Letting agents are a waste of money!

Complaints about letting agents have rocketed over the past year, and are expected to jump again in 2010. Here's why hiring one is a waste of money!
In his report on his workload for 2009, the Property Ombudsman revealed that complaints about the performance of letting agents had skyrocketed, to the point that the issue represented just shy of half of his time, compared to a little over a quarter in 2008.
And it’s not like this is just a blip – the Ombudsman reckons things are going to get even worse, with letting agent complaints representing 75% of his work in 2010. Just what is going on with letting agents?
What does a letting agent do?
First up, it’s probably a good idea to take a moment to look at exactly what a letting agent actually does.
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As the name suggests, a letting agent is basically the rental version of an estate agent – instead of finding someone to buy your home, they instead find tenants to rent your property from you.
The agent can then play a role in the negotiating with the tenant, as well as sorting out the tenancy document. You can opt for the letting agent to act as a manager for the property, which is particularly useful if you live a long way away, while a number of other ancillary services, such as tenant vetting and inventory checks (basically ensuring that the property looks the same at the end of the tenancy as at the beginning) may also be on offer.
- Watch this video: Three top tips for wannabe landlords
It’s all the credit crunch’s fault!
A big factor in the jump in disputes involving letting agents is of course our old friend, the credit crunch. When the crunch really started to... well, crunch, the mortgage market fell off a cliff. And in two significant ways this affected the rental market, and the world of letting agents.
Related blog post
- John Fitzsimons writes:
Should you use an estate agent?
When the time comes to sell your property, should you rely on an estate agent or do it yourself?
Read this post
For starters, many homeowners who wanted to sell were no longer able to (or no longer wanted to with house prices plummeting) and so decided to rent until the market picked up again, becoming ‘accidental’ landlords in the process.
And as they couldn’t sell anything, many estate agents moved into lettings as well. As a result, the size of this market, and the number of individuals involved, jumped rapidly.
- Read this blog: Should you use an estate agent?
What are they doing wrong?
So let’s take a look at exactly what people are complaining about to the Ombudsman.
Top of the complaints tree is maladministration, with 451 separate complaints, followed by management failure (281) and rent (203), while issues surrounding commission fees and deposits also rank highly.
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Become a buy-to-let landlord
How to pick the right property, get the right mortgage, take out the right insurance, choose the right letting agent and most importantly, unravel all that red tape!
See the guideAnother area of concern surrounds renewal fees, a topic which even reached the High Court earlier this year thanks to clauses surrounding fees that letting agent Foxtons had hidden within the small print of their contracts. The Ombudsman highlights that it should be common practice for agents to not only be clear about their charges to the landlords they work with, but should also explicitly remind the landlord of the fees when the time comes for renewal of contracts.
The clear message throughout the report is that communication between letting agents, tenants and landlords is not up to scratch. Too often the tenancy agreements and terms of business agreements are just not clear enough.
In the words of the Ombudsman: “It is the agent’s job to ensure that all parties are fully advised.” Clearly, too many are not fulfilling their end of the deal.
- Adopt this goal: Become a buy-to-let landlord
What’s the answer?
One way to improve the service provided by letting agents is to introduce wholescale regulation, according to the Ombudsman.
Recent question on this topic
- dammy asks:
I have a 2 bedroom flat to let but I don't want to use letting agents because their asking price is ridiculous.
- liesarenocomfort answered "If you are talking about simply finding a tenant I would still use an agent (you don't have to use..."
- Donna Werbner answered "Have you considered 'home emergency cover' for..."
- Read more answers
While the Ombudsman operates his own code of practice, which many agents have signed up to, there remain a number of agents who are basically operating against their own interpretation of what they should and should not be doing.
There is a clear contrast here with estate agents, who are required by law to sign up to some form of redress scheme. The Ombudsman has called on whoever wins the next election to turn to proper legislation to help protect those who use letting agents.
While this makes sense to me, I can’t help feeling that turning to regulation and bureaucracy always seems to be the ‘go to’ answer for any problems with the property market, and particularly the rental market.
- Got a question about letting agents? Ask other lovemoeny.commembers usingQ&A
What are the alternatives?
One good alternative to lettings agents that we like here at lovemoney.com is home emergency cover for landlords. This covers you for emergency repairs to your electrical system, heating or hot water supply, plumbing and drainage problems, gutters and downpipes, security and glazing, roofing and pest contamination, up to a set amount (usually £300 to £500) per claim.
It should also provide you with an emergency locksmith if the tenant gets locked out. And the tenant can contact the repairs provider directly.
Best of all, the policy can cost as little as £20 a year. Read The best £20 you'll ever spend for more details.
Should you use a letting agent?
In the end, only you can decide for yourself whether a letting agent makes sense for you. If you live a long distance from your rental property, then you may prefer not to take the risk that you'd need to suddenly get involved with the letting.
However, if that’s not the case there is certainly an argument to be made for ignoring agents altogether. Is it worth paying out a fee, hundreds of pounds in some cases, for finding a tenant? Can you not do that yourself? Undoubtedly it will be a pain in that you will have to interview all of the tenants and handle the legalities on your own, but it will save you a bit of money. Plus, you can credit-check them yourself using a tenant checking service - it will cost you less than £10.
Alternatively, you might opt to only use the letting agent for finding that tenant but take a hands-on approach to the running of the property, perhaps with the benefit of home emergency cover for landlords (if I were a landlord this is probably the model I would look to adopt).
It will all come down to just how much time and money you want to devote to your rental home, but if you do use a letting agent, I’d recommend doing some serious research on their previous performance, and would suggest sticking to those that are members of a professional body, such as the Association of Residential Letting Agents.
Should you choose the wrong letting agent, they most certainly will end up being both a colossal waste of money and a massive headache.
More: The return of sub-prime mortgages | Build your dream home for less!
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Comments
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What about online letting agents? I am totally biased of course, as I run The Online Letting Agents (co.uk). It's a really viable alternative to high street agents. You get your property listed on the main websites, such as rightmove and zoopla. Tenant leads are sent through to you. Prospective tenants are reference checked and you get a bespoke contract. The best thing for landlords who aren't keen on high street agents is that it ticks pretty well all of the boxes - it's cost effective (we charge £59+vat), gets you tenants, and you stay in control the whole time. What more could you ask for?
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I am a landlady for just under 10 years and I have to agree that it is better to do it yourself. However I don't always find it easy finding tenants myself , so I do end up using estate agents, but there after I manage it all myself. I've used the same agent for the last 6 yrs and don't pay inventory and use my own tenancy agreement which is actually a copy of their agreement from the previous yrs, which they're well aware of. Cheeky? No, charging me for a piece of legal paper that I know I can get for free is cheeky. One of my properties I have had for 8 yrs with 2 different tenants who've been great. Longterm tenants are the best. They look after the property and if there are any problems ( not often at all), then I sort it out in a flash, either myself or tradsemen I have on call. My other property I decided to try out another agent for the first time and haggled the fee down from £450 to £350, and all they did was to bring tenants in, didn't give me an inventory and the tenancy agreeement was included in the price. However I did an inventory with the new tenants. I can see how agents can make their money, as particularly with this new type of agent- self employed. They don't have a real office, use their own cars
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I am a landlord of over 20 properties. Have been a landlord for 10 years and have never used letting agents. 1. It is your property , why are you trusting someone else to run it for you when all they care about is making money 2. I have friends who are Landlords some use them, they have said they have repaired things and charged good money. The ladlord visited the property and nothing has been repaired. 3. it is no hassle doing it yourself, it costs under £20 to place an add in a local paper and after meeting a few people you will know who you want in there and who you dont. ask for references etc. Thats all letting agents carry out 4. they carry out ridiculous checks which is just a money spinner and puts potential tenant off. Vetting fees £200+ that is before any other fees. Honestly save your money do it your self, as the saying goes, if you want a job well done do it yourself. Also it is much better to deal with tenants directly as there is no mis communication, and it is the personal touch everyone knows where they are and there is no hidden charges or fees. Also get to know some good local reputable tradesman and negotiate prices for regular work. you would be suprised of how much some work is to complete and minor things you could even do yourself. it is easy !
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01 April 2014