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Anyone taken on a tenant direct that they got through an agent?

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    Anyone taken on a tenant direct that they got through an agent?

    Tenant has just contacted me directly to see if they can renew direct.

    Ill need to look at my contract, but not sure if this might be a no go area.

    Agent has been crap and I've ended up having to sort out plumbers etc... myself.

    Is anyone renting out property direct? Any sites that they could recommend looking at?
    "Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch." - Orson Welles

    Norrahe's blog

    #2
    I have. Not sure what restrictions there might be in your agreement with the agency, but I just tend to use them to stick some pictures on Rightmove, show people round and for credit referencing. I organise my own plumbers etc anyway.

    Having had to go to the trouble of evicting people I know the agreement is barely worth the paper it's written on. If you've got someone in there who is decent, grab one of those lawpack thingies from the newsagents to add a veneer of officialness and hope for the best. You can always tell the agent you've let it to a friend to get them off your back. Except if they're holding the tenants deposit on your behalf, that might need a bit more thought.

    Is the intention to save on the agencies renewal 'admin' fees? I presume both landlord and tenant are liable to cop for these - they're getting a lot greedier than when I first started.

    Comment


      #3
      Just in the process of doing this myself. Tenant and I both agree that agent was tulip. However contract was ending with the tenants and agent, so spoke with agents and not been a problem (although they did try to reduce their commission and keep me on their books)

      join tenancy deposit scheme, get yourself an assured tenancy contract, do inventory check, setup direct payment and you should be good to go.

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        #4
        Agents usually charge either a one off fee for finding a tenant or a %age for managing the property. If they aren't actually managing it then tell them you don't want them managing it and diy. It's a lot of arse ache when you get them phoning up at all hours of the day and night cos the bog is blocked though.
        While you're waiting, read the free novel we sent you. It's a Spanish story about a guy named 'Manual.'

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          #5
          I hope that I don't get hit with admin fees on contract renewal, I'm paying these feckers for nowt.

          Tenants seem ok, it will be a pain to do inventory as I live abroad, but if it saves me £1500 a year in fees.

          Just need to check contract t&cs
          "Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch." - Orson Welles

          Norrahe's blog

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            #6
            I'd be inclined to write a formal complaint letter to them and say you're removing your property from their books.

            Make sure that you point out the deficiencies in their service that prompted your decision and send it registered post.

            If they try to claim some kind of fee call their bluff and tell them to take it to court, if they've not been supplying a service that's up to standard and you've documented the failures then a judge in chambers will have something to go on.

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              #7
              I am not too sure where you rent, but I believe you would have paid an introduction fee, or management fee. Either way, I believe after the initial period, there's no contract between the two of you anymore, nor rights on the agency.

              As it happen we had a tenant in through an agency, then they asked to go through us direct, and have been with us for the past 3 years (although I've just served notice). One thing I would advise, is to ensure you keep their deposit in the proper deposit place, as if they did piss you about, if you hold their deposit direct, they can piss you about a bit more and not be penalised through it e.g. if they stopped paying rent, I would have to go around the houses to get them out, but if they hold theit deposit in the scheme, it's easier.

              Something like that anyway.

              As an aside, one of our tenants called an electrician to change a light bulb once, then tried to charge me the £45; anyone any other interesting tenant stories?

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                #8
                What happens when their Boiler packs in at 15:00 christmas eve, where as it was the agents problem is that now your problem.

                My mate rented a house to some people direct, appeared to be a nice family, then they stopped paying the rent, then he found out they had been evicted before, then he discovered they had removed the doors from the upstairs cupboards and had used them to make a ferret hutch in the garden, anyway 2 and a half years later he managed to get them evicted again, the house was a shell

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                  #9
                  I've rented in the south east for a few years now and have been surprised that everyone uses agents.

                  They are costly for both parties and in every house (4 now) I've lived in, the agent doesn't manage the property either - its down to the landlord.

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                    #10
                    I'm lucky that I have direct contact with a good plumber and electrician, so that when things go wrong I can drop them an e-mail and they will liaise with the tenant.
                    "Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch." - Orson Welles

                    Norrahe's blog

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