Landlord Letting Agent Fees & Much Cheaper Alternatives

Seems like you could make a little extra money finding tenants for other landlords...

I agree with your comments. Just started the property game with my first buy to let that i purchased at auction. These agents already piss me off with a load of 'experience' as they call it, bullshit to me! I am trying to learn all of the ins / outs for myself because these agents can stick their fees where the sun can't shine! I am sure it is not easy but I would rather learn the hard way than give my money away.

"But to me, sounded more like diarrhea Soufflé." Hahahaha! Brilliant.

Hi Landlord,

You wrote recently about using Upad to find a tenant - cost £59. They advertise on Rightmove etc.

They were at the Landlord & Letting Show, giving out cards offering a 10% discount. I won't be using mine, so if you want to use it, the 'discount code' is BD001.

PS: the little cartoon figure in the mac which features on your website. Is that really what you look like?

Andy - owning a buy to let involves a lot of regulations and legislation and if you get it wrong could cost you a whole lot more than what a decent agent charges.

Admittedly not all agents are great, but I think you're missing a trick if you don't find a decent one to start with and learn from.

Mistakes can be expensive - esp. if your tenants decide to hang you out to dry.

Sam

Point taken but at 7.5% to 12.5% a month and a finder fee of about £300 it actually takes the profit away. I am undertaking a landlord association course to understand the laws and stuff and will probably try a local advert and a free add with makeurmove. I may be wrong but if i understand the ins/outs/pitfalls for myself then as my portfolio grows I will be able to engage with an agent on an informed basis and hopefully get a deal that fits what i want to pay for. I have nothing against agents but i do have a problem with then fees they charge compared to the actual work content, remind me a bit of bankers - now dont get me started on that one!

The business I run offers a similar service, I would conduct the viewings myself though. I charge £200 to let a house and that includes photos, writing the advert, arranging the viewings, referencing the tenants, sorting out contracts moving in the tenants and taking meter readings. People use my services because a buy-to-let is usually the fruits of additional cash brought about by a successful career..... The last thing a busy, stressed professional wants to deal with is muppets ringing at 10.30pm to arrange viewings or rushing home from work just to be stood around for half an hour waiting for someone who doesn't turn up. I should know I rented out 4 houses whilst having a full time job, it was such a fucking pain in the arse that I quit my job to do it full time for other people. The oldest business model in the book Hassle for cash...... I despise people who ring me because of an advert on gumtree, they are weak individuals who couldn't qualify a scotch egg let alone a potential tenant..... As for the high street, pfffff.... I've usually found a tenant before they've finished their coffee and worked out whose lost the office camera.
The problem with a part-time landlord is they make mistakes, mistakes I made 5 years ago that cost me money, I wouln't make the same mistakes again now for me or for anyone else... Feel free to look at my web-site and deliver feedback as you see fit. www.morrison-watts.co.uk

I have been letting a small number of flats for 15 odd years and have never used an agent. Just lately, I discovered 'Brilliant Lettings', where for a flat fee of £29 per month, my property will appear on all the main lettings portals including rightmove and findaproperty.....so I tried it and let me flat in less than 2 days! It is cheaper than putting an ad in the local papers which is how I used to advertise. With services like this, why would any landlord use an agent?

I am a contractor, an electrician by trade, but with 30 years experience in most trades due to continuous training. I am Gassafe and NICEIC registered. I do work for many landlords and agents and it makes me laugh to hear them talk about legislation, they wouldn't know it if it fell out of thier arse. Fortunately for them, most tenants don't either which is the only thing saving thier backsides at times. In 30 years out of the hundred of landlords I've met I can only think of 4 that were likeable, honest and didn't mess me about, either with money or in some other way. In that same time I can't think of one agent. Not one. So many let properties are in appalling condition yet most landlords consider a lick of paint and a new cheap carpet as sufficient. This year, 2 tenants of landlords I work for have had serious electric shocks. One had to have her heart re-started. Both these properties, I had carried out testing on and recommended re-wiring yet I'm still waiting on payment for the original reports! (one landlord said he didn't owe me for 6 hours work as all he wanted was an 'electrical safety certificate'. Such an item doesn't exist, and if it did I couldn't provide one as the installation wasn't safe!) With the housing shortage getting worse and a boom expected in private lettings, I hope the government find time to properly regulate this joke of an industry.

I wouldn't want you as a Landlord.

not all agents are looking to make a quick buck, we for example don't charge the landlord anything I give a completely free service and still do all those bits and pieces,
also your forgetting management you could also do that for your self but if you have 10 or 15 properties isn't that a strain on you? I also help elderly landlords who have tenants who refuse to pay there bills and need help with legal advise on how to section 8 and advise and help through the whole process, what about tenancy agreements and contracts some new landlords have no idea what their rights are as landlords or what the tenants.
rights are. it helps to have a trained agent who gives excellent customer service who look after and look out for landlords.
and to be quite honest if I was a tenant who heard or read the language your using I'd be shocked and insulted.

Some letting agents are not very good granted however there are a few of us who have excellent services we provide at a good value for money rate who regularly get referrals from clients.

The fact that you have just slated agents with such bad language shows your an absolute idiot. You then tried a back door sales pitch yourself shows that anyone can be slightly untrustworth and lets be honest your 20p tenancy agreement will count for nothing in court.

Everyone knows you get what you pay for in life and service is rarely purchased on price alone. We refuse landlords who are clearly completely in the business to rip tenants off and have little experience unless we manage the property as we know that tenants are usually left out to dry and the properties are not in great condition.

Oh yea try a job in stand up comedy, dont forget to download my WHSmith tenancy agreement for £4.99 as it will protect you from nothing and help my bank account. Tight landlords are the reason crap agents exist.

In my experience, as a tenant, letting agents are pure parasites on the arrangement. In any other area of my life, the free market would allow me to avoid them. Unfortunately I have to live in a house, it is expensive and time consuming to move, and these agents swarm all over you extracting every last penny possible. I'm now being asked for £250 just to renew a years tenancy that they're making money off every month anyway, for doing nothing whatsoever.

I think the final straw is the charge for references. That one really makes my soul sad.

Their primary business case is to stand between landlord and tenant, and monetise things that have no place being monetised. Parasites.

what a load of nonsense - you are arguing about £100. you are really trying to say that someone doing some work for you, making phone calls and running around for you is not worth a measly £100 extra?

perhaps you dont have anything better to do with your days, but most of us would happily pay someone to do their job so we can get on with ours as there isnt enough hours in the day to do everything.

shall we repair our own boilers, cars and whatever else and put every trade out of work so that we don't have to pay anyone to do anything that we can do ourselves.

Its not the way the world works.7
strop being a tight arse.

do you not know that giving is better than receiving?

you reap what you sow and all that!

What a bulk of hate and bollocks.
Instead of spreading your venomous view you better learn how to see the reality from different angles otherwise you will keep getting some likes from fellow tightviewers but will be a laughing stock for the rest.
Making £50-100 from customer looks OK but how many you can get a week...3-4-5?
Will it be enough to survive with all expenses around your agency?
As Terry pointed you can pick every trader's business in town like that and pretending you're Mr.Supersaver or Mr.Doitall .. or considering your language most probably Mr.I'lldoyouall.
Of course every average intelligent Landlord can deal with it by himself and there is nothing wrong with that.
The question is about Landlords who does not have the time and knowledge or stamina to deal with all problems along tenancies (which you don't mention as you think it's only collecting money like), don't want to be bothered and keep up with ever changing legislations or those who live in another city, county or work offshore/abroad.
How about them then?
May be should send them to you to teach them your bullying tactics.
Agents are there because the market needs them. It's not in all cases of course but still needs them.
Otherwise they will disappear.
If you are trying to be next Martin Moneysavingexpert ... try harder but avoid that hate you are spilling all over.
Good luck.

PS.I do admit there must be some "no good" agents on the market but so are Landlords and Tenants. Instead of focusing on them use common sense and market forces to rise above.
Kind regards,

Hi, I'm considering starting a letting agency. I'd be interested in hearing more from you and understanding how a new agency could deliver real value yet still be profitable. It sounds like the current model just doesn't work.

Email me if you have time.

Thanks

Some letting agents are fraud but i only go to companies which have goodwill in the market and provides best tenant finding services at very affordable cost. tenants.com is one of the best company in USA that let help in finding best homes for rent. Along with finding services they complete all documentation and agreement work which is very sensitive part of letting services.

What this article highlights is that the perception can often be very different to the reality. Whilst the cost may seem high, the majority of agents dealing with rentals run on extremely tight margins. Those that deal with a significant number of high end properties may be doing very well. However, the irony for those that aren't so fortunate is that they generally end up doing far more work and deal with a lot more hassle for a fraction of the commission.

After selling my property just over 4 years ago, losing the property I was due to buy I chose to rent rather than make any hasty decisions.

Due to several unscrupulous landlords and collaborative agents I will be moving house in the autumn for the 7th time!!!

Let me break it down briefly with each rental.
1. Landlord was not paying his mortgage, had to leave after 6 months shorthold.
2. Landlord promised to put in a doorstep and handrail (to help with my mobility issues), he didn’t, so I found a bungalow and moved after a year there.
3. After living there a year I wanted to pay month to month, agent said ‘landlord agreed but will put rent up £100 a month! When I asked for landlords details so I coul contact and negotiate, agent refused. I have since found out this was against the ‘code of conduct’.
4. Was clear to agent I needed a long term let, they assured me it would be but I would need to sign for 6 months initially. Landlord wanted to sell after 6 months! I offered to buy but they turned down my offer.
5. Had to leave this property for family reasons, will mention that landlord used to turn up when he felt like it, I kept reminding that I’d need at least 24 hours notice. On hand over day I took some rubbish to the tip only to find on return that landlord had let himself in and was fiddling about the place.
6. Moved here to be closer to family and AGAIN stressed the importance that I wanted long term. Signed up for a year, discovered landlord left loads of crap here, hadn’t fixed a leaking conservatory roof, and isn’t answering contact from agent regarding extending my contract. I have been reliably told landlord only wanted a tenant for a year to recoup some costs of renovation and will be selling.
Sadly I am not in a position to buy now, having had to f’ing move so many bloody times.
Tenants get shafted so much, it’s almost the norm!!!

thanks to all

What are your thoughts on openrent.co.uk?

How do I stop paying my letting agent £302 every 3 months which I have been doing so for the last 4 years ? It’s a find tennant only short term contract

Hey, I'm a long time fan and reader of your blog, first time commenter. Just wanted to say this post really hit home with the stuff I've been looking into. Thanks!

Hi.
Your post does have a point but we can't deny the fact that having a proper conversation with people around helps us find the best solution to our problems. Getting into direct conversation with a letting agent sometimes help you understand well what you want. Don't you think?

Have a look at openrent from £49.00. Brilliant.

It is very hard to find a place without a letting agency. They are everywhere in London and it is very hard to trust them. Any ideas on how to find places directly with the landlords?