New landlord looking for advice (letting fees)

mushymatt

So, my mum died 6 months back, both me and my sister got left the house which we now plan to rent.

Rentable value is £800-850

A friend of a friend need a place for 6 months while she renovates a house, we have agreed she can have it. And today is the first day of dealing/meeting/negotiating with a local letting agent.

So...I'm very inexperienced here and have little clue what's good or bad.

The agent wishes to charge us 10pc management fees (this seems to be more or less okay)

The agent also wants £300 finders fee (normally its £400) but could someone tell me what exactly are the "finding". We found the tennent. I'm sure there is something here I've not considered.

And finally...given we know very little about this, is there any tricks letting agents pull over people like myself/and what potential problems should I be looking out for before I sign anything!?

Cheers all

Red-Squirrel_2

Are you sure you need a letting agent in this scenario? What exactly would they be doing for you that you couldn't do yourself?

anselld

You do not want to be dealing with an "agent" who wants to charge you £300 for doing nothing.

What do you actually want an agent to do? Fair enough if you want "hands free" operation of the tenancy 10% is not totally unreasonable, but it is not rocket science. With some research and effort you could self manage if you are not too far removed. If you are remote and need assistance then shop around to find someone who charges sensibly in line with actual work done.

mushymatt

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

Are you sure you need a letting agent in this scenario? What exactly would they be doing for you that you couldn't do yourself?

I'm very green...and they want to move in quite quickly. I suppose as much as anything it's just me not wanting the hassle. But I'll admit I'm not sure what hassle is involved.

I'm sure there is a generic contract that could be downloaded from somewhere...past that it's just a case of verious insurances and checks....I suppose!?

mushymatt

anselld wrote: »

You do not want to be dealing with an "agent" who wants to charge you £300 for doing nothing.

What do you actually want an agent to do? Fair enough if you want "hands free" operation of the tenancy 10% is not totally unreasonable, but it is not rocket science. With some research and effort you could self manage if you are not too far removed. If you are remote and need assistance then shop around to find someone who charges sensibly in line with actual work done.

I doubt there would be much managing to do...getting rent is easy enough, managing problems with the place also easy. But what happens when someone does not want to pay, them there's the issue of deposits and what todo with that.

Like I said, I'm pretty green. I should have read up on it before but we didn't know we where going to get interest so soon

Red-Squirrel_2

mushymatt wrote: »

I'm very green...and they want to move in quite quickly. I suppose as much as anything it's just me not wanting the hassle. But I'll admit I'm not sure what hassle is involved.

I'm sure there is a generic contract that could be downloaded from somewhere...past that it's just a case of verious insurances and checks....I suppose!?

It would be a good idea to do a lot of research very fast! Using a letting agent doesn't absolve you of any of your responsibilities as a landlord, the buck will always stop with you, and agents are not really well known for their competence or professionalism!

It might be that selling up is a better option for you.

mushymatt

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

It would be a good idea to do a lot of research very fast! Using a letting agent doesn't absolve you of any of your responsibilities as a landlord, the buck will always stop with you, and agents are not really well known for their competence or professionalism!

It might be that selling up is a better option for you.

Yeah, totally appreciate that.

Renting is always the plan. But our plan (and as such my research) has moved forward about 2 months which has totally caught me off guard!

I think... to simply make my life easier I'll get the agency involved. This is only a 6 month let. We can use that time to educate myself on the ins and outs .

G_M

1) you don't need an agent

2) you DO need to do a lot of reading and learning

3) you must comply with a whole host of laws.

Read this, then ask questions.......:

* New landlords: advice, information & links





If you want some more reading:

* Tenancies in Eng/Wales: Guides for landlords and tenants This thread is intended to provide information to both landlords and tenants relating to Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) in England and Wales.

Topics covered:

* Repairing Obligations: the law, common misconceptions, reporting/enforcing, retaliatory eviction & the new protection (2015)

* Deposits: payment, protection and return

* Ending/renewing an AST: what happens when a fixed term ends? How can a LL or tenant end a tenancy? What is a periodic tenancy?

* Rent increases: when & how can rent be increased?

* Repossession: what if a LL's mortgage lender repossesses the property?

* New landlords: advice, information & links

* Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?

Cakeguts

The general rule is don't ever let to family or friends. A friend of a friend might come under this so be prepared to lose the friend if something goes wrong.

G_M

mushymatt wrote: »

I think... to simply make my life easier I'll get the agency involved. This is only a 6 month let. We can use that time to educate myself on the ins and outs .

Then read this:

* Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?

But bear in mind that using a letting agent does not take away your legal responsibilities. It is you who is the LL. If the agent makes a mistake, you are the one responsible.

And whatever you do, don't agree/sign a contract to pay a finders fee if the agent is not finding you a tenant!

LadyGMadameToThee

Letting Agents are useless and totally unnecessary. More and more landlords are wising up to this 21st century scam. They are not worth a cent. Just do your research and pull your finger it. Don't let these people extract unearned money from you!