[JandM]

Can anyone share any good or bad experiences of letting out their UK property through agents? I'm just getting into the process of wondering who to approach.

[watshea]

Hi J and M.
We own several properties and have used agents for some of them although we are still in the U.K. If and when we move to NZ we would definitely get an agent to manage the lettings. We have found Martin and Co to be the most reasonable - they charge 10% of letting fee for full management. They are a nationwide company so there should be a branch near you. It is easy to manage yourself if tennants are good but find if they have direct access to you some tend to phone you at night just to change a lightbulb! If you leave it in relatives hands they may be hassled. One thing I would say is don't allow the letting agency do your inventory as some charge £100 plus. I have copies of inventories and contracts if you decide to go it alone.
Regards, Heather.

[JandM]

Thanks for your input. Right now, I'm only at the beginning of getting to know all the things I'm going to need to understand. I want to make sure that if I talk to an agent when fact-gathering, it's not somebody that's not reputable or who's going to waste my time.

[Moorf]

I also let a property in UK while in NZ. (now sold)

I would also recommend using an agency... they can also look after your tax responsibilities as an Overseas Landlord and you can authorise them to deal with repairs/problems up to an amount specified by yourself so you're not bothered by dripping taps and lightbulbs.

I used Leaders as they were a reputed agency in Sussex but they also cover other UK areas.

http://www.leaders.co.uk/

My parents were authorised to make decisions on my behalf in the case of emergencies and were their local contact.

[Sam B]

I have used 3 agencies - 1 in Cornwall and 2 in Nottingham - all small local firms. 2 are brilliant and 1 was utterly utterly abysmal, I don't know how they stay in business. They have cost me a lot of money as the property was empty for a long time under them. They are the only agency I didn't choose for myself, because the owner was a friend of my Dad, so my dad chose them for me. Other than that, I have found small local agencies to be very good, and I have chosen by going in and meeting the head of property management and seeing if I like them, how on the ball they are etc. This method has worked well, and the agency I use now are very good. They did not charge for the inventory either. I also found that I was able to haggle for cheaper rates for 6 months and free advertising etc.

[Pip]

Hi,

we used Chancellors who are nationwide, as we had a good experience when we had rented through them previously. However being on the other side of the fence as a landlord has been a bit of a nightmare, very steep management fees (when we had to do everything anyway), departments that don't communicate with each other - steep inventory charges, incorrect details on leases - it goes on. In fact we are so frustrated, that we have decided to sell because it was creating so many headaches for us. Even though our tenants moved out over two months ago and we refunded their deposit in full and told Chancellors we were selling the property, Chancellors are still holding a signifigant chunk of cash "in reserve", we are still trying to find out " in reserve for what"

I think a small friendly firm is probably easier to deal with than a large organisation which has different departments for repairs, deposits, contracts etc etc.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[JandM]

Thank you all for the info.

[The Hodges]

We let our property in the UK and use an agent which we are really pleased with. When any problems arise or bills to sort out they do it all for us. We chose a smaller agency but they have had no trouble finding tenants for us the longest we have been without tenants is just over a month and that was at Christmas time which is a quiet time of year for letting.

[aberdian]

We use Grant Management in Scotland after recommendations from a friend. They'll even source and renovate properties for you.....