Best letting agent?

[user100]

Who would you recommend as a letting agent please?
And what would you say is the going rate for a nice 2 bed flat in Trewsbury Road?

[Dorian]

In my experience you are best of paying an Agent to find and vet a tennant and pay them a one off fee for that. If you pay them to manage too they will take 10 to 15% of your incoming rent, but the reality is that when there is a problem they just call you and let you know and then you deal with it yourself ! They will say that they have a "man" that will deal with maintenance issues but then will charge you for that benefit on top. If the tennant doesnt pay, guess what , they let you know they havent paid. So I have never understould what they actually do for there % share. Oh and they will charge you for an inventory even if the property is being let unfurnished..............I could go on. Do it yourself would be my advise, the only exception being if you are moving abroad, and not easily able to organise stuff. Oh , and ive said it before on here, underlet in terms of rent, you wont have void periods and will have appreciative tennants.


( My grammar and spelling is crap and if anyone points it out , they must remember that no one likes them !)

[CaptainCarCrash]

In my experience you would be better served paying an Agent to source and vet any prospective tenants and pay them a one off fee for that service. If you pay them to manage too they will take 10 to 15% of your incoming rent, but the reality is that when there is a problem they just call you and let you know and then you deal with it yourself ! They will say that they have a "man" that will deal with maintenance issues but then will charge you for that benefit on top. If the tenant doesn't pay, guess what? they let you know they haven't paid. So I have never understood what they actually do for their % share. Oh and they will charge you for an inventory even if the property is being let unfurnished..............I could go on. Do it yourself would be my advise, the only exception being if you are moving abroad, and not easily able to organise stuff. Oh , and I've said it before on here, under let in terms of rent, you wont have void periods and will have appreciative tenants.


( My grammar and spelling are crap and if anyone points it out, they must remember that no one likes them !)

Fixed it for you



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[Dorian]

Thanks mikecg , you are much appreciated

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[chrism]

I didn't actually end up using them myself but I was looking into using an online letting agent and spoke to the guys at Upad who seemed very professional and sensible. They have range of fixed price options and their rates are a lot lower than their high street colleagues. http://www.upad.co.uk/ They can advise you on how much to expect for your flat.

[user100]

Thanks guys, some great advice there. I get the feeling that £1000 per month would be around the mark for a good 2-bed on a pretty nice road, but I agree it's better to charge less to save on turnover of tenants, and then it's a win-win situation.

[Dorian]

Good luck , user100.

[Jules]

We used Property World when we rented our house out. They found us excellent tennants who have been there 4 years now. When they first moved in we had the agent manage for us, (as we were out of the country) but after a year it was apparant we'd been really lucky with our tennants so we scraped the agent saving us about £150 per month and reduced the rent in order to help our tenants too.
It's been a perfect arrangement. Another idea if your going to manage it yourself take out an insurance policy that covers plumbing and electrics that way any probs the tennant just needs to make a phone call. Oh and take out a landlords insurance policy, as you never really know who you have living in your propery !!

[Bazman76]

Honestly I would let it yourself through gumtree, costs nothing and is very effective.

In my experience the agent is fine when the rent is coming in but if there is a problem then its doen to you to fix it which kinda makes the agent redundant in my view.

I let my old flat through it and have never had a problem letting it, you can find tenancy agreements on-line for nothing (mine are provided gratis by the local council) or you can buy them for about £10. It really is easy!

[G-Man]

Property World. Take all the hassle out of getting references and contracts. They also sort all the viewings and have a policy of only letting to people they would let their homes to.

G-Man

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