Buy to let investment

[bonez]

Hi Everyone,

I'm about to buy my first property to let out and I think to be on the safe side I'm going to use a letting agent, at least at the start. Do you have any pointers on how to tell whether a letting agent is any good, and how much they should charge?

Thanks for any advice given.

bonez

[MrShed]

This is another one of those questions that crop up all the time. Basic advice:

- ALWAYS ALWAYS use an agent registered with one of the professional bodies, such as ARLA and NAEA. If they say they are, do not just take it for granted, check! They have certain codes of conduct which they are expected to adhere to, and somewhere to complain to if they screw you over.

- Word of mouth is, of course, the best form of finding a good agent.

- Check to see how busy the agent is. An agent with a large amount of properties will, generally, be fairly good, as otherwise people would leave!

- Cheap is not neccessarily good. Letting agents simply cannot survive and give good service on amounts such as 5% of your rent, so although this may sound tempting, dont bite.

With regards to how much you would expect to pay, I believe for full management you will be talking at least 10% of the rent, perhaps slightly more - certainly for an agent you would wish to use, anyway. I could be wrong now however, been a while since I've had any dealings with LAs.

[Jonboy]

why not get a reccomendation from your local landlord association, or other landlords that you know, they usually know the good from the bad. you can also try an estate agent that dosn't do lettings! i get a lot of good word of mouth form a few up north. i also get a lot of referrals from my clients many of whom have corner shops or local businesses, so you could try asking around the local area


where in the country are you bonez?