Dropping a Letting Agent

[reigate]

I have been letting out a property through a letting agent for the last few months, and have come to the conclusion that the letting agent is a waste of time and money.

The inital tenancy agreement expires in 3 months, and I want to manage the property myself. Assuming the current tennants remain, can I ditch the agent after the initial 6 month agreement?

The only thing in my T&Cs fro the agent is below - does this mean i must keep the agents for as long as the tennants remain?

"Comission is payable by the landlord following the introduction of a tenant who enters into a tenancy agreement..........for as long at the tenant remains in the property"

When I was deciding on what agents to use use, I asked 2 others and they both said it was fine after 6 months as they would have recovered more than their "finders fee".

 

[Carrot Cruncher]

Speak to the tenants, give them notice of eviction to the point where you can ditch the useless fuckers managing the property, copying in said useless fuckers, whilst telling them (the tenants) they're welcome to stay but you're taking over the management. Draw up a new tenancy agreement and WHAMMO, letting agents are then gone.

 

[reigate]

Speak to the tenants, give them notice of eviction to the point where you can ditch the useless fuckers managing the property, copying in said useless fuckers, whilst telling them (the tenants) they're welcome to stay but you're taking over the management. Draw up a new tenancy agreement and WHAMMO, letting agents are then gone.

If the agent find out is there any come back? The only issue with this might be that the agents organised the inventory (through a 3rd party) and hold the deposit. Might be difficult getting that sorted without agent knowing

 

[Farehamseagull]

Speak to the tenants, give them notice of eviction to the point where you can ditch the useless fuckers managing the property, copying in said useless fuckers, whilst telling them (the tenants) they're welcome to stay but you're taking over the management. Draw up a new tenancy agreement and WHAMMO, letting agents are then gone.

It's not as easy as that as the Tenancy agreement is between the Landlord and Tenant whereas the Terms of business Reigate is referring to are between the Landlord and agent and as the term states, the agent is due commission for the entire time that Tenant is in the property.

The agent is unlikely to let you just take over the management and stop paying them fee's and if it went to court the agent would win as you have signed that contract unless you can prove beyond doubt that they are not providing you with the service they agreed to in those terms of business. Alternatively you can try and negotiate a way out of that contract by maybe paying them a compensatory amount. Obviously if you serve notice on the Tenants and they move out your agreement with the agents will end.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

If the agent find out is there any come back? The only issue with this might be that the agents organised the inventory (through a 3rd party) and hold the deposit. Might be difficult getting that sorted without agent knowing

The only comeback would mean the Letting Agent taking you to court as it's a contractual dispute. Personally I'd argue that any contract that requires you to get rid of your tenant just because you want to stop using the agent would be classed as unfair and therefore invalid.

Anyway, done it in the way Carrot has mentioned and so have my parents. With the deposit you have to agree with your tenants that they will hand it to you once they get it back from the agent ( obviously you need to trust your tenants !!! ). I'd also tell the agent that you don't require an exit inspection and to just pay the deposit back.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

It's not as easy as that as the Tenancy agreement is between the Landlord and Tenant whereas the Terms of business Reigate is referring to are between the Landlord and agent and as the term states, the agent is due commission for the entire time that Tenant is in the property.

The agent is unlikely to let you just take over the management and stop paying them fee's and if it went to court the agent would win as you have signed that contract unless you can prove beyond doubt that they are not providing you with the service they agreed to in those terms of business. Alternatively you can try and negotiate a way out of that contract by maybe paying them a compensatory amount. Obviously if you serve notice on the Tenants and they move out your agreement with the agents will end.

You can serve your tenants notice under the current agreement and then agree a new tenancy agreement - perfectly legal.

 

[Farehamseagull]

You can serve your tenants notice under the current agreement and then agree a new tenancy agreement - perfectly legal.

Yes but the terms of business agreed with the agent is a separate contract from a Tenancy agreement between Landlord and Tenant and the terms of business state that commission is due to be paid by the Landlord for the duration of time a Tenant that agent finds stays in the property.

 

[fire&skill]

Just be sure that you can deal with sitting tenants, refusal to pay rent etc. These are usually absorbed into the letting agency's fees, I think. It's what you pay the agent for in the long run.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I have been letting out a property through a letting agent for the last few months, and have come to the conclusion that the letting agent is a waste of time and money.

The inital tenancy agreement expires in 3 months, and I want to manage the property myself. Assuming the current tennants remain, can I ditch the agent after the initial 6 month agreement?

The only thing in my T&Cs fro the agent is below - does this mean i must keep the agents for as long as the tennants remain?

"Comission is payable by the landlord following the introduction of a tenant who enters into a tenancy agreement..........for as long at the tenant remains in the property"

When I was deciding on what agents to use use, I asked 2 others and they both said it was fine after 6 months as they would have recovered more than their "finders fee".

Have the letting agent done something wrong or not lived up to expectations/contractual obligations or do you just feel it is now something you can do on your own?

 

[reigate]

Yes but the terms of business agreed with the agent is a separate contract from a Tenancy agreement between Landlord and Tenant and the terms of business state that commission is due to be paid by the Landlord for the duration of time a Tenant that agent finds stays in the property.

It sounds as of the most sensible thing to do is try and negotiate with the agent. If they play hard ball I have the option of not renewing the tenancy. The agents would get nothing and I would save £90 a month, but I could lose good tenants.

I assume there is nothing they can do if they move out for a day and then move back in?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Just be sure that you can deal with sitting tenants, refusal to pay rent etc. These are usually absorbed into the letting agency's fees, I think. It's what you pay the agent for in the long run.

Self managing is not something to venture into lightly as letting agents are very clued up on all the current legislation and will also resolve any disputes and ultimately, legally, the buck stops with them. This last point is worth considering. If you get something wrong or your tenants challenge something be prepared for a battle...or worse. Personally, I would not do it.

 

[reigate]

Have the letting agent done something wrong or not lived up to expectations/contractual obligations or do you just feel it is now something you can do on your own?

A bit of both really. I wouldn't go as far as saying they have broken contractual obligations. Typical example is something needs repairing in house. Tenant rings agent, and agent rings me. I ask what it will cost to get sorted and then I have to chase them for days to get the quote. It is always much more than I can get it done for. I end up arranging and because it is so difficult to then coordinnate when the job can be done betweeen tenant, agent, me and contractor, I end up taking time off work to let contractor in etc.

A contractor also told me that he has to pay agent 15% to get put forward for work, which will be passed on to me!

I fail to see what benefit having the agent has. This might because my tenants are trouble free.....but even if I had tenants from hell, it would not be the responsibily of agent to chase rent arrears etc

 

[reigate]

Just be sure that you can deal with sitting tenants, refusal to pay rent etc. These are usually absorbed into the letting agency's fees, I think. It's what you pay the agent for in the long run.

Yeah I can see your point. It may seem a waste of money now as tenants are ok.........but they might earn their money with bad tenants. They can only send chase letters for rent though......not sure what they can actualy do if rent is not paid?

 

[cloud]

When I had tenants, they had a bad water leak due a burst pipe underneath the kitchen. This happened at a time when I couldn't take annual leave to go and sort it out (it needed several tradesmen to get to the bottom of it). It also happened just before I was due to go on holiday, so I could go away knowing it would all be taken care of.

Yes it costs a bit more, but it's all tax-deductable and you can always negotiate it down to a better rate.

 

[fire&skill]

Yeah I can see your point. It may seem a waste of money now as tenants are ok.........but they might earn their money with bad tenants. They can only send chase letters for rent though......not sure what they can actualy do if rent is not paid?

I remember paying a small fee that covered solicitor's fees etc in the event of the tenant becoming trouble

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Yeah I can see your point. It may seem a waste of money now as tenants are ok.........but they might earn their money with bad tenants. They can only send chase letters for rent though......not sure what they can actualy do if rent is not paid?

I started by using Letting Agents but for 5 years I've now done it myself. When I had agents I had to evict a tenant and it was painful. I've evicted a tenant myself since with not too much hassle.

You do sometimes have to deal with things that can be a pain but generally I'd never recommend paying letting agents.

 

[reigate]

When I had tenants, they had a bad water leak due a burst pipe underneath the kitchen. This happened at a time when I couldn't take annual leave to go and sort it out (it needed several tradesmen to get to the bottom of it). It also happened just before I was due to go on holiday, so I could go away knowing it would all be taken care of.

Yes it costs a bit more, but it's all tax-deductable and you can always negotiate it down to a better rate.

I only pay 8%+VAT, but it's got to be worth a try. If they won't budge on anything and are playing hard ball, I'll explain to them and the tenants that the rent will be increasing to cover some of the costs. They will probably serve notice, and I can start again. Hopefully common sense wll prevail and there can be an agreement but I seem to be managing it myself anyway now and for paying £1000 year for the privelege

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

Personal choice for peace of mind - if you live local to your rented property and are a bit of a DIYer / handyman, self managing can save you loads.

I've been a landlord for over 10 years and always self manage, Just means that when I need a new tenant, the agent charges a "find fee" roughly the same as one months rent. If you want to drop the agent management, I'd suggest they will do this but if its not been running long, may want some fee to cover. But do it up front, no underhand stuff. Its business, so keep it straight.

On the subject of deposits, the law now states that these must be held with a 3rd party. No longer can the the agent or the landlord keep this. It was changed about 6 years ago to stop unscrupulous landlords keeping deposits for dubious damage on termination. If you're a tenant, insist on your deposit being held at eg http://www.depositprotection.com/

 

[Farehamseagull]

Personal choice for peace of mind - if you live local to your rented property and are a bit of a DIYer / handyman, self managing can save you loads.

I've been a landlord for over 10 years and always self manage, Just means that when I need a new tenant, the agent charges a "find fee" roughly the same as one months rent. If you want to drop the agent management, I'd suggest they will do this but if its not been running long, may want some fee to cover. But do it up front, no underhand stuff. Its business, so keep it straight.

On the subject of deposits, the law now states that these must be held with a 3rd party. No longer can the the agent or the landlord keep this. It was changed about 6 years ago to stop unscrupulous landlords keeping deposits for dubious damage on termination. If you're a tenant, insist on your deposit being held at eg http://www.depositprotection.com/

Thats not strictly true. The Landlord or agent can still hold the deposit but it has to be registered through one of two insurance based schemes, The Dispute Service or Mydeposits.com. The third scheme is the custodial, government run DPS where the money is paid into the DPS bank account. It is a fairer system for Tenants now generally.

The other thing you could try with the agent is maybe reducing your service level to a rent collection service. This way they would deal with the legal and financial aspects of the tenancy for a cheaper commission and you can deal with the maintenance/repairs which it sounds like you are doing already.

A major advantage of using an agent is that usually they are up to speed with all current legislation which is always changing. It can be difficult to keep up with it if you are not working in the industry or reading up on it all the time like geeks such as myself!

You are also usually better served using a specialist letting agent with years of experience as a lot of estate agents have started dabbling in letting in recent years as the sales market is so tough and some of them dont know what they are doing.

 

[scooter1]

We used an agent for a couple of years and they were terrible. The tenant defaulted on the rent and in the end had to be evicted, the Agent was no help. And it also transpired that the references given were fake, and never followed up.
Since then we've done it ourselves. Saved a fortune in fees and we get to meet and vet the tenants. I'd like to think that myself and Mrs Scooter are a decent judge of character, and so far doing it direct has been fine.
I've asked people to leave an "interview" when they've started(unfairly) slating our property. If it was a ploy to lower the rent, it failed - there are good people out there who need to rent, its just up to you as the private landlord to make the judgement.
As for the deposit scheme, we use the government bonded one. They pay interest upon returning the deposit, albeit if there was a BoE interest rate at the moment