Hoping for some tips on dealing with lettings agents

worn_out_mum

Hello,
I'm hoping someone may be able to offer some advise on dealing with lettings agents.
My husband and I currently rent from my father in law but we are looking to relocate to North Devon from North Yorkshire. We've scoped out the areas where we would like to live and schools in the area too.
We can transfer with work, we have 6 months rent, a deposit and a guarantor behind us but we are finding lettings agents incredibly difficult to deal with.

We organised 3 house viewings last weekend, made the 700 mile round trip only for the agents to cancel that morning.
They just don't seem to be interested in letting their houses to us even with the prospect of £7,000+ sat waiting for them.

Does anybody have any tips on dealing with lettings agents please?

Pixie5740

When relocating I book myself into a hotel or Air BnB for a fortnight and then start searching for a more permanent home once I'm in the area.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Why would landlords hang around waiting for you to come down to North Devon if there is a willing and ready tenant already in North Devon that can view the property before you?

tykesi

worn_out_mum wrote: »

They just don't seem to be interested in letting their houses to us even with the prospect of £7,000+ sat waiting for them.

They are not their houses and you will not be paying circa £7k to them.

What were the reasons for them cancelling the viewings? Had the properties been let to someone else? If so, what do you want them to do, turn down a guaranteed let for someone who is viewing a few properties and might be interested?

fairy_lights

I'm from North Devon so I can tell you that nice, decent sized family home-type rental properties get snapped up very quickly, so if a property goes on the market during the week then the chances are by the time you get down for a viewing at the weekend, it will be gone.
Plus its the summer holidays so a lot of people will be looking to move while school is out.
What areas in particular are you looking at? You might need to widen your search area, both geographically and in terms of property type. If you would be happy to live in a flat for 6 months you could look to move somewhere more desirable once you've got settled in to the area.

FBaby

If you've picked an area that is popular, then demand for local properties will be high. This means that you are likely to be in competition with tenants that look more attractive on paper.

In the end, the decision of who to lend the property to comes down to the landlord. Last time I rented my property, we had 3 interested families within a week of advertising, despite the fact that the house was still being renovated.

All 3 families met all the criteria, but between one with three children with overall earning of £30K, one of them self-employed and one with only one child and earning of £70K in permanent jobs, I of course picked the latter.

Keep trying and you might be lucky, or maybe consider a different area. Whatever you do, call the day before to confirm that the visit is still on.

LEJC

I agree that booking a holiday in the area to view is one of the best ways forward.

You will be able to monitor what comes onto the market and quickly respond to attend a viewing.

At the moment whilst you are booking viewings they clearly can't be done that afternoon or tomorrow morning which is always going to put you at a disadvantage to someone who views and is able to commit to the rental quicker.

If there appears to be a steady flow of suitable properties coming onto the market even if you were able to only spend a few days in the location it may help you be "the first through the door".

It's also very difficult to get a feel for a place when you are trying to do "round trip "viewings....invest a little time in actually spending time in the area...afterall it is where you want to call home next.

Are you able to register with the local lettings agencies,perhaps prepare a letter or information sheet about yourselves citing some information that if anything suitable comes in then they consider you as potential renters.
In the eyes of a letting agent, tbh they just want to get viewings that will translate into a rental or at least a list of potential renters to supply to the LL whom they work on behalf of.