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My cousin has been asked this year by the agents to pay £90 to renew the contract. This is after renewing the contract every year for 3 years without any request for money.
As the contract is with the landlord, he's sees no reason to pay.0 -
What I need is an independent third party in case of dispute.
It is possible to find decent tenants yourself, because the internet is pretty mature now. The commission level is ridiculous for what they do, especially in subsequent years.0 -
well that's exactly it Pincher. Some agencies charge as much as £550 just to "introduce" a tenant and do credit checks, contracts etc. That's probably about £450 more than it costs them.
My old LA had the tenacity to make everything +VAT which is in fact against the Government rules of VAT.
They charge £100 to print out contracts every 6 months too (which are identical to the contract I've just paid £25 from my new LA). They also refuse to allow SPT.The smaller the monkey the more it looks like it would kill you at the first given opportunity.
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newsgroup_monkey wrote: »well that's exactly it Pincher. Some agencies charge as much as £550 just to "introduce" a tenant and do credit checks, contracts etc. That's probably about £450 more than it costs them..
I got an unsigned letter from an unheard of Bank in some unknown town in Israel, confirming the prospective tenant has an account with them. The letting agent gave me a form to sign, saying that I am "satisfied" with the reference, absolving their responsibility.
Why don't they just get the tenant to sneeze into a tissue, and call that a reference. :eek:0 -
What I need is an independent third party in case of dispute.
It is possible to find decent tenants yourself, because the internet is pretty mature now. The commission level is ridiculous for what they do, especially in subsequent years.
But it's not just what they do, it what that have to spend to put themselves in a position to do it.
High street rents/rates are not cheap and this has to be paid for.
My agent has tried to save money by moving to an out of the way location, and guees what - he gets significantly less clients because no-one walks past!
tim0 -
Seems toothless.
So many regulations now days work on the promise that once fees are laid out all upfront everything is ok.
The best way to deal with the problem is remove letting agents from the picture, have landords deal with tenants directly.0 -
tim123456789 wrote: »But it's not just what they do, it what that have to spend to put themselves in a position to do it.
High street rents/rates are not cheap and this has to be paid for.
My agent has tried to save money by moving to an out of the way location, and guees what - he gets significantly less clients because no-one walks past!
tim
All the new EAs and LAs round my way are out of town. Most people use Right Move for searches so it's hardly worth the premium.
One of the EAs in our area is doing very well despite only having a smart car and a home office. His only marketing is done on Right Move, Zoopla and the local rag. He's been doing it this way for at least 12 years.The smaller the monkey the more it looks like it would kill you at the first given opportunity.
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Seems toothless.
So many regulations now days work on the promise that once fees are laid out all upfront everything is ok.
The best way to deal with the problem is remove letting agents from the picture, have landords deal with tenants directly.
....and what happens when the tenant badgers the LL with trivial complaints?
Broadly speaking though, this is looooonnngggg overdue. I would also go so far as to make it mandory that LAs have to explain the complaints proceedure (I had no idea about the DPS dispute process until I came on this forum and was bilked for £600 of unnecessary 'deductions'). Most people dont even know this deposit schema exists and the LAs stay awfully quiet about it. As some on here know, I was actively threatened by my last LA when I stood up for myself and said I would dispute their ridiculous deductions. This sort of criminal behaviour should be stamped on, thoroughly and there should be some sort of oversight service to regulate LA behaviour in these types of cases.Debt Free! Long road, but we did it
Meet my best friend : YNAB (you need a budget)
My other best friend is a filofax.
Do or do not, there is no try....Yoda.
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....and what happens when the tenant badgers the LL with trivial complaints?
Then dont be a landlord, it shouldnt be the case you rent out the property and have no obligation to deal with issues.
Also what may seem trivial to the landlord may not be for the tenant.
My landlord runs his own agency, its a letting agency with a difference. There is no credit checks, and no fees. He has staff and an office, so he somehow keeps it going without fees. I remember the day I walked in to sign my first tenancy agreement with him, he had just setup the office and had no staff, had to wait for him to turn up in his sports car from the golf course to give me the keys
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Now of course he has progressed and doesnt use any 3rd party letting agents. I have his mobile number even tho he has staff but not sure if new tenants get the number, but with that aside he has found a way round all the red tape attacked to LA's.
For a start in his own words, credit checks are pointless, the tenant isnt even getting credit (they pay up front) and its just a little earner for LA's so they can charge for it.0 -
Seems toothless.
So many regulations now days work on the promise that once fees are laid out all upfront everything is ok.
The best way to deal with the problem is remove letting agents from the picture, have landords deal with tenants directly.
Much though I dislike LAs with so many scams around nowadays, I think that they are a necessary evil unless we have a register of LLs so that you can be sure who you are giving your up-front money to
tim0
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