I wouldn't go through an agent who charges again. I did it once 9 years ago and I was charged over £200, it's a complete rip off.
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Quick question for the Landlords/tenants on here
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Posted 4 months ago #
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if your agent charges tennents then i would and have done in the past approached people to go outwith agents.
"Plenty agencies up here in Aberdeen burn the candle at both ends - something i have never understood. "
try ALL agencys up here ..... absolutely does my head in looking for flats !- all my rentals have come off gumtree !
Posted 4 months ago # -
chap has come back saying no problems doing a credit check through me via visum !!
obviuosly got nowt to hide ??
Posted 4 months ago # -
just another thing about inventories.. do the tenants and myself both have to be there when i do it ??
I prepare the inventory in advance, and then invite the tenant to come round and overcheck it/agree/disagree before the tenancy agreement is signed. Pics are a good idea (printed in colour), but I'm never organised enough to do that.
Posted 4 months ago # -
renton - Member
chap has come back saying no problems doing a credit check through me via visum !!obviuosly got nowt to hide ??
Sounds good.
there are plenty of decent people about, and just because he has a decent amount of savings doesnt mean he should be happy paying an Agent £200 or similar for doing nothing ?
I would always rent direct if possible (as a tenant) as it saves me money, and i have direct access to the Landlord if there are problems, rather than the Agents office hours only.
but reckon asking for a good few months rent up front is a good idea
Posted 4 months ago # -
there are plenty of decent people about, and just because he has a decent amount of savings doesnt mean he should be happy paying an Agent £200 or similar for doing nothing ?
Exactly, he probably has a decent savings BECAUSE he doesn't hand his money over when he knows being ripped off.
Posted 4 months ago # -
No you dont need to be there to both go through the inventory. Again you can get plenty of help on line on how to do inventory's etc.
Ideally be there together, gives you an idea of the person and how they treat things. If you cant, create the inventory sign it yourself and then give them a copy and ask them to check and sign it too. I even went in to stuff like how clean the carpets were (with photos) You keep a copy each.
To be honest I also looked at their reaction when they entered the house. ie did they take their shoes off or not?
I kind of agree with Elfin here. Dont rent your house out without researching the thing properly first, quite clearly the OP is not fully prepared for the pros and cons of letting before embarking on it, and to argue you dont have time now is just woeful.
Posted 4 months ago # -
ie did they take their shoes off or not?
WTF? Unless there is a cultural reason, how many people take their shoes off before entering the house?I kind of agree with Elfin here
Posted 4 months ago # -
worth noting he says hes off back to afghanistan soon
who will look after the house when your away ?
Posted 4 months ago # -
It's a business, isn't it? If it's not just to make a tidy profit, what is it?
I know you're trolling, but what the hey.
Me and the wife are renting our flat out while we're travelling. We charge just enough to cover mortgage, landlord insurance and whatever tax will be due for the additional income. £0 profit with the bonus of our home not being empty while we are abroad, and being able to provide two friends with nice accommodation at a significantly better price than their previous.
Now, care to explain where the "business" is here, Don Simon?Posted 4 months ago # -
I do not understand why you would even consider continuing to use that agent - after the poor service they have given you
I am quite happy to get tenets from gumtree and do my own checks on them.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I know you're trolling, but what the hey.
Someone has a different point of view from me which I'm finding difficult to understand so I'll call them a troll. That's a good one.
Now, care to explain where the "business" is here, Don Simon?
Is a service or good being charged for? What is it if it isn't a business? Your case would also appear different from the OPs as you're doing someone a favour. I would question your relationship when something breaks and a 2k bill enters the equation. Will you hold the same POV?Posted 4 months ago # -
"WTF? Unless there is a cultural reason, how many people take their shoes off before entering the house?"
You could say its stupid, I dont think so, but I had 3 tennants look round my property. 1 Just wasnt right, another couple walked in and didnt take their shoes of (nice cream carpets etc) ie shows they didnt care. The 3rd who I let it out to took his shoes off, which to me showed respect for the house.
OK whether he did that or not in future, well probably not, but at least it showed a bit of insight.
Posted 4 months ago # -
on that note - why in gods name do land lords insist on cream for carpets ..... (bedrooms not as bad but the rest of the house ffs)
i take my shoes off when i enter a house.
Posted 4 months ago # -
You could say its stupid, I dont think so, but I had 3 tennants look round my property. 1 Just wasnt right, another couple walked in and didnt take their shoes of (nice cream carpets etc) ie shows they didnt care. The 3rd who I let it out to took his shoes off, which to me showed respect for the house.
This is one of the aspects of looking at it as a business, and of course the management has the right to refuse entry, in that as soon as you enter the rental market you give over ownership to the tenant. The question "would you behave like that in your own home?" springs to mind, and the answer has to be "yes" if I'm paying the rent it becomes my home. It is a double edged sword in that the tenant has a responsibility to look after and not damage the property but the landlord has to respect thaty it is also someone's home and can not dictate how they live their lives.
How can you NOT treat the exchange of money for a good or service as anything other than a business? Mate's rates or not. And if you don't treat it like a business, you are going to have problems. If you want to put cream carpet down factor in both the cleaning and replacement costs into the rent as it will cost more to maintain than a solid wood floor. If you want to keep the rental cost competitive, reduce your costs. It's a business, treat it like a business.
EDIT: And just to qualify things I used to be a landlord.Posted 4 months ago # -
Trail rat - Both houses were properties I used to live in, so the carpets were what I had in before. If I was buying a property to let out only, cream carpets wouldnt be my first choice.
Don - Just seen your lat post. I agree with what you are saying, however Renton isn't coming at it from that angle, like me it was his home/may well be his home in future, you DO look at it differently. Where Renton is going wrong is that he thinks its a walk in park and that everything will be spoon fed to him.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Funkydunc you couldn't be further from the truth.
I dont think its a walk in the park, why do you think im on here asking questions all the time.
not expecting anything to be spoon fed to me either, I just want to make sure I do the right thing by me an my family and also my prospective tenants.
I think you are bang out of order for that comment mate.
Posted 4 months ago # -
Renton, have you told him you are out of area soon ? Make sure he understands there will be property check performed by someone while you are away.
Posted 4 months ago # -
There's a difference between running an organisation "like a business" for the organisation's own profit and running an organisation "like a business" to raise money for charitable purposes.
To go back to the post regarding ONCE, why shouldn't a charity run themselves like a business, it makes them a more effective charity does it not? It is what is done with the profits that really count.
Anyway, with profit being the differences between monies raised / earned and the total costs of running that business, any organisation (charity or otherwise) that does not raise more than it spends isn't very effective is it!?
Posted 4 months ago # -
Ignoring that argument going on up there ----^
I'd never pay an estate agents fee again if I could avoid it, it was the ongoing £50 every year to draw up new contracts etc that really got me riled. Curent agents an exception as the fee was small and work was reimbursing it.
I used to pay my rent in big chunks by prior arangement with the landlord as and when I had the money, so it'd be 3 months up front, then the 4th might be late, but I'd pay up for the next few months, so on ballance it was generaly early. Once I paid a full 12months in advance as I had the money and the savings rate wasn't worth the bother.
Posted 4 months ago # -
I used to pay my rent in big chunks by prior arangement with the landlord as and when I had the money, so it'd be 3 months up front, then the 4th might be late, but I'd pay up for the next few months, so on ballance it was generaly early. Once I paid a full 12months in advance as I had the money and the savings rate wasn't worth the bother.
Which absolutely fine if agreed with the landlord. I would have to take a different stance if the landlord needed the money to pay the mortgage as you'd now be screwing with his cash flow and, again, I'd have to assume the bank wouldn't be so flexible.Posted 4 months ago # -
Renton - Apologies if it came across a bit harsh, but before I even let out my house I had answered a lot of the questions you are asking as you go along.
I guess people deal with things differently, but because it was my family home I wanted to make sure it went right to start with and I had as much knowledge as I could before I started. Yes I know you can not predict if a tennant will be good or bad, but a lot of the other stuff you have asked over the last few weeks is things I would have certainly got sorted/asked well before renting out a house.
I hope it does work out for you and this time you get a good tennant.
Posted 4 months ago # -
FunkyDunc.. my apologies you are right in a way as to be honest i am finding it a bit of a minefield and not having much time to sort it isnt helping either.
so far I know Ineed the following.....
credit reference any tenants
correct tenancy agreement
inventory done and agreed and signed by both parties.
register deopisit in tds scheme
gas safe checks
energy performance paperwork.
cant think of anything else but please add to the list if i have missed anything.
Im also fully aware the tenants I have now might not and probably will not leave on time and i have explained this to the chap enquiring about the house.
off to join the NLA now too!
cheers
steve
Posted 4 months ago #
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