Openrent

seatbeltnoob

wesleyad said:

Poster_586329 said:

Yes, I agree!   Instead of just being happy that they are saving the 10%+ a month that would go to the estate agents, a lot of landlords advertising for tenants on OpenRent think it entitles them to an even higher rent!

So a London flat that would be listed through an estate agent for £1350 on RightMove gets listed on OpenRent for £1500 or more renting direct from the landlord.

If you were seeing the flat listed for £1200 then it would make sense for renters who would see that the saving was being passed on for mutual benefit.  But the greed of the owners scuppers the usefulness of the platform, in my opinion! 

What you might be seeing is a reflection of the ignorance of the LL compared to the LA (it's not often I stick up for a LA!). In general the LA is going to know the market and price it to get it shifted. The LL may not know the market, or be willing to wait longer. 

Or it could be they LL is right and they could get more money. You say that's greed but I cant think of any reason why someone wouldn't try to get the maximum price for something? It's not a charity. I was quoted 525 for one of my lets from 2 local LAs, I decided to go my own way and price it at 625 and had 4 offers in the first week. Anecdotal at best, but I dont think I did the wrong thing. Others have been the same or lower than LA quotes. Its really a lottery

You pretty much put the nail on the head, OR is a platform for LLs to advertise their properties directly so they can get more rent.

Yes, some people might be desperate for a home that they are willing to pay a bit more for the property now, but sooner or later they will end their tenancy and move onto a cheaper place. 

It is greed, absolutely, they're not happy to just recoup the lettings fee, but they want to make money on top.

You may get a tenant in whose desperate enough to pay above market value, but I bet they won't be good long term tenants, just having the property vacant for 2 months because tenants left because  rents too high will wipe off a years worth of premiums.

Crashy_Time

seatbeltnoob said:

wesleyad said:

Poster_586329 said:

Yes, I agree!   Instead of just being happy that they are saving the 10%+ a month that would go to the estate agents, a lot of landlords advertising for tenants on OpenRent think it entitles them to an even higher rent!

So a London flat that would be listed through an estate agent for £1350 on RightMove gets listed on OpenRent for £1500 or more renting direct from the landlord.

If you were seeing the flat listed for £1200 then it would make sense for renters who would see that the saving was being passed on for mutual benefit.  But the greed of the owners scuppers the usefulness of the platform, in my opinion! 

What you might be seeing is a reflection of the ignorance of the LL compared to the LA (it's not often I stick up for a LA!). In general the LA is going to know the market and price it to get it shifted. The LL may not know the market, or be willing to wait longer. 

Or it could be they LL is right and they could get more money. You say that's greed but I cant think of any reason why someone wouldn't try to get the maximum price for something? It's not a charity. I was quoted 525 for one of my lets from 2 local LAs, I decided to go my own way and price it at 625 and had 4 offers in the first week. Anecdotal at best, but I dont think I did the wrong thing. Others have been the same or lower than LA quotes. Its really a lottery

You pretty much put the nail on the head, OR is a platform for LLs to advertise their properties directly so they can get more rent.

Yes, some people might be desperate for a home that they are willing to pay a bit more for the property now, but sooner or later they will end their tenancy and move onto a cheaper place. 

It is greed, absolutely, they're not happy to just recoup the lettings fee, but they want to make money on top.

You may get a tenant in whose desperate enough to pay above market value, but I bet they won't be good long term tenants, just having the property vacant for 2 months because tenants left because  rents too high will wipe off a years worth of premiums.

Usually private landlords advertising directly ask for less rent.

Crashy_Time

Hadn`t heard of Openrent before, quick browse of Edinburgh rental shows very little connection to reality IMO, this site will be fascinating to follow over the next 18 months or so, is the Edinburgh Festival still cancelled BTW? 

[Deleted User]

Crashy_Time said:

seatbeltnoob said:

wesleyad said:

Poster_586329 said:

Yes, I agree!   Instead of just being happy that they are saving the 10%+ a month that would go to the estate agents, a lot of landlords advertising for tenants on OpenRent think it entitles them to an even higher rent!

So a London flat that would be listed through an estate agent for £1350 on RightMove gets listed on OpenRent for £1500 or more renting direct from the landlord.

If you were seeing the flat listed for £1200 then it would make sense for renters who would see that the saving was being passed on for mutual benefit.  But the greed of the owners scuppers the usefulness of the platform, in my opinion! 

What you might be seeing is a reflection of the ignorance of the LL compared to the LA (it's not often I stick up for a LA!). In general the LA is going to know the market and price it to get it shifted. The LL may not know the market, or be willing to wait longer. 

Or it could be they LL is right and they could get more money. You say that's greed but I cant think of any reason why someone wouldn't try to get the maximum price for something? It's not a charity. I was quoted 525 for one of my lets from 2 local LAs, I decided to go my own way and price it at 625 and had 4 offers in the first week. Anecdotal at best, but I dont think I did the wrong thing. Others have been the same or lower than LA quotes. Its really a lottery

You pretty much put the nail on the head, OR is a platform for LLs to advertise their properties directly so they can get more rent.

Yes, some people might be desperate for a home that they are willing to pay a bit more for the property now, but sooner or later they will end their tenancy and move onto a cheaper place. 

It is greed, absolutely, they're not happy to just recoup the lettings fee, but they want to make money on top.

You may get a tenant in whose desperate enough to pay above market value, but I bet they won't be good long term tenants, just having the property vacant for 2 months because tenants left because  rents too high will wipe off a years worth of premiums.

Usually private landlords advertising directly ask for less rent.

Not on OpenRent they don't!!  At least not in London.

gppp888

My experience of OpenRent from a Landlord's perspective - easy to use, setup, advertising all good, easy to setup viewings with potential tenants, but you do get 'junk' coming through (but can easily choose to ignore). 
I personally decided to use OpenRent as the agent I used before just didn't do much apart from initial setup, take deposit, etc, and send me rental/income statements each month. So not having to pay fees to someone else was a big plus, and I kept the asking price exactly the same as I would have done through a lettings agent, just seeing more money in my pocket.
'Post-Sales' support is abysmal, you really get what you pay for - I would assume this is exactly the same for both Landlords and Tenants.
Probably a little risky - if you find good tenants, then its worth it for the extra money in pocket, but if somehow ends up being bad tenants, then the peace of mind that using a lettings agent may outweigh the benefit (though my previous LA was pretty terrible, slow communications e.g. no communication about tenant check-out, I had to pester personally).

Crashy_Time

Poster_586329 said:

Crashy_Time said:

seatbeltnoob said:

wesleyad said:

Poster_586329 said:

Yes, I agree!   Instead of just being happy that they are saving the 10%+ a month that would go to the estate agents, a lot of landlords advertising for tenants on OpenRent think it entitles them to an even higher rent!

So a London flat that would be listed through an estate agent for £1350 on RightMove gets listed on OpenRent for £1500 or more renting direct from the landlord.

If you were seeing the flat listed for £1200 then it would make sense for renters who would see that the saving was being passed on for mutual benefit.  But the greed of the owners scuppers the usefulness of the platform, in my opinion! 

What you might be seeing is a reflection of the ignorance of the LL compared to the LA (it's not often I stick up for a LA!). In general the LA is going to know the market and price it to get it shifted. The LL may not know the market, or be willing to wait longer. 

Or it could be they LL is right and they could get more money. You say that's greed but I cant think of any reason why someone wouldn't try to get the maximum price for something? It's not a charity. I was quoted 525 for one of my lets from 2 local LAs, I decided to go my own way and price it at 625 and had 4 offers in the first week. Anecdotal at best, but I dont think I did the wrong thing. Others have been the same or lower than LA quotes. Its really a lottery

You pretty much put the nail on the head, OR is a platform for LLs to advertise their properties directly so they can get more rent.

Yes, some people might be desperate for a home that they are willing to pay a bit more for the property now, but sooner or later they will end their tenancy and move onto a cheaper place. 

It is greed, absolutely, they're not happy to just recoup the lettings fee, but they want to make money on top.

You may get a tenant in whose desperate enough to pay above market value, but I bet they won't be good long term tenants, just having the property vacant for 2 months because tenants left because  rents too high will wipe off a years worth of premiums.

Usually private landlords advertising directly ask for less rent.

Not on OpenRent they don't!!  At least not in London.

I`m guessing quite a few of them will be going forward, if they are still in business.

blue_max_3

My landlord is not happy with their letting agent. But she did say that they had found them good tenants! I mean, I was after a place and contact them to view. Job done. They were all over me to pay the security deposit and three months in advance. They give traffic wardens a bad name! 
With OpenRent, they may get people trying to negotiate (my letting agent refused point blank). I guess that's why they ask a little more, for the wiggle room.