Zoomf Blog - UK Property Blog.

There was an interesting piece in The Observer yesterday, where Oscar-winning John Battsek talks about his beyond unsatisfactory dealings with a certain mini-driving letting agent. Forget the fact that he missed out on a rental income to the tune of a few thousand pounds, his gripe is that he feels he was completely hustled by supposed ‘experts’.

John had never let out a property before and having been talked the talk by the local agent, and having received a healthy (realistically overinflated) rental valuation, he saw no reason not to list with Agent X. Although he was assured the market was as strong as ever, his property lay tenantless, managers wouldn’t answer his calls and viewings were scarce. I won’t name names when it comes to which agents did what, you’ll have to click through to the article for the juicy details, but you can probably make a fairly educated guess as to which agent was excited to get him on the books and then failed to ever deliver a tenant.

If you’re thinking of letting out a property, how can you avoid falling into the hands of misleading agents?

Well, a good place to start would be the fantastic list of questions that Which? have compiled. They recommend you visit at least three agents and understand all their fees and charges before you committ to anything and if they can’t answer all your questions satisfactorily, don’t list with them. Not everyone’s out to hustle you, you will find a decent letting agent if you do your homework.

What to ask:

· How many similar properties do you have to let?

· How many are not being let now?

· How long does it usually take from advertising to getting a tenant?

· Is anyone currently looking for my sort of property?

· What qualifications do your staff have in letting?

· Are you in a trade association? If not, why not?

· How are disputes between owners and agents settled?

· What happens about repairs in the home?

· If the agency handles repairs, am I charged cost price, or with a mark-up?