Hello again everyone.

I would like to discuss your experience with letting agents. What was your strategy, when choosing one? Did you make a decision on random or did you ask for recommendations from other landlords? Which LA services should the landlord use? What are the potential problems that LA might bring about?
Does it make life easier to hire an LA, or, rather "managing the LA, who is managing your property" is not worth it?

The first ever letting agent I used to let my property was recommended to me by my then conveyancing solicitor. As it was recommended, I never bothered to check anything else ( i wish i did) and went ahead with it. Must say that the whole experience was disastrous: there was hardly any communcation between us which is fine when everything runs smoothly. Sadly, in my case it wasn't: they were spending rent money left right and centre, sending me invoices 2-3 months after purchasing unnecessary items. I was chasing outstanding rent and paying the agents their fees! And the worst thing was that I could not complain to anyone!!!! as the agency was not a member of any of the trade associations. So, next time, I spoke to 3 or 4 different agencies, who were all members of some kind of quality assurance scheme and asked lots of questions. I must say, my life is a lot easier now. Yeah, I do lose 10% of the rent, but I save on hassle, telephone calls, letters, etc.

It is not easy to find a good letting agent. Going with recommendation doesn't always work. I think smaller reputable agents are better that big boys. They tend to be more attentive and value their customers more. However you need to trust one, that for sure. If for some reson you don't feel comfortable with them during your first meeting, then don't hire them. You should be able to trust them as you will need to speak to them quite often, they will be looking after your property and collecting rent. My friend had a lot of trouble with a letting agent. They did few things without her authorisation, didn't inform her that tenants were constantly delaying rental payments and eventually failed to notify her that rent was not paid and tenants left without paying. She spended hours on the phone chasing them, complaining with no results. Unfortunately, that agent was not a member of any association.

I would say speak to several agents and go with the one you feel most comfortable. Recommendation is quite important and I think membership of or another professional body gives some sort of reassurance. Not every association has strict rules, so check what that membership actually mean and what complaints procedure they follow.

do the services of letting agents (of course, I mean reputable and responsible agents) are worth the money the landlord is paying? I would like to know if it generally cheaper to deal with all the issues on your own or to pay someone who would do it for you (assuming that the landlord has only 1 or 2 renting properties rather than many)?

In my opinion, letting agents are worth their money if you, as a landlord, don't have time to deal with sorting the inventory our, advertising and finding tenants, setting up tenancy agreement, sourcing out any furniture and/or repairs, the list could go on forever. Well-established agents will have their own network of reliable workmen who could do the job quicker and cost-effectively too.

I have heard that as the level of agreed sales has decreased dramatically, many estate agents have changed their job orinetation and now tend to enter the market of letting agents?
what do you think of it?

I personally do not see any problem with this. Many of the estate agents in any case have already been doing both. It's just their way to adapt and survive in the current market.

On the subject of chosing the letting ageng, konek is quite right that not every association has strict rules. The agents who i have problems with were members of local landlords association. I did complain to them 18 months ago and still waiting... Now i know how important it is to check the agent you are thinking of instructing as well as association they claim to be members of. It may also be worth checking whether they are members as claimed!

I'm afraid the problem with estate agents becoming letting agents might be their lack of professionalism since these jobs require different skills despite the fact that they are both closely linked with property. Very often people, who used to sell houses and flats, will poorly deal with tenant and landlord issues.

But a lot of those skills (such as negotiating, sourcing out best deals, etc) are transferrable in any case, so i do not think that for a professional person it would be to difficult to be flexible and adapt to new situation.

Back to the original question! Unfortunately, the quality of service provided by the agents as well as their charges vary considerably. It's helpful to compare what various agencies offer and then draw an agreement with the agents you choose. I would personally go for the agent who is a member of the professional association, like NAEA or ARLA. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has actually printed a Management Code for the residential landlords. This Code is not binding but it's been approved by the government. I understand that if the landlord or agent does not follow this code, it could be used in court as evidence.

When i was looking for an agent, i went for the one recommended and used by someone i know. The fact that they were also members of one of the above mentioned associations was an extra bonus. I also dont think that there is anything wrong in the agencies trying to expand or vary their services. It's a law of natural selection: the fittest (or the smartest) will survive! we all, in a way, need to adapt to new situations.

Hi, Solomon51!
Frankly speaking I do not know a strategy when choosing LA, but I know some situations, which you may avoid in your practice. First of all it’s not worth letting your property through letting agent who is not a member of the ARLA or any other body, secondly it’s quite risky deal with a national letting agent, because many of their customers are unpleased with tenants they provide. And at last if you have some problems with your LA, complain to the Housing Ombudsman.

There is also and ombudsman scheme they could belong to. This could too give you a piece of mind that the agents you are using are complying with the minimum standard code of practice.

remember you dont have to use a lettings agent - there are many online letting service web sites which are a lot cheaper and give you far more information than most agents - i use www.landlordlet.com to advertise my property cost £39 plus vat and then use just the services i need to to complete my let - such as a credit/tenant check, inventory, tenancy agreement etc - all available online.

I believe some letting agents offer similar 'one off' services where they find you tenants, do all the checks, agreements and then let the landlord to take over. Though, not sure how their fees would compare with the online ones (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Going back to the original topic, i believe it's also important to know what your letting agents fees are and what services they are willing to offer your tenants to ensure there are no hidden costs.

I can see the potential problem of some cowboy estate agents missing out on some important property letting regulations when they move into the letting sector.

Thats true, but you could have the same problem with the cowboy letting agency that has always been a letting agency. Unfortunately, until this sector becomes regulated, finding a professional agent is often a 'hit and miss' exercise.

In my first and last experience with a Foxy letting agent in the South East we chose them based on their sales pitch. It was a major costly mistake. We were lied to by everyone, ignored at the first sign of problems and consequently taken to court for non-payment of exorbitant fees. We're in the middle of a court case now and awaiting the outcome. They are members of the Ombudsman and NALS and OFT but so far that has not been any real help. We have been saddled with a tenant from hell for longer than we wanted because that makes for more commission fees and we are having to chase tenant for rent every month. It has been draining, frustrating, insulting and emotionally and financially damaging.

There seems to be no real comeback for the agents and as long as they have your signature on their form, they've got you for breaching contract no matter how little they do for the fees. They have the worst reputation in London but unfortunately we were new to lettings and didn't do any research on them and this was to our detriment. The internet is littered with bad reviews and complaints about them but none of the regulatory bodies seem to do much to make them adjust their practices. OFT has actually taken them to court over unfair terms in their contracts but their whole business model is pretty much stuff the tenant and the landlord and get ourselves as much as possible. They make really exaggerated claims which seem plausible but never deliver and by then you're already locked in.

So, I would always do research and then some before I could even trust a letting agent again, making sure that I am not signing up to anything that is unbalanced in the favour of the agent or that their fees are in line with market rates regardless to how much a better service they claim they can provide. I would probably even ask for references from current landlords that I could speak to myself and ensure that I was absolutely certain that they had carried out all the checks that they were supposed to on the potential tenant and not accept anyone as a tenant unless all my criteria was satisfied regardless to how much the agent tried to assure me that this was not necessary. I would also always get everything in writing.

Personally, I actually don't think that I could ever use a letting agent again as we have lost so much and it has been so painful, it was far worse than merely losing money.

Still, they can't be all bad, right?