Frustrated with rental agencies ... is this normal?

kunekune

We at the end of a 1 year AST. Although we are planning to continue living here, we only have a year left and would like 18 months security for work planning reasons. Also, there are some problems with the house, mainly a ginnel running down the side that is a favourite spot for local yobs and noise from the rented property next door (group of young men). So, I've been semi-seriously looking for something else. And I'm getting very frustrated. Twice now I have contacted an agent within a day or so of a property being listed. They say "oh, we have to arrange the viewing with the tenant, I'll get back to you" and they never do. The first one, the landlord found someone privately during the week when the agent couldn't contact the tenant, so then it came off the market. The second one, I've heard nothing for a week, and have decided not to pursue them any more. And now we are trying the third property (all different agents). Rang first thing. Good vibes, at least they asked some questions, but the day is dragging on, and I have this sense of deja vu. I'll ring them again tomorrow (assuming that it isn't always easy to get hold of an owner) but I just wanted to know whether this is normal behaviour by UK letting agencies? Are prospective dual income professional non-smoking, pet free tenants wanting to pay at the higher end of the local market in such supply that they can afford to be this cavalier? There aren't many 3 or 4 bed houses with gardens, that's true, but we should be desirable tenants. I'm new to the UK market (we rented the current place privately, from overseas, without seeing it!) and getting worried about what would happen if we were actually in a hurry.

Gingernutmeg

Sounds normal ... My partner and I are looking for a property at the moment and the vast majority of the agencies we've contacted have been worse than useless. A favourite trick seems to be to keep the nice properties on their websites, but when you ring they've 'just gone' and they've got a ex crack-den that the landlord has painted magnolia that you can look at. We've been seriously looking for over a month and some of the properties that had 'just gone' three weeks ago are STILL on the websites ...

Another trick is to never, ever call you back. We're looking to move about sixty miles away from where we are now, so when we're organising viewings we try to get at least four in the same day, which has proved to be almost impossible. It's virtually impossible to organise a viewing with one phone call, it's always 'someone will call you back' or 'our lettings agent isn't in till tomorrow' - and of course you never hear back from them.

My partner and I are fortunate to be in a position at the moment where we've been able to devote full days to phone calls, and full days to viewings. I seriously have no idea how a couple, both of whom are in full-time work, are supposed to find the time to find somewhere to live given the experience we've had with letting agencies - none have been able to let us view properties after five, they're continually calling us to cancel viewings, and they don't seem interested in letting their properties at all.

pinkshoes

They probably get alot of timewasters too, who phone to view just to be nosey and look round a property! If you phone them back again in the same day, it'll show you are keen/serious.

lynzpower

the other difficulty is that they might need to get consents from any existing tenants too. this can be very frustrating indeed.

Gingernutmeg

pinkshoes wrote: »

They probably get alot of timewasters too, who phone to view just to be nosey and look round a property! If you phone them back again in the same day, it'll show you are keen/serious.

Fair enough, but every agency I've rung had required me to answer a number of quite personal questions, about our income, our ages, our marital status, our jobs, whether we have children, are smokers, have pets, why we're moving and where we're moving from ... To bother with all of that just to be nosy you've got to be a fairly dedicated timewaster, or just plain weird lol. I've phoned a number of agencies twice (and three times!) when they haven't called me back when I've tried to organise a viewing, and I can't say it's ever made the slightest bit of difference.

kunekune

I appreciate the existing tenant thing, though I would have thought that the LL should make sure they are going to cooperate before they put the place up for rent. The rush to avoid 2 weeks empty results in a lot of wasted time. This place I'm trying to see at the moment is a new build and has never been occupied (a total no brainer: cost of house next door is £210K and this is being offered for rent at £675 pcm!!!!). So at least this time the blame isn't the tenant. I will chase soon, but can't view till tomorrow anyway, when the children are back at school.

GNM, I am lucky that until the uni teaching year starts later this month I have some flexibility, but come the last week of September, it will become very difficult to 'nip out' or 'work at home'. At least our present place is OK, but this is making me rethink the whole thing about renting long term (we were hoping to wait at least 18 months before buying). The difficulty of finding rentals the right size in the right area at the right time is one of the reasons why families who aren't in social housing feel they have to buy.

franklee

If I could just say a word in defence of the agent here :eek:

If the property is still occupied by the soon to be leaving tenant then of course the viewings can't be arranged on the spot. The property is the current tenants HOME, it contains his possessions, he is still PAYING RENT, he has the right to quiet enjoyment of the property. So the agent has to give the tenant proper notice of the viewing.

The agent can't just breeze in when it suits them or you.

If the property is empty then that's different.

One day you will be the departing tenant and you will want to know when complete stranger are going to be tramping through your HOME.

So if they don't ring you back then call again. Ask why the delay. Use email. But if any agent lets you straight into someone else's home then don't use them as they will treat you like dirt too.

kunekune

I am a tenant too, and have been a home owner. I know what it is like having people viewing. It's horrible, but it has to be done, and most tenancy agreements make provision for this at the end of the tenancy.

I don't think I am unreasonable. I am not talking "I expect to view it now", I am talking "I would like to view it this week, I am keen and don't want to miss out, so I'm flexible about the time of day - let me know when it is possible, and I'll drop everything". I have always checked the place out informally already, after all. We're talking agents who say they will phone you back and then three days later you are still waiting and wondering if you dare bug them again (if you annoy them, do you stand a chance of getting the property?). And why the heck should the applicant (who is sort of an essential part of the business) have to beg and beg and beg, and feel grateful for even the smallest amount of courtesy.

Debt_Free_Chick

kunekune wrote: »

We're talking agents who say they will phone you back and then three days later you are still waiting and wondering if you dare bug them again (if you annoy them, do you stand a chance of getting the property?). And why the heck should the applicant (who is sort of an essential part of the business) have to beg and beg and beg, and feel grateful for even the smallest amount of courtesy.

Probably only because the demand is so high and they don't need to get back to you. By the time they've arranged a viewing with the current tenant, they've probably got 2 or 3 other people on the phone making enquiries.

I sympathise - it took me three months to even get a viewing. And even then, we found out by word of mouth!

Unfortunately, you have no option but to display the patience of a saint - as you say, if you !!!!!! the agent off, you might never be considered by them :eek:

But I would chase the Agent if you don't get a call back after 48 hours - a friendly "I just wondered whether you'd been able to contact the tenant yet". Keep it light - and smile when you talk on the phone; the other person can hear that you're being non-confrontational, which can only help.

Gingernutmeg

I'm currently in a rented property and we're having viewings at the moment, so I do understand that agencies need to get permission and it's not always simple - twice in the past five days we've been inconvenienced by people who haven't shown up for viewings. Our agency though is showing little respect for us as tenants, we're expected to drop everything and allow viewings at very short notice (yes, I know we can insist on 24 hours notice but when the agency is holding a £1200 deposit you do wonder if your refusal is going to make getting that back more difficult, so you bite your tongue and deal with it).

Like kunekune, I've never called and expected to be able to view a property the same day, I've often rearranged my own schedule to accommodate the agency, as that's what you have to do when you're trying to get somewhere to live. And like kunekune, you do wonder if being persistant is going to damage your chance of getting the property at all. Whenever I've organised viewings I've made a point of telling the agents that I'm coming over specially, and it's a good hour and a half drive, and yet four times I've had agents not even bother to turn up for the viewing, that's just bad service. At the end of the day, it costs a LOT of money to rent somewhere and move, and agencies do make a profit from tenants. They should at least be polite to you, and it's a common courtesy to return a call. We've just put a deposit down on a property and a major factor in us deciding to to that has been the way we've been treated by the agents.

kunekune

I have a viewing. They were willing to do evening but were very pleased when I said I could do the daytime, so will look tomorrow at 9 after dropping children off at school. The main possible sticking point with this one is what is there: I know the developer was offering carpets, but the buyer may not have taken them, and it may not be curtained - there are lot of windows including two sets of full-width floor to ceiling. On the other hand, if it was our (cheap) carpet, we could relax!!!!! (admission - perhaps we aren't the perfect tenants, as our eight year old with Down Syndrome can make a lot of mess).