Should we use a letting agent?

jjlandlord

blizeH wrote: »

Thanks for the heads up on the deposit too, we have already registered with one of the deposit schemes just in case we do go the route of managing the property ourselves.

IMHO, it is always a good idea to keep control over the deposits.

tumbledowngirl

jjlandlord wrote: »

IMHO, it is always a good idea to keep control over the deposits.

What do you mean - do you mean put it in an insurance-backed account?

egoode

blizeH wrote: »

Thank you, interesting to know this - for what it's worth I highly doubt we would visit quarterly, however it would be put into the contract just in case we do have problem tenants who aren't looking after the house. I think more realistically it would be an inspection after 3 months, then 6 months after that.

I agree with others that inspecting every three months would be too intrusive for me and I also would not agree to that in the contract. I think every 6 months is more reasonable.

jjlandlord

tumbledowngirl wrote: »

What do you mean - do you mean put it in an insurance-backed account?

I mean everything in the landlord's name whether in insurance or custodial scheme.

G_M

tumbledowngirl wrote: »

What do you mean - do you mean put it in an insurance-backed account?

I think he means the LL should register / control the deposit, not rely on an agent.

G_M

These posts might help a little:

[FONT=&quot]Letting Agents [/FONT][FONT=&quot](Tips for selecting, and tips for sacking them)[/FONT]


[FONT=&quot]New Landlords[/FONT][FONT=&quot] (information for new or prospective landlords)

As for inspections, I would do one after 3 months, and then every 6 months (or even annually with long-term reliable tenants).
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whalster

None of the posts above have mentioned that many tenants lo for a private landlord because they save the agent fees .

You have talked a lot about you saving on agent fees but remember a lot of the very good smart tenants are looking to save fees too ,these are the type of tenants you want .
They will stay a lot longer than any tenant through an agency as they are not being skunked.

Join the RLA or another landlord association they are worth their weight in gold.

You will get calls however you can mitigate this ,private landlord directory have a system called 24hr PA where you submit a list of your own contractors and if anything goes wrong in your property the tenant contacts their call centre who then runs through common fault finding and if that does not work they contact your contractor direct .
This saves you getting called New Year's Eve and you don't get ripped off by the agents repair men as you are still using people you know and trust .

Keep researching the better informed you are the better landlord you will be

CWSmith

My letting agent was fantastic.

She sorted out every single little detail. Repairs were carried out instantly - she had a multi-talented man who did minor repairs for (almost) nothing, and got the best deal on larger repairs.
She sorted out unpaid rents, broken washing machines, arguments with the neighbours over car parking spaces ......

Even when my tenants left and I wanted to put the house on the market; as there was still a week left of that month's commission (and I couldn't get time off work) she showed the estate agents round for me.

Even after that, she let me use her odd-job man to empty the house of the last bits of old furniture, which he took to the dump for me.

A good letting agent is worth their weight ....!

ConfusedofYorkshire

Prothet_of_Doom wrote: »

Why single out students ?

My son is a student, and (during my occassional visits) I have been quite rude to him and his house mates about their cleanliness, but put the mess into context

a) when the the exams were over they did a years worth of cleaning, in order not to loose the deposit, and b) a house worth £150K nets a student landlord £ £12000 to 15000 a year, so perhaps if the LL budgets a couple of days and £500 every 12 months, to keep his investment up to scratch, it actually makes good business sense. (Paint 1 room, fix the odd cupboard door etc)

As soon as I wrote it I wish i had written "i might have understood it" rather than "i would understand". I was just trying to understand where the OP was coming from.

I can imagine that someone might want to inspect more if the house was inhabited by several adults who may have little experience of looking after a house compared to a family is all i meant- but in all honesty if it was me i would take the attitude of many here- that the property has to be returned to me as it was taken (or pay to return it to that state) so I dont think would want frequent inspections whether i was letting to students or anyone else.

ConfusedofYorkshire

blizeH wrote: »

Thank you, interesting to know this - for what it's worth I highly doubt we would visit quarterly, however it would be put into the contract just in case we do have problem tenants who aren't looking after the house. I think more realistically it would be an inspection after 3 months, then 6 months after that.

I agree that it could be quite intrusive and that is the last thing I'd want... it was quite funny that my parent-in-laws were recently invited around by their tenants for tea and cakes as part of the inspection... if only all tenants were like that!

The thing is, everytime we have had an inspection it has been fine. Its normally be done by letting agents who we have a chat with. sometimes a cup of tea.

But I'm somone who gets quite stressed out by these things. I always feel like I have an invader in my home who is judging me. I have to make sure the house is spotless- even though the LL or LA may not expect this- I would be embarrassed if there was mess. its like having your mother-in-law inspect the place, but also giving her the power to kick you out if she wants to. Not everyone feels like that- but that anticipation and anxiety would make me not want to sign a contract which said 3 monthly inspections were possible.

I think inspecting after 3 months at the start of the tenancy could make sense. But if this is satisfactory then if i was a LL i would feel comfortable with annually after that.