How to find a good Letting Agent?

[PennyJohnson]

Hi All
I have one property let via an agent on a fully managed basis, as it is a long way from where I live (it used to be my house, then I moved areas).

I have inherited a house in yet another part of the country, which I am thinking of letting out rather than selling, given the current state of the housing market. As I go past that area fairly often, I am thinking of finding a LA to deal with this on a 'let only' basis.

Any pitfalls I should watch out for?

Any way of finding out before-hand which agents are likely to be best or worst at finding decent tenants? The price differences between them don't matter so much if it is a one-off fee (I have been quoted between 75% and 85% of the first month's rental), but as no-one likes to pay more than they need to...

In short, any advice welcomed.

[kayak]

I am a LA, just so you know so here is my advice: -

Look into fees more, I charge 25% of the first months rent, with a minimum charge of £150 - no VAT on top of this.

Ask them how they advertise, what portals they use etc. Use Google - could you find them if you were a tenant?

Get them to prove they use a separate client a/c if they go bust.

Ask them what their tenancy referencing procedure is.

Ask them what their how process is.

Pick an agent that deals with your sort of properties as they will attract the right sort of tenant.


Just a few ideas for you ...

Kind regards,

John

[Sportingdad]

I am a Letting Agent,

Look on a leading property website say Rightmove, phone after hours and pretend your a would be tenant and leave a message, see how many get back to you, tell them you are looking for a 1 bed flat central etc. and see how many calls that are followed up again. remember they should be proactive not inactive !

Norm in Let only is 2 or 3 weeks rent, expect to pay VAT on top of that.

Client account does not help if firm goes bust, look at their set up...professional, good staff/location/advertising/image, can they arrange MIRAS/LETSURE/HOMELET tenant gurantee scheme, 6 weeks deposit and a gurantor.....confusing but good luck

[Paul_f]

The main thing is to make sure you are protected by using a regulated agent such as ARLA/NAEA/RICS. I know many established agents aren't members but my main question would be "why not?" (it's rhetorical so doesn't require a reply).

[Sportingdad]

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=8392

Paul, your not trying again to flog your training again, When using any Agent it's a good idea just to take out an Insurance, two thirds of Agents are not in ARLA/NAEA/RICS and we all know there are some very bad ARLA/NAEA/RICS operating out there.

[Paul_f]

I know, but at least the regulated agent has a lot of safeguards in there and a third party to whom you can approach if things go wrong and get redress - that's worth a lot more in my book. I know the inner workings of the organisations and they are very professional in their approach.

[Sportingdad]

has a lot of safeguards in there and a third party to whom you can approach if things go wrong and get redress - could you advise the safeguards in place and the redress ?

[Paul_f]

Some of the advantages are:- If the agent ceases trading or goes into liquidation and money is owed to landlords or tenants which they can't recover they can claim through the professional association for any loss up to £5,000.
There is a complaints procedure that ensures the agent is properly disciplined or fined if necessary.
Failing to adhere to the Code of Conduct and Code of Practice for Letting Agents is a breach.
Members have been required to pass the Technical Award for about the last 5 years to gain entry to NAEA and recently ARLA have adopted the same.
They must provide proof of membership of one of the tenancy deposit schemes.

[johnboy]

Maybe we could do one on what frustrates agent about the landlord.

[Sportingdad]

The Landlord who forgets get the property ready for new tenants, or blames his builders for not cleaning when work is carried out, or complains about a week void period or the cost of contractors.

A lot of Landlords still believe you can get a cleaner for £5 an hour and they turn up instantly, I advise them to get quotes from yellow pages and time scales to bring them down to earth.

I've also learnt not to recommend any cheap contractors, it just gets thrown back in your face if anything goes wrong but never a thanks if they get good service.

Commission rates: it's better to have 1 property at 12% and pay attention to detail job than flap around with 3 at 8%, it's a know fact that high street agencies overheads run at a minimum of 6-7% if you are advertising in the local press/major portals. Only glory hunters / fools who enjoy stress or organising, work for a bacon sandwich.

[Paul_f]

It's not just what is charged it's what they are going to do for their commission.

A good terms of business will cover just about every aspect and not just a list of fees.

My TOB extended to about 12 pages of A4 when I had an agency.

It's also advisable to use a ARLA/NAEA/RICS agent to offer you a reasonable amount of knowledge and good financial protection

[Sportingdad]

In my knowledge of the business I have found a lot of Arla agents to be helpless without commonsense and that is why they join such an organisation, membership is no guarantee the LA is going to be good, same as a lot of franchised agents who may not have a idea about housing in fact could indeed be a failed wheely bin franchise holder who tried their hand a something else.

I have in the past asked Paul F who bleats on about Arla membership about his success as a LA, but normally he disappears from the thread.

[johnboy]

Well I've told you my views about us becoming members and as i said the jury is still out if it was a good idea or not.

It is not easy to equate a monetary figure to it unless i interrogate every new potential client.

[nick4692]

The comments regarding membership of ARLA are of great interest to me. You may be interested to know that in nearly three years of running my business we have not once been asked if we are members of ARLA, or for that matter any other professional organisation! It has never been asked of us when being instructed or compared to our other agents in our area!
Would I join - well one could argue have we lost business from those who would only deal with an ARLA agent? We are members of NALS and UKALA (uk association of letting agents) but if im honest other than receiving very useful industry magazines every month ive not yet been able to see the benefit apart from writing THEM a cheque every year!!

I do believe and have heard that the ARLA training courses are excellent but the largest agent by far in our area isnt a member either!

Perhaps, there are agents out there who are members and receive great benefit from membership, others who are no longer members and perhaps wouldnt join any organisation but nonetheless have a very good business?

[J4L]

Honesty, a good business knowledge and common sense are the most important things to look for in an agent.
It matters not whether they are a member of ARLA or any other organisation that professes to train people up to an almighty level.
My experience of ARLA registered agents is that they have no business knowledge and no common sense at all.

I have a RNDip after my name but trust me I've met 'hundreds' of c**p nurses.
And that took them and I a good 3 years of hard training to achieve.

We have read many many posts on here and other forums about whether mandatory registration should be introduced for agents and I for one would welcome it. Until it happens though I'll keep the hard earned coffers in my account thanks rather than giving it to an organisation that just cashes cheques. ;)

[Paul_f]

In my knowledge of the business I have found a lot of Arla agents to be helpless without commonsense and that is why they join such an organisation, membership is no guarantee the LA is going to be good, Quite true! same as a lot of franchised agents who may not have a idea about housing in fact could indeed be a failed wheely bin franchise holder who tried their hand a something else. No they receive a decent amount of training first.

I have in the past asked Paul F who bleats on about Arla membership about his success as a LA, but normally he disappears from the thread.Okay, then tell me that landlords and tenants of (quite a few) agents who have gone bust within the last few months are financially protected if they happened to have used a non-regulated one. They're NOT, and will receive diddly-squat unless successful with (protracted and potentially expensive) court action. If a regulated agent goes pear-shape there's money in the kitty! Sorry but you don't present a plausible argument.

[Sportingdad]

My TOB extended to about 12 pages of A4 when I had an agency.But why did you move into training if you were good?

It's also advisable to use a ARLA/NAEA/RICS agent to offer you a reasonable amount of knowledge and good financial protectioncorrect me if i'm wrong but these are the largest ARLA members http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/apr/07/buyingtolet.property

ARLA have in the past withdrew membership after finding out the agent was in financial difficulty leaving all and sundry in the lurch :o

[Sportingdad]

Paul, hopefully you will be able to answer the points above, but here's another link that's not on the ARLA website, whilst it was some time ago now maybe you could advise the help that ARLA gave here.

http://www.stonesproperties.com/landlords_forum/viewtopic.php?p=64&sid=dfabed1968028453310aa9c1283f6fc7

[Paul_f]

I've read not only this story but one or two others like it. The owner didn't register his new address with the Land Registry after he moved out and therefore left himself open to potential fraud. That's nothing to do with being a regulated agent. The protection is if the agent runs off with landlords or tenants money or goes into liquidation, something entirely different.

On the subject of why did I move into training; when you've been at the sharp end as long as I have it's nice to do something different. Nothing is forever!

[Sportingdad]

That's nothing to do with being a regulated agent. The protection is if the agent runs off with landlords or tenants money or goes into liquidation, something entirely different

This was brought up by yourself, my comment as a real agent at the front line was that I have found a lot of ARLA Agents to be helpless and without commonsense and that is why they join such an organsation, but for years you have sung the praises of ARLA membership only to deride non-regulated Agents when ARLA allow (and I am aware there are two sides to every story) something of this nature to happen and then fail as an umbrella organistation to back the Landlord against a vested interest member even if only for the PR value.


"But the reality was that Pierpoint had a string of bad debts and little chance of paying the rent well before he took up the tenancy. Five weeks before moving into the home, Mr Pierpoint had entered into an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement), owing £94,500 on 19 different credit cards. It also turns out he had debts to his former landlord, Kam Ng. On March 2006 at the Mayors & City of London County Court, Mr Ng was awarded £1,399.82 against Mr Pierpoint, who did not defend the action.

But Your Move refuses to refund the £1,200 it took from Ms French for finding and vetting the tenants. It says it carried out the instruction to find tenants and did all it could to vet them.

Ms French says the local branch repeatedly told her there was nothing more it could do to help her, and rejected her suggestion that they should find a new set of tenants free of charge ":)

[Paul_f]

This was brought up by yourself, my comment as a real agent at the front line was that I have found a lot of ARLA Agents to be helpless and without commonsense and that is why they join such an organsation, really? but for years you have sung the praises of ARLA membership only to deride non-regulated Agents when ARLA allow (and I am aware there are two sides to every story) something of this nature to happen and then fail as an umbrella organistation to back the Landlord against a vested interest member even if only for the PR value. Forgive me but I must be missing something here! ARLA can't be pro-active concerning individual agents until they are aware of a problem; they can only be reactive when something goes wrong or a valid complaint is made. You can't expect them to cover every situation but they do offer something valuable to the public that non-regulated agents don't.

[Lawcruncher]

Should not the agents who are keen to draw up management agreements that give them "perpetual commission" also accept that it should work in reverse, i.e. if the tenant proves to be duff they refund a portion of the commision?

[johnboy]

Well ARLA have just sent me a form to be signed off by my accountant to show I am managing the client account correctly. I consider that proactive.

But my accountant is my sister.

[Sportingdad]

Does the person signing off have to be a Chartered Accountant ( I would hope so) or will any number cruncher do ?

[Sportingdad]

Having looked on the ARLA website on the reporting of C/A funds the wording is as follows:

I / We confirm that I am/we are eligible and qualified in accordance with the Association’s Byelaw 3 clause 3.23., as a non member who cannot access the rules can anybody tell me the requirements ?

I would have thought that to button the whole matter up as robustly and gain any sort of respectability is to be proactive in these days of high tech software and introduce say twice yearly on-site reconciliation visits (or maybe theywill lose too many members).

[abi]

Hi Everyone

I'm a soon to be newbie landlord & have decided to go down the letting agent fully managed service road. I've been reading a lot of posts complaining about bad agents and want to avoid them myself. I know sticking to ARLA registered agents is a good place to begin but that still leaves me with a wide choice in my area.

So for those of you who use agents (or are agents) what do you think are the signs of a good agent and the red flags that should have me running for the hills?

And what are the questions you really wished you'd asked before signing on the dotted line.

Cheers,

Abi.

[mind the gap]

Hi Everyone

I'm a soon to be newbie landlord & have decided to go down the letting agent fully managed service road. I've been reading a lot of posts complaining about bad agents and want to avoid them myself. I know sticking to ARLA registered agents is a good place to begin but that still leaves me with a wide choice in my area.

So for those of you who use agents (or are agents) what do you think are the signs of a good agent and the red flags that should have me running for the hills?

And what are the questions you really wished you'd asked before signing on the dotted line.

Cheers,

Abi.

Ask them:

whether they charge a continuation fee (contentious issue at the mo - don't agree to it!)
what they think they should do with tenants' deposits
what they would do if the tenant rang them at 3 am saying the boiler was leaking all over the kitchen floor
what they would do if one of the tenants wanted to leave before the end of the AST
where they will advertise your property and how often

..or, if you wanted just one question : what exactly do you do for the money I pay you?

It's worth comparing several different ones and (unlike hi fi speakers), big 'uns aren't always best!

[johnboy]

Also if you wanted to leave how much notice if any would you have to give.

[stavros1]

1. Property inspections. Absolutely vital, you WILL get them and they will be done.
2. If any of our landlords wishes to leave there is no tie in period, no charges. Ultimately if a customer is either not happy or wishes to self manage then you have to respect that and let them leave on good terms
3. If someone phones at 3am, establish the cause, in our experience it doesnt happen often and its rare anyone needs to come out in the middle of the night, but if so, engineers are there and available. We recommend a service contract with either british gas, to be fair unless a landlord is a qualified contractor not much he can do himself really......
4. No continuation fees - what exactly is the point of these other than to screw money out of people.
5. charges. We always advise the landlord of any repairs that have been done in advance of their statement being posted so there are no nasty surprises.
6. If a tenant wishes to leave before the end of their ast they cant, unless another tenant is found to move straight in resulting in no void periods for a landlord. We have had a few ocassions where landlords want their property back within a fixed term too!

[Kathryn]

Why don't you say where you live, somebody here may have a very good agent in the area.

[Mrs Jones]

In a way, Kathryn is right.

As with any service, the best way is to find someone who comes recommended by other Landlords. I found my agent (small and independent) by personal recommendation and I have been sooooo lucky. When I read some of the stuff on here, it gives me nightmares to think of the problems I could have encountered. I am not in the UK, so need to know that I am using someone I can trust.

And I would not have used any of the larger agencies (particularly ones which are attached to large estate agencies) since although they may give a reasonable service, they are really all about the money.

If I were you I would look for personal recommendation, but also experience so probably a small to medium sized but well established firm connected to something like ARLA. Too many people who have absolutely no experience, and even less knowledge, are setting themselves up as letting agents and using someone like this would be a recipe for disaster. Some of the questions on here from "potential new agents" are frighteningly ignorant (and I consider my letting knowledge to be very limited).

Best of luck!!!

[jtc]

Hi all,could anyone here recommend a reliable agent in the Biggleswade area,Bedfordshire please.
Thank you in advance

[sjcollett]

Hi, we can always help you out - we are a great agency [Gorgeous Homes] with our head office in Baldock so just down the road from you. We advertise on all the top property portals and have super customer service! You can use us for tenant find only or managed - choice is up to you. We operate a no let no fee basis so it's free for you to try us! If you want further details PM me. Thanks. sam

[Mrs Jones]

A friend has a very nice apartment to let in Eastbourne and is looking for a good letting agent to find and reference a tenant, but not needed to manage the property. Can any landlords in this area recommend an agent that they have dealt with and are happy with the service.

Thanks

[Mr.Nice]

As the title suggests;

As a LL, what are your most common issues/problems/annoyances with Letting Agents? Is it the level of customer servive you receive, the amount of time taken to complete tasks, the quality of tenants they find, lack of knowledge, excessive fees or unfair agreements? Any other common problems with Letting Agents?

Not an issue if nobody wants to go into details, just wondering what is high on the agenda of most LL`s.

Thanks.

[cymro123]

Is it the level of customer servive you receive, the amount of time taken to complete tasks, the quality of tenants they find, lack of knowledge, excessive fees or unfair agreements?

Yes all of those

[Mr.Nice]

:D It sounds as if you`ve not got a lot of time for agents then!

[jeffrey]

It sounds as if you`ve not got a lot of time for agents then!
Can we guess that you are a Letting Agent, perhaps?

[Mr.Nice]

Can we guess that you are a Letting Agent, perhaps?

You can guess......but you`d be wrong i`m afraid.

[dominic]

Just someone who on post number 6 is looking to milk the forum for some free market research, probably for a prospective letting agency client.

[Mr.Nice]

Just someone who on post number 6 is looking to milk the forum for some free market research, probably for a prospective letting agency client.


Closer. Market research is valuable to everyone, and in the long run will benefit everyone...............no matter if it is post number 6 or 6000!:rolleyes:

[jeffrey]

dominic' reference to post 6 was to your own 6th post, not to post #6 on this thread.
Not all market research is pure research. It's usually a camoulflaged advertising mechanism; is yours?

[Mr.Nice]

dominic' reference to post 6 was to your own 6th post, not to post #6 on this thread.
Not all market research is pure research. It's usually a camoulflaged advertising mechanism; is yours?

I`m aware it was a reference to my own post count, is this really relevant, hence the 6 or 6000 point. From my use of other internet forums, I am also aware of forum snobbery towards new members, especially with regards to post count!

Is my thread a camouflaged advertising mechanism? Not really, just research. My first post was about the NFOPP Technical Awards, so I do have an interest in this profession. however, this thread is certainly NOT about advertising. Sometime in the future, I am wanting to venture into the Lettings and Property Management business. This thread is pure research to try to ascertain what is more important to LL`s with regards to their letting agent. No advertisement in any way at all. This research would benefit both myself and potential clients as it would help me to provide a better service to LL`s, in turn providing me with a more profitable business.

Is this a good enough description of my intensions for everyone?

[GJMSurrey]

For a 'managed' service I worry that the letting agent will not go out their way to source a competitive rate to fix/repair for whatever issue is encountered at my property. What incentive do they have when they simply pass the cost on. Is te cost inflated further to cover the agents intermediary status.

[Mr.Nice]

For a 'managed' service I worry that the letting agent will not go out their way to source a competitive rate to fix/repair for whatever issue is encountered at my property. What incentive do they have when they simply pass the cost on. Is te cost inflated further to cover the agents intermediary status.

Thanks. Surely the agents should pass any quotes on to the LL, or give them the option to source quotes themselves? You`d have thought the incentive for the agent would be to keep the LL as a longterm client, and not just make a quick few quid, but I suppose there are a lot of people out there up for making a quick buck whenever possible.

[Snorkerz]

This question has been asked, in different ways, numerous times on this forum. Indeed, this section contains dozens of problems with letting agents - so to find what we want, just do the opposite.

I accept the search function on the site is limited but you can do a search via google in the format http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=%22123 ABC%22+site%3Alandlordzone.co.uk where 123 ABC is your search term

[jeffrey]

This question has been asked, in different ways, numerous times on this forum. Indeed, this section contains dozens of problems with letting agents - so to find what we want, just do the opposite.

I accept the search function on the site is limited but you can do a search via google in the format http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=%22123 ABC%22+site%3Alandlordzone.co.uk where 123 ABC is your search term
It's not so limited. Anyone can look at the Letting Agents Forum threads or scroll through their titles via 'Archive'.

[jrsteeve]

I've worked in lettings for 7 years and run my own letting agency for just over 1. I think the best way to find out what's valuable to landlords is to be one yourself, as I am. The most important traits to have, and to make it work are honesty, clarity, professionalism and communicative. Search engines will churn up reviews of agents in the UK so you can see the feedback given, showing what they're failing on. Numerous posts on here will be negative towards agents so just have a read through.

[westminster]

I'm happy with my letting agent except for two things.

1) 90% of the invoices and statements they send are wrong. Usually, overcharging on commission. Also failing to refund overpaid commission when a tenant leaves early, repeatedly chasing cancelled invoices for the overcharged commission, and adding on spurious 'admin' charges which aren't in my contract with them.

2) When conducting viewings of a vacant property, failing to tell me about anything off-putting to potential tenants, such as a dirty loo (presumably made dirty by agent or potential tenant). This means I have to keep visiting to check up, and it's a waste of my time if they could just tell me as and when something needs attention.

I do management myself, so these are just complaints relating to the find-only service.

[Mr.Nice]

Thanks for the replies.

I do currently have 2 properties I own, and personally let and manage. These have gone well, and I have picked up a good few points over the couple of years I have done this. having said this, i`m sure the best experience can be had actually working in a letting agents for an amount of time, so you can really get to see how things work with regards to new business, marketing etc etc. Also, it would be easier to see where I tought they were going wrong, and what LL get most unhappy about. Unfortunatly, there have been no such openings in my area for lettings agents with no experience!

[jrsteeve]

Basically i'd say monetary issues are probably the most important to my landlords - i.e. making sure they're paid accurately and on time. If the tenant is late for whatever reason just communicate it with the landlord so they can make the necessary arrangements. As some agents only have accounts staff on a part time basis it can be a while before they notice and deal with a problem. This was the biggest issue at my previous employer, and the accountant was useless. It really isn't difficult to be a good agent.

[Mr.Nice]

Basically i'd say monetary issues are probably the most important to my landlords - i.e. making sure they're paid accurately and on time. If the tenant is late for whatever reason just communicate it with the landlord so they can make the necessary arrangements. As some agents only have accounts staff on a part time basis it can be a while before they notice and deal with a problem. This was the biggest issue at my previous employer, and the accountant was useless. It really isn't difficult to be a good agent.

Thanks again.

If i remember rightly, you run an agency from home? How did you find the best way to market your new agency? Obviously, without a shop front, people are not going to know about you, unless you do quite a bit of proactive marketing in order to get LL`s.

[johyorks]

I have been shopping around a letting agent and a lot of people I know who use letting agents say they are not happy with them for one reason or another. One of the main reasons for the landlords I have spoken with who only have a small number of properties is that in their opinion the agents they are using do nothing for the management fee.However, if a tenant is no bother and the house/flat is fine what do they expect? My question I suppose is what should I expect from a letting agent who goes that extra mile for their landlords, anyone with a good one that can share their positive experiences?
Many thanks
johyorks

[mind the gap]

I have been shopping around a letting agent and a lot of people I know who use letting agents say they are not happy with them for one reason or another. One of the main reasons for the landlords I have spoken with who only have a small number of properties is that in their opinion the agents they are using do nothing for the management fee.However, if a tenant is no bother and the house/flat is fine what do they expect? My question I suppose is what should I expect from a letting agent who goes that extra mile for their landlords, anyone with a good one that can share their positive experiences?Many thanks
johyorks


This sounds suspiciously as though you are working up to a Giant Plug - let's hope you prove me wrong.

I fear you may have a long wait for anyone to come on this forum shouting the praises of letting agents, either as a species or individually.

I am sure there are many letting agents out there who do a sterling job. It is just that I have never come across one yet. From the tales of woe about agents on this forum, from both tenants and landlords, it would seem that the best philosophy is is probably that there is no point buying a dog only to have to bark yourself. You may find the discussion on this thread (#11 onwards), interesting:

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=26065&page=2

[johyorks]

I have nothing to plug I am afraid, I am in a position where I have a property I need to let out and just want to get it right, however, so many on here seem to get things wrong. I've already got advice from the 'expert' down the pub but wanted a more broader opinion. It seems that if I read between the lines you are suggesting I should manage the property myself, I will look into this. I just wanted to get a general feel of what makes good letting agents better than the the bad ones and as mentioned the 'experts' main grumble was that 'they don't do anything and I'm giving them £50 a month'.
Thanks
johyorks

[Poppy35]

ok im a LA and sometimes the reason landlords think we are getting money for doing nothing is that we do such a good job picking the right tenant and ensuring that they are suitable it make our life a lot easier throughout the tenancy.

We earn money for nothing on some properties but by god we earn our money more than ever on others. These tend to be properties where the landlords wont spend any money, wont authorise basic repairs, are hard to get hold of etc.

If you are not too busy then manage it yourself but unless you have some experience you should choose a regulated agent to find you a suitable tenant and vet them and draw up all the paperwork - unless you are in the SW of course in which case I highly recommend you choose an agent and feel free to contact me for further details!! :D

[sjcollett]

johyorks - I would stick with agencies which are run and owned by landlords. i started my own as i could not find a decent agent. landlord run agencies are a different breed - much better IMHO

Not sure where you're based but drop me a PM if you think we may be able to help you

[melanie-angel]

Hi there,

I am looking to rent my two bedroom apartment in Isle of Dogs. I will be looking for an estate agent to undertake full management as i live overseas. I really need some feedback on the best estate agents to use and which ones to avoid in the docklands area! If anyone has any advice regarding this, I would appreciate it!

Thanks,
Melanie

[Paul_f]

Use an ARLA/NAEA/RICS accredited agent as they will be able to offer a lot more in the way of financial protection than a non-members. Go to www.nfopp.co.uk and click on the ARLA or NAEA logo and then 'find a member'.

[justinj]

I have a property in Walthamstow tha was previously let to the council via an estate agents.
To say the property was left in a bad state when the tenant moved out is an understatement.

I've had the property painted, new carpets etc and am now looking to re let it.

I've decided to go down the letting to professional tenants route and have it fully managed as I want it to be as little hassle as possible.

does anyone have any experience with letting agents in the area good or bad and can recommend an agent to me?

[GiantPanda]

Hi Everyone

I have a property in Holts Village, Oldham (nr Manchester) that has become vacant. The property has been newly decorated and bought back to a lettable standard, and has been on the market for just over 1 month. I've had some interest, but no follow throughs from the perspective tenants, so I've dropped the rent to try to stimulate more interest.

I don't have an exclusive deal with the LA, so I'd like to advertise with another LA, but I don't know any good ones that cover the area. Can anyone recommend a good LA in the area please?

Many thanks,
GP

[CountrywideRL]

Sorry - I can't speak about Oldham, but I can say I recently found out that UK has 48% increase in LA's in last 12 months so suggest you still do meet and greet and get testimonials on their performance / track record before commiting to a decision.

[Potential2]

Hi there,

My name's Alex and I work for Potential 2 Lettings in Ellesmere Port.

I just wanted to ask for a landlord's opinion on how you normally go about finding a Lettings Agency (or how you would if you self-manage).

Do/would you visit offices? Shop around online? Call up? Also, what is it that would make you choose one agency over another? Also, have you recieved calls from Agencies and how has that affected your opinion?

Don't worry; I'm not here to sell you anything! I'm just hoping to do a little research. Hopefully I can answer any questions you might have as well.

Thank you! :)

[Paul_f]

Try Bluerow Lettings in Liverpool. I know them and they are keen to look after landlords, and to do it right!

[jeffrey]

Try Bluerow Lettings in Liverpool. I know them and they are keen to look after landlords, and to do it right!
But I suspect that OP was more interested in the mechanism by which (or the reasons for which) a potential L selects a Letting Agent- i.e. not that OP was actually seeking one, since he/she is one already!

[Moderator1]

Several largely similar questions on separate threads have been merged into this thread (hence the repetitive nature of answers).