Cutting out the middle man (Letting property without estate agents)

Hi Ronald

I enjoy this level of service and a lot more for just 4% of rent and no up front fees.

The company I use charges a one off £200 premium for tenant find inside the M25.

I was so impressed with the company I acquired a stake in the business!

See >>> http://www.property118.com/letting-supermarket-amend-pricing/68829/
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we do all ourselves. we advertise via the cheapest portal, filter tenant phone enquiries, meet, reference, protect deposit, draw up TA etc. works very well. we have good tenants who appreciate lack of extortionate agents fees. this also allows us to charge higher rents than agents as we dont levy any fees.
would not want to go back to using agents.

Hi Ronald

I have 4 rental flats near Canary Wharf and like you I am very reluctant to use an Estate Agent due to the lack of value for money they provide and the fact that as I have a vested interest, I do a much better job.

I used to always advertise on Gumtree, Openrent, Rentify etc (there are a host of other new websites) and always found a tenant myself, did the reference & credit check, have my own contract & inventory, so basically settled the tenant in myself. I do inspections every 6 months or so but have a very open door policy with my tenants in that I encourage them to let me know about any niggle no matter how small, which I promptly fix. However I work from home and live in the area, so easy for me to drop everything and sort stuff out. (I see specialised sites like Openrent will do ref & credit checks for you now for a fee).

I have noticed that over the years, advertising myself, I have been getting enquires from a lower grade of tenant ie. they are having to rent from private landlords as they couldn't register with an estate agent as wouldn't pass their checks ie. self employed, bad credit history, no references, students etc. However, what has countered this is that there is generally a lack of rental stock in London and so estate agents now check these websites and I get up to 20 calls from them per advert. I'm quite tough with them as the smaller, less reputable ones always say they have clients but it usually turns out they don't always but promise you the world as they need to boost their portfolio and have to be cheaper than the big agents. I say the same thing to them all, that I don't want them to advertise my flat but if they have a very strong potential tenant , they can run their details past me and if ok, then show the flat. I also stipulate that I will only pay a finders fee of £1000 if I like the tenant. I usually have calls from small start up agencies to the very established big name ones and if they have the clients but not enough flats, it is better for them to get a finders fee rather than loose the client to another estate agent who does have stock. I think it also helps that they contact me and so I can stipulate my terms up front.

Definitely over the past couple of years I have found this works well for me. I can still find a tenant myself if a good quality one approaches me through my ad and not have to pay anything. It also allows estate agents that have a client/s but not the stock to approach you and as they've approached you, it's easier to negotiate your one off fee. I do think this only works because I live in a strong rental area where demand often outstrips supply, so estate agents are willing to do deals. It also only pays off if your tenant stays a few years as that finders fee is regardless if they stay 6 months or 6 years.

At the end of the day to get the best possible tenant you still have to view them yourself as you do get a gut feeling by meeting people. I would never just let an estate agent view on their own and choose a prospective tenant on paper.

Hope this helps.
Rgds
Kate

As I live in Croydon and my BTL's are in East Anglia, I use letting agents to advertise, reference. and provide a 6 month tenancy agreement. They vary from £250-350 for this service and also do the viewings.

if I am in the area doing a refurb I do the viewing myself. Read their tenancy agreement and add any changes if not happy. At the end or tenancy I issue my own Agreement or let it roll on to a periodic, so no more fees or involvement with letting agent.

I also do my own inventory (written) and provide a dvd to the tenant (saves disputes later)

The agent takes the deposit and 1st months rent a week or 2 before the tenant is due to move in, and sends me the balance less their fee. I protect the deposit to keep control and send the required info to the tenant. They have to sign a copy of this as proof that they received the DPC and prescribed info, to save further problems.

Hi Ronald, I have 5 properties in Hackney that I have been renting out for 10 years and when folk ask me about managing them I tell them the same thing. I do it all myself as the likelihood or being ripped off by a tenant that I have met is maybe 1% whereas the likelihood of being ripped of by an estate agent is closer to 99%. As others have said tenants really appreciate not being ripped off with dodgy fees and all the other bs that agents hit them with. If you keep your rents reasonable and your properties well maintained you will have tenants biting your arm off. Most of mine only ever move because they are leaving London. My longest void in ten years has been half an hour.

Regards
Stephen

Reply to the comment left by "Recardo Knights" at "30/01/2015 - 12:43":

Hi Recardo

Please help me with the maths.

You say that it costs you around £250 to let a property by doing all the work yourself. Does this include the cost of a professional inventory at check in/out? How much is the cost as a percentage of your typical rent for a year?

The reason I ask is that it may not just be more economical to you to do what I do, it will also save you a whole lot of hassle and provide you with another level of protection, i.e. the agents Professional Indemnity insurance.
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Reply to the comment left by "Kate Cotterell" at "30/01/2015 - 12:21":

Hi Kate

I advertise for new tenants on UPAD. My ads include a clear description of the type of tenant I'm looking for. In general, I get higher quality responses via the property portals (usually Rightmove or Zoopla), whereas those through Gumtree are "lower grade" to coin your phrase, that I don't bother pursuing.

Reply to the comment left by "Ian Cognito" at "30/01/2015 - 13:37":

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I advertised on Upad and have always been very pleased with the service. I trialled Rentify once and it was a disaster so won't try that again, but it may work for you.

However it is not always convenient for me to rent out the property myself so when I am in that situation I have set up an agreement with Martin & Co.. Tower Bridge for Let only and find them very flexible. Previously I tried other well known estate agents on the lettings side and was sorely disappointed with their service (always for Let only) basically telling the tenant one thing and me something else!

If you don't want to pay renewal commissions then negotiate this in your initial discussion with the agency.

I have been very pleased with Martin & Co. Tower Bridge for their service, and I never thought I would be able to recommend an estate agent for lettings, so it takes a lot for me to say that! The agency do the reference checks, but if the person is from overseas I have set up my own means of checking and so far that has served me well.

We inspect every 6 months unless something alerts us to check more often. To be honest we often find there is another reason we need to visit (eg. washing machine problem etc) so we roll our inspection into that visit (alerting the tenant beforehand we will be doing that of course).

Hi, I have used various online platforms but find urban sales and lettings good value. I look after my own properties but joined the national landlords association and can use all of the up to date contract documents etc for free. I do my credit and reference checks through the nla. i get a good relationship with tenants and ensure they get good service. We inspect after 7 weeks and then twice per year or when called out. It can be hard work, it can be time consuming but also it can be worth all the effort to see happy tenants.