my intent. It was merely an expression of my astonishment.

ognum

WeeMummy wrote: »

Guys,

Thanks for your comments. None of which have caused me anything other than tears (and yes, I do mean that!). I came on here to see if anyone had some similar situation to me and all I have had apart from one comment is digs at how stupid and ridiculous I am. We did have two properties under management with this same company. We sold the other one a while back and it came back to us in an acceptable condition. We had no reason to believe this would be any different.

Perhaps we should have been more vigilant but life happens and we have had a really difficult time in the last few years so maybe we haven't been so on the ball. Does that make it acceptable for a company to not do what we are paying for ? I know my thoughts but obviously you think something different.

I am going to leave MSE Forums now as I am just not willing to put up with some of the comments, the wording and just the general nastiness. I am not being overly emotional, I just wanted to discuss with someone with similar experience not be told how stupid and ignorant I am.

And yes we do pay 14%. However, I don't think foul language is necessary there. After all I'm not asking you to pay for it! And we were happy with it.

So please guys have a think before you post, it seems some get a huge satisfaction out of bringing someone down on cyber space.

See you then, I'm off out tonight with my real world friends. Are you ?

I also am sorry if you found my comments hurtful, it was not my intent, there are often others who read answers who get good advice to stop them getting into your situation so while you may have found the comment not useful hopefully other will.

You do need to dump your agent, they have not treated you well. I really hope you enjoy your night out and can relax and get away from something that is clearly stressful.

I do however stand by my comment that letting is a buisness and you have to be involved. good luck in the future!

Guest101

WeeMummy wrote: »

Hi ! Not expecting any major details here but just wanted your thoughts on this.

My husband and I have been using a letting agency for approx 11 years to rent our properties for us. We were always happy with the service we received and felt our investment was in good hands. Rents were paid on time and any upkeep was carried out. However, we were considering selling our flat during the summer and noticed our long term tenants had moved out and our flat was now being re-marketed (of this we weren't informed, we just notice the smaller amount of rent). However, it was timely so we asked it to be taken off the market. When we visited the flat we could not believe the state of repair it was in. The tenants had been in for around 5 years and we expected some odd jobs and to re-decorate. However, this was only a small part of the state of neglect. I won't go in to detail but there had been no ventilation for 5 years (cultural apparently, not used to the cold weather in the North!) and mould was running riot. We had to replace all curtains, blinds, carpets, some other flooring. The bathroom was trashed. The floor had a huge hole which was conveniently covered by the lino. The damage so bad it had spread to the bathroom units. All furniture was damaged beyond repair (children's scribbles with pen and crayon). The dishwasher had to be replace. The list was endless. We spent around 4 - 5k to get the property back to an acceptable standard. The kitchen which was a new modern one only a couple of few years old when they moved in had been badly neglected. Wall tiles cracked. Door and cupboards kicked and damaged, silver freezer scratched at child height. Oven, fan and hob required industrial cleaning. Even the thick substantial security badge to gain access to garage was cut in half and taped together (they really liked duct tape!).

Anyway, the jist of it is that the letting agency washed their hand off us there and then. No checks were carried out at the end of tenancy, no inventory was available (no items were left anyway!). We folllowed their own complaints procedure and it took about 4 months of no contact and finally are dealing with the Customer Services Director who continually plays the 'I'm being really nice and dealing with those nasty tenants for you, I am so nice' card but will not take any responsibility for their part. The property manager left shortly after and he is getting the blame. She keeps reminding us that after this length of time we would have been decorating and replacing the carpet anyway. But that really is not the point. We always accepted some work was required. The tenants left a deposit of £800 which they have no claimed (no surprise there!) which might have been something but I then find out that they had cleaners in to the property costing over £300 which had to be taken off. (£17.50 an hour). The cleaning was sub standard and once again no checks were made by the agents. So at most we will get just over £400 as it stands.

We believe there was mulitple sub letting going on (I have proof) once again this has been batted back by agents. They dumped items in our communal garage and we believe had stopped reporting items as they knew anyone entering property would not be happy.

We have contacted the Property Ombudsman who are dealing with our case but it is slow and we are unsure if we stand much chance.

Anyone out there been through anything similar ? What are our chance of claiming anything back against our agents ? We would be happy for around £1500 - £2000 to cover the non routine work. We were paying 14% a month, at around a rental income of £650. So our agents were being paid well, also we carried out all jobs which we were advised off.

Many thanks,

Morag

Depends entirely what your contract says from the agent.

Without an inventory u won't get the deposit back - I hope it was protected within 30 days?

After 5 years you should expect to be replacing and reprinting. But it does sound like more than wear and tear.

Did u do gas safety cert yearly? You'd think it would be noticed then

AdrianC

Guest101 wrote: »

Without an inventory u won't get the deposit back - I hope it was protected within 30 days?

She won't anyway - it's already been repaid to the ex-tenant. I'm guessing that the ex-tenant applied to the protection scheme, the agent didn't object (or couldn't, due to the lack of inventory/check-out), so it was repaid in full.

Did u do gas safety cert yearly? You'd think it would be noticed then

It's a flat. Very strong chance there's no gas.

Guest101

AdrianC wrote: »

She won't anyway - it's already been repaid to the ex-tenant. I'm guessing that the ex-tenant applied to the protection scheme, the agent didn't object (or couldn't, due to the lack of inventory/check-out), so it was repaid in full.



It's a flat. Very strong chance there's no gas.

Thank u for clarifying I misunderstood what the op said about the deposit.

As for gsc was just keeping the op on the ball, my experience is 50/50 on gas supply to flats.