Choosing a Letting Agent

 CHOOSING AN
AGENT:

As this site gets larger and larger, I can
not help but notice that more and more landlords are e-mailing us seeking advice
on how to a) choose an agent and b) how to sort out problems with an agent.

Alas, there are no real guidelines that
dictate the running of a lettings agency or lettings department.  Virtually
anybody can set up such an agency and make a complete mess of it!  In a
manner of speaking our web site is looking to help rid the market place of rogue
agencies, although I must stress that we are not an agency, more of an
information point.

Choosing an agent has to be done with
care.  Many agencies will happily value your property and then give a lot
of spiel about how many people they can get to view your property today or
tomorrow as long as you sign on the dotted line.  DON’T DO IT.     
Certainly ring up as many agencies as you wish to have valuing your property
– this will give you an excellent idea of how much rent you can expect to
achieve.  Ask all the agencies to put their valuation in writing to you. 
Why? Because not only does this give you time to reflect on the calibre of
agents who have visited you but also it will enable you to look at the figures
presented to you and you can budget accordingly – what is the worst figure you
could expect to achieve?

All the agents who value your property
should:

1.    Spend time looking
around your property

2.    Talk to you regarding
your circumstances and why you are looking to rent your property – remember they
are acting in your best interests.

3.    Give you advice on
Health and Safety laws.

4.    Tell you what their
fee is.

5.    Give you a contract
to look through.

6.    Tell you how much
they think your property is worth in the current lettings market.

If they fail to do any of the above they
should have a very good reason for doing so and it is probably best to steer
well clear of them!

make sure they carry out their business in
a professional manner and do not be duped into thinking how nice they are! 
Often the less friendly ones are the ones who are very busy and have not got
the time to sit and chat about the weather and what a wonderful property you
have.  Needless to say there is no room for rudeness!

Once they have all left you with their
bits and pieces, you need to settle down and go through the contracts.  Do
this whilst you still have the impressions they would have left with you fresh
in your memory.

Going through contracts can be
horrendously boring.  All the contracts I have issued in my time have been
3 or 4 pages long, dull and usually in small print.  Depending on the
service you require will dictate what you are looking for in a contract. 
For example if they are collecting the rent for you, how long before it will be
put in your account?  If it is not mentioned, get it mentioned – I have
known companies take up to 6 weeks to get landlords rent into the right account,
all the time the agent is earning interest and the landlord is struggling to pay
the mortgage – it should take no more than 7 working days.  Watch out for
hidden charges i.e. BACS transfer of your money to your account £25.00 yikes!  

On the management side, how much are they
prepared to spend before asking your permission – no more than £100.00 I hope
if anything at all – honestly though, you should allow a little leeway for times
when they can not get hold of you and an emergency has occurred – they have to
account for all expenditure though!  Do they mention that it is their
responsibility to employ suitably qualified contractors to carry out works on
your property?  Do they mention that they will get quotes from 3 suitably
qualified contractors and present them to you, prior to any works being carried
out with a cost in excess of £100.00?  By the way, it never hurts to ring
a contractor and get a quote yourself for the job – at least you know that the
charges are reasonable – and check that all the contractors exist – it is very
easy to make up a quote!  What other charges are there.  I used to
charge my landlords an extra 10% of the cost for over seeing works with a value
in excess of £500.00 What did I do – not a lot!

Remember that agents are supposed to work
for you – you are their client – but at the end of the day most will be working
for themselves especially as many will have monthly targets that must be met.

One very important note is to find out
what we call the renewal charge is.  A renewal charge is when the same
tenant stays at the property for a second term.  Most agents will try and
get away with charging you the same amount as if they had found a new tenant. 
Money for old rope!  All they are doing is printing off a new contract or
one page addendum and sending it off for signature – no need to charge an
excessive amount surely?  They will often say that if it had not been for
them then you would not have the perfect tenant that you have – reply – if it
had not been for me you would not have made the money you have from my property! 
Negotiate on the fee – it really ought to be close to half the original fee –
and if you think the tenant may stay for several years give the agent a sliding
scale of fees.  make sure that the management fee is charged on a monthly
basis i.e. only being charged as they actually manage your property – it is
often very difficult to get a refund out of an agent!

Note that you want your property to get
the best possible exposure so as to attract the best possible tenants. 
Check out the local newspapers and see which agents are advertising and make
sure their advertising is neat, effective and large enough – at least 1/2 a
page.  The last thing you want is to have a single column box at the end of
the property section.

Whether you go for a corporate agency or
an independent is totally up to you.  They both have their pluses and
minuses.

Many of you as I said earlier have
experienced problems with agencies.  Once a problem starts to occur you
must act on it immediately in writing to the top dog.  no point in writing
to the negotiator or manager that you are having a problem with, they will just
brush it under the table.  Go straight for the jugular and do not take no
for an answer.  If you are getting no where, try your local trading
standards.  They I have found are always willing to help people and if they
can not do anything for you, they will point you in the right direction. 
Also, find out if the agency belongs to any professional bodies such as ARLA or
NAEA and write to them.  Never let the matter lie as you will find that
people will become less and less interested, but if they can see that you
consider the matter urgent and important enough, they will act fast.  Keep
on at them.  Also keep on at the agency as you may find they get so fed up
with you calling them and leaving messages that they will want you off their
back ASAP.  no harm in going into the office – often a good idea when there
are other members of the public there as well as the agency will not want to
look bad in front of anyone!

All said please note that there are many
very good agencies out there.  By writing this article those of you who are
agents and often log on here for updates etc take note.  Having been an
agent, I know all the tricks in the trade and how they can be resolved.  If
you are a good agent then you have nothing to worry about.

If you are having problems regarding
agencies and seem to be knocking your head against a brick wall, let us know and
we might be able to help you!