I inherited a small house when my mum died a few years ago and for one reason and another can’t live there, but equally don’t want to sell it. So, I rent it out. I’m telling you this so you don’t think I’m some sort of loaded scumbag landlord. Anyway, on with the rant.

My current tenant, who is a friend, is moving out at the end of August. I’m not around to deal with re-letting it so I’ve instructed an estate agent to take care of everything.

My current tenant told me that a chap has been round to see it, loved it, and offered six months rent in advance to secure the property. I spoke to this chap and he confirmed, but said the estate agent had told him the owner (i.e. me) wasn’t interested in his offer.

Now, in reality, I heard nothing about this from the agent at all. In fact, I just had a voicemail from them saying no-one had expressed interest yet, but there’s three more viewings booked for next week.

WTF!?

bombers

WTF!?

expect a lower offer from the Estate Agent’s mate some time next week.

Well could there be some legal action here? Supposed to act as an agent for you and that’s a legal thing.

http://www.hg.org/agency-law.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_agency

a duty to avoid conflict of interest between the interests of the principal and his own (that is, the agent cannot engage in conduct where stands to gain a benefit for himself to the detriment of the principal).

Confront the agent. Ask him/her WTF he/she is playing at. Don’t be an arse about it though, an if this one falls through then you may need the agent on your side.

Confront the agent. Ask him/her WTF he/she is playing at. Don’t be an arse about it though, an if this one falls through then you may need the agent on your side.

Yes, I’m planning on having a bit of a word. Unfortunately they aren’t answering their phone this afternoon…

Well could there be some legal action here? Supposed to act as an agent for you and that’s a legal thing.

http://www.hg.org/agency-law.html

Good to know if it turns sour. I wonder if anything similar applies in the UK? I suspect not given how estate agents seem to have carte blanche to piss people about.

expect a lower offer from the Estate Agent’s mate some time next week.

Ha! Quite.

secure that tenant via another estate agent or yourself or Stop answering their calls – that will get there attention 😉

No point challenging them IMHO as you will still need to pay them i assume and you cannot really want to have to deal with them on a long term basis

Best best is some way that you get free of them IMHO

Contact the person direct and arrange for them to rent your flat. No agency fees and if questioned you say ‘where was the offer’?

Contact the person direct and arrange for them to rent your flat. No agency fees and if questioned you say ‘where was the offer’?

I like your thinking 8)

Grrrrrrrr, bloody estate agents and, yes, you have my sympathy.

I’ve been waiting since mid-morning on a call from the manager of my estate agent’s office. I do believe he may be rather frightened of me as I stated that nobody else there could help except him. He must know he’s due a bollocking. 😐

“Yes of course you can manage my letting, I assume the fees for this year will be reduced by 80% if you wish to keep my business”

That’s excatly what I would do, sign up a deal with a bit of a kickback for the tenant for being nice. If the EA gets arsey about then you are well entitled to say “But you told me there were no offers and no interest. So pick one”.

The estate agent for the property I am buying won’t speak to me anymore because I’m asking her to do things that will annoy her client. All I needed was a quick phone call to negotiate a reduction because the house needs rewiring, apparently that’s not her job!

I’m now in direct contact with the owner so I never have to speak to the complete imbecile ever again.
IME all estate agents are completely useless pieces of shit.

I’ve been waiting since mid-morning on a call from the manager of my estate agent’s office. I do believe he may be rather frightened of me as I stated that nobody else there could help except him. He must know he’s due a bollocking.

Haha. Are you buying, selling, renting or letting? I wonder if it makes a difference on the level of service?

As tempted as I am by the giving someone a b0ll0cking approach, I think I’m going to ignore the estate agents and give Vince a call (the would-be tenant who *didn’t* make an offer) to come to a private agreement.

Worst case scenario: I’ve just checked the document I signed and it says

“Withdrawal: a fee of £50 will be charged in the event of an instruction being terminated once marketing has commenced”

We just let a place through openrent, for £90 including tennant references, local EA’s wanted at least 10% to do the same.
I think rental estate agents are going to feel the pain sooner rather than later as they have an awful and probably deserved rep

Contact the person direct and arrange for them to rent your flat. No agency fees and if questioned you say ‘where was the offer’?

This.

“Withdrawal: a fee of £50 will be charged in the event of an instruction being terminated once marketing has commenced”

A small price to pay.

“Withdrawal: a fee of £50 will be charged in the event of an instruction being terminated once marketing has commenced”

A small price to pay.

Not if you don’t pay it. Contract’s already been breached by them.

Maybe the prospective tenant was a known nightmare and the agent wouldn’t touch him with a bargepole.

You may be right Big John, but isn’t it everyone’s interest to tell the owner. Saying ‘We binned Mr Chavvy Scrote because we know he’s a nightmare’. It would show they care and avoid the bad feeling shown here.

Well, I’ve agreed a private let and got a month’s rent as a holding deposit in my bank account already while I sort a contract out. Incidentally, not with Vince, BigJohn’s hypothetical nightmare tenant, but a lovely couple who have the seal of approval from my existing tenant. Another offer the estate agent failed to relay. Honestly! The bloke is a gardener, which sealed the deal for me. I have a reference from their current landlord too.

So, good advice STW, thanks 🙂

I’ll tell the estate agent to do one on Monday morning.

So they left it up to the existing tenant to show people around?
That’s service beyond…
I think you should return his deposit for that!

So they left it up to the existing tenant to show people around?
That’s service beyond…
I think you should return his deposit for that!

I know, I found out after a week or two of it being on the market when Angie (current tenant) said “I’ve got three viewings this morning, I’m exhausted.” I was straight onto the EA at that point to tell them it seriously wasn’t on.

Angie’s assessment when I told her I’d agreed a private let earlier this evening. “Good. [The EA] were sh*t.” Ha. Don’t worry, I’ll be buying her some chocolate and flowers when she departs.

A finger of fudge always goes down well.

I’d be wondering why the chap who is keen felt the need to offer 6 months rent upfront? Have they got no reference? Do they have a bad reference? Do they have a regular job?

I know of someone who took on a tenant despite the warning signs of no reference and they totalled the house.

Maybe the agent is doing you a favour, either by accident or by design.

IME all estate agents are completely useless pieces of shit.

I’m really struggling to find any justification for that profession/industry. I don’t know anyone who’s had positive dealigs with anu EAs, whether rentingor buying/selling. If people actually took the time to find out the ins and outs of what is actualy a pretty bloody massive personal financial situation, rather than relying on shysters, then EAs would cease to exist. And the word would b a better place. Why can’t ISIS dclare a fatwah against Foxtons?

I am thinking of moving house for the first time so need to sell my house and buy another. Mine isn’t expensive but with an expected EA fee of £1500+ I am seriously considering looking at other options to sell my house.

I am seriously considering looking at other options to sell my house

If I were selling now, I’d take my own photos, draw my own floor plan and find the cheapest way of getting onto rightmove/zoopla

Imagine how soul destroying it must be to actually be a letting agent.

Knowing that you have, literally, one of the most pointless and worthless jobs in the world.

And knowing that almost everyone hates your guts to boot.

Look for online agents, we just bought and the seller used house network. Think it cost them in the region of £500 and it’s all done through a call centre so no scummy spivs in cheap suits to deal with

Imagine how soul destroying it must be to actually be a letting agent.

Knowing that you have, literally, one of the most pointless and worthless jobs in the world.

And knowing that almost everyone hates your guts to boot.

Quite – if you had any self-respect or talent, you’d work in almost any other job you could find, surely… which suggests the only people available to work in EA/Lettings are either massively incompetent/unemployable, of very low IQ or massively lacking in self-respect…

But then again I work in Marketing, so what do I know? 😀

OK chaps, I’m going to disagree with the statement that all estate agents are useless. One that I used to sell a property was very pro-active and professional.

If they were in the area that I’m in now I would not hesitate to use them again.

Still no call from the manager of EA that we’re using to sell a property, it’s just more ammunition to back up my complaint that they don’t communicate with each other, let alone communicate with me.

Yep I’ve been lucky with agents, I have found the nicer the area the nicer(more honest) the agents though. I think over time the way we do this will require less use of agents – already many sell using the internet but at the moment many buyers do buy through places on the high street so that’s worth something. The more expensive the property the bigger the savings possible using the fixed price internet guys.

You cannot defend the indefensible.

My current tenant told me that a chap has been round to see it, loved it, and offered six months rent in advance to secure the property.

Big Alarm Bells right there…

Not saying it’s the case but it’s the MO for some less than desirable tenants who can be engaged in the illegal horticulture trade (pay the rent turn it into a weed farm inside never pay a bill disappear 5 months in) Don’t scrimp on the proper checks etc. and make sure you have regular inspections lined up (After 1 months then 3 monthly).

It’s also the MO for someone who is self employed, just sold a house after a relationship split, and has never rented before due to owning a house for years.

That’s exactly why I’ve offered six months rent up front in the past.

Nobody to give a landlord reference, and nobody to give an employment reference.

(I’m also not a weed farmer)

Yes but I’d be looking to ask a few more questions and I’m sure you would be happy to answer them as you are coming from the position of weakness. Had some nightmare tenants who paid up front to avoid the Credit Check (estate agent thought that was a great idea) trashed the place and didn’t pay a single bill in the time they were there (as they had no money and debts everywhere)

Yes but I’d be looking to ask a few more questions and I’m sure you would be happy to answer them

Of course I would.

as you are coming from the position of weakness.

I’ve never thought of the ability to pay 6 months or a years rent in advance as a position of weakness, and neither have the landlords that have gladly accepted it instead of references.

True, but having seen some stuff going on and being burned by tenants in the past I’d always be asking why someone wants to deviate from the norm and be looking for all the same checks.
By position of weakness I mean having no house reference, and no employment reference. Which are 2 things that are available to give some further info into the tennant.
It would be nice to be trusting and think that all people were honest etc. but thats the quickest way to get screwed over.

Oops:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9251486/Couple-discover-tenants-turned-their-home-into-cannabis-factory.html