Renting out privately or via an agent

propertyrental

lr1277 said:

Regarding getting things fixed, ensure you know good contractors/tradesmen. You are free to use the tradesmen suggested by the agent. Obviously you have no control who is used if the agent is managing the property.

In my experience tradesmen coming through an agent charge more than if you had gone to them direct. I imagine it is the same if the agent calls them for a job.

Other oints to note:

How close do you live to the property? How easy is it for you to attend? If a tradesmen is coming along, are you going to be there to supervise the work or are you expecting the tenant to do that? Will the rest of your life accommodate the time required to spend on the property?

But if the agent is managing the property, will they supervise any tradesmen in the property? Or will the agent just give the tradesmen the key?

Not necessarily. It depends on your contract with the agent. You might

* leave repairs entire;ly up to them (costly as suggested)

* allow them to do repairs up to, say. £100, then seek your authority

* refer all repairs to you so you can use your own contractors

or some combination of the above.

Many people assume they have to agree to whatever process, or contract, the agent proposes, but the agent works for you. So make clear in the contract what you do or don't want them to do.

lr1277

Thanks @propertyrental that is good infomation.

I came from the standpoint of managing the property myself, which can be hard work. And sometimes I just didn't know any good tradesmen fo a particular job so asked the agent.

propertyrental

lr1277 said:

Thanks @propertyrental that is good infomation.

I came from the standpoint of managing the property myself, which can be hard work. And sometimes I just didn't know any good tradesmen fo a particular job so asked the agent.

My sister did the same. She inherited a tenanted property 200 miles away and obviously knew no local contractors, so left it up to the agents. When they quoted her a particularly exorbitant price to re-instate a garden fence, she googled, rang a local fencing contractor  got a quote for 1/4 the price and instructed the agent to give him the keys and get him to do the job.

BonaDea

Going back to the OP, it looks like the property owner is trying to avoid having to pay for the services of a letting/managing agent by getting a family member, who at this point is not competent to do so, to take on the job.  Just for 12 months.

For that family member it will be an extremely steep learning curve at the beginning. Shiraz99, if you're contemplating taking this on for your relative, book a week's leave (or more) from work and spend it getting up to speed with housing law and regulation before anyone starts looking for a tenant, and then expect to regard it as a part-time job for the next year.  Given the likely burdens involved it would be entirely reasonable to charge the family member a fee for your services, perhaps 4/5 of what they'd have to pay for a professional who knows what they're doing?