It is not necessary for all landlords to have a letting agent. With that said, if you don’t have the experience to handle your entire real estate portfolio, then it is best to hire one.
The great thing about a letting agent such as Kariba Properties is that they can assist by managing your properties, and tenants and even help you to get new tenants. They can handle just about everything so that you don’t have to lift a finger. In this way, you can set and almost forget about your real estate investment.
What services do letting agents provide landlords?
Now, the first thing you need to do is figure out what you require from a letting agent.
The most typical reason landlords hire letting agents is to find the best tenants. A lot of tenants get registered with various letting agents so that they could find a good rental home. This means that once you have a letting agent, you’ll always have fresh tenants ready to occupy your rental property.
Next, you can hire a letting agent to collect rent from your tenants on your behalf. This is a great option if you’re located overseas.
Letting agents typically have a fully managed service. This service enables them to do all the things that a landlord can do or has to do such as manage tenants, collect rent, maintain the property, etc.
Are landlords not responsible once a letting agent is hired?
No, this is not true and landlords still have full responsibility.
Even though the letting agent can provide advice and assistance, the landlord is ultimately responsible according to the law. If you hire a letting agent, they will only do the things that you instruct them to do that fall within their offered services.
Check out the rates for local letting agents
Letting agents are free to charge whatever they wish, however, this fee is typically based on the current market. If there are many letting agents in a particular location, then you can expect competitive fees. So, you should definitely check a couple of agents so that you can get the best price. With that said, you should be cautious of any letting agent that charges an extremely low price while offering top-tier service. In most cases, they will cut corners on the job in order to increase their profits. This can undoubtedly have a negative effect on you and your investment.
Are letting agents part of a regulatory body?
In the past, letting agents had free reign and could have done as they wished. Unfortunately, this caused many tenants and landlords to suffer and get taken advantage of. These dishonorable letting agents would charge their clients and then disappear without fulfilling their side of the deal.
Fortunately, times have changed, and letting agents need to be a part of a redress scheme. These bodies ensure that each agent is fully accountable and help to fix problems between agents and landlords. Any letting agent that is not a part of a redress scheme can be charged as much as £5,00 by the local council.
High street and online letting agents
High street letting agents are the original agents and they continue to exist. However, there are now more online letting agents that are gaining ground over high street agents.
When you look at these two types of letting agents, there isn’t much of a difference. The online letting agents simply don’t have a physical office.
Proactivity
When you call a letting agent to find out about their services, you should take note of how long they take to return your call or respond to you. If they take a long time, then you should likely avoid hiring them because they will likely offer slow service.
You should also try to avoid being persuaded by a smooth-talking agent. Charm doesn’t mean a thing if they don’t provide good quality service, cost you more than they should, have hidden fees or conditions, etc.