When you are a property landlord with investments that you do not want to manage and look after on a daily basis by yourself, you will need to use a letting agent to manage the property and tenants on your behalf.
A letting agent should be professional and reliable and enable you to rent out your investment property securely to a suitable tenant, as well as helping you achieve the best possible rent.
With so many large property letting agent chains popping up across the UK to match the demand in rental properties, there is a lot of choice out their for investment landlords. It is easy to get swept up with offers and cheap deals but this can often end in disaster with the wrong tenant not being property vetted and ending up living within your investment property.
Here are some of our top tips to help you chose the right property letting agent for you
1. Registered to professional organisations
Ideally your property letting agent should be a member of a professional organisation such as ARLA Propertymark, The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) or the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).
2. Member of a Property Redress Scheme
This is something that is mandatory, required by law and non-negotiable. They should display their scheme logo on their website and communications and you can check the redress scheme website member catalogue to check they are being honest.
3. Transparency
All property letting agents should be clear and transparent about all of their fees upfront so you understand exactly what you are paying for and when. There should be no hidden fees and no money should be taken from you without your permission or knowledge.
4. Recommendation
Always consider a property letting agent who has been recommended to you. Do not just pick the cheapest option. There is such a large number of property letting agents to chose from now all across the UK and competition is fierce. It would always be advisable to consider a property letting agent who has been around for sometime, comes recommended and has build a reliable name for themselves and their business.
5. Location
It may seem obvious but make sure you are using an agent who is in the same town or city as your investment property. If they are not local, they will not know the area well or what rent you should be achieving or the type of tenants you would be looking to rent out your investment property.
6. Client Money Protection
Property Letting agents will always handle deposits, rents and maintenance monies. Landlords and tenants need to be certain that the money is safe and that no-one can disappear with it. A reputable and professional letting agency will be able to demonstrate that it belongs to a Client Money Protection scheme. As a general rule, all landlord and tenant money should be held in a Client Account, separate from the letting agent’s general bank account. You are well within your rights to ask them if this exists.
7. Paperwork and Referencing
Property letting agents will manage all the paperwork for you including all tenancy agreements. These should be reviewed with you and you are allowed to edit them if you wish as you are the owner and landlord of the investment property. Property Tenants come in all shapes and sizes. The property letting agent must carry out credit checks on new tenants, referencing, confirm they have the right to reside and work in the UK and much more. This is all to ensure you have an appropriate in your property and that.