Should i use a letting agent??
How many of you use a letting agent to manage your Buy To lets? Do you feel the benefits or do you think it's better to manage it yourself?
How many of you use a letting agent to manage your Buy to Lets?
Do you feel the benefits or do you think it's better to manage it yourself?
The question isn't "is it better to do it yourself" but do you WANT to do it yourself?
Doing it yourself will obviously be the cheaper option, but if you're happy to sacrifice the cost for a hands off investment, then use an agent
I guess as a letting agent this is an easy question for me to answer as we generally get to hear from landlords that have had bad experiences renting out properties themselves
The questions i would ask as a letting agent are :-
Do you want to chase tenants for unpaid rent?
Do you want to receive phone calls at 1am about lost keys and not getting in?
Do you want to receive calls on a Sunday even about a burst water pipe and need to arrange emergency plumber?
If the answer is yes, then self-manage - If not, then find a GOOD agent to take care of these for you.
Most novice landlords don't know the amount of work involved in tenant management, property management, repairs, maintenance etc.
They are also likely not aware of all the compliance needed. This is where a good letting agent is worth their weight in gold. They will protect the landlord from rogue tenants, non-compliance, fines etc. - so a reputable agent is part of your risk mitigation strategy.
Additional questions you should most likely ask yourself are things like :-
Are you worried about being legally compliant?
Are you in breach of tenancy law already without being aware of it?
Have you protected the tenants deposit?
Do you have copies of every gas safety check, EICR, EPC etc?
As a landlord myself i have little if anything to do with my tenants, leaving the letting agent to deal with them directly, taking the personal aspect out of the rental and then leaving me free to focus on other aspects of my life.
I always advocate new landlords to work with a reputable agent so that they can understand the amount of work involved and also "learn the ropes", even more so when they live remotely from their rental properties.
If you have a property an hour or so more away from where you live then i would say it is virtually impossible to manage that property, especially if there is an important maintenance issue to deal with such as a water leak
In this circumstance, the agent will then deal with all the issues and email, WhatsApp or call the landlord for approval of any works that need doing.
In summary, a good agent does what you ask but an excellent agent does what you need.
If you are a self managing agent, concerned at the increasing raft of legislation that is being thrown at us, or one that simply does now not have the time to run their portfolio in a professional and pro active manner then perhaps we need to talk further
I can advise you on a portfolio re structure to make sure we are achieving optimum rents and can even advise on any necessary or required maintenance works that may uplift the rent or indeed keep you compliant with the impending recent changes in legislation
To book a call with James Allen director of Allen Residential directly simply, email him here :-
james@allen-residential.co.uk or message 07773 412300 and we can look to chat further