Successfully letting a property yourself can be a difficult task, but by using a professional letting agent you reduce the risk of something going wrong. Amongst other things, they have the legal aspects covered, i.e. Gas Safety Certificates, EPC, Right to Rent and will take care of a tenants deposit using a registered deposit protection scheme, removing all of the stress and hassle from you.
Many people think that using an agent is a ‘waste of money’ and ‘I can do it myself’. Believe it or not, using an agent is not as expensive as people think and whilst paying for the service, you are also paying for someone to take care of everything for you. Can you really put a price on that?
A professional letting agent will give both a realistic view of the market and an expected average monthly rent for your property. They can offer simple ideas to make your property more marketable, and will use professional photography and floorplans to help attract the best tenants.
Once the tenants are in situ, the agent will take care of any inspections (to ensure your property is being looked after properly) and any gas safety checks (to keep the tenant safe and to ensure you’re not breaking any laws). The agent will also take care of maintenance issues that arise and will be the go between you and the contractor for authorisation of work to be carried out, and also you and the tenant to make sure that the work can be carried out in the property. They will also help to minimise any problems with tenants not paying their rent on time, and will take all the hassle of chasing tenants for payment away from you.
These are just a few of the integral tasks carried out by an agent, and just by doing the things listed here, you can see why an agents fees are great value!
