Updating post from Reddit.
First-time landlord here. I have a flat at the edge of zone 1/2 in London, rent will be around £2000-2200. The letting agency fee for a fully managed let seem to be about 20% inc VAT in my area.
I've been researching a fair bit, and I'm thinking about doing the tenant find/referencing/contract etc myself through Openrent. I have time to organise some viewings, should be able to tailor the contract through OpenRent, and am happy to sort all certificates etc. I'm not sure what value the Letting Agent would add?
Secondly, I am going to be travelling for work in the next year, so I 100% want to outsource the management side of it as I won't be available to pick up phones, sort out lost keys or find local tradespeople in the middle of the night. This is the one non-negotiable for me; I'm aware that I'll pay a high premium for repairs, but to me this is worth the peace of mind. My local letting agent Chesterton's quoted me 7.2% inc VAT for this.
Anyone got any tips/experience doing it like this? Does this combination seem worth it or should I just shell out the 20% for a fully managed let?
Open rent management plus?
Yes, I've seen this, but it feels relatively new? It's hard to get a sense of whether their local network of tradesmen is any good/whether they're actually responsive. Whereas the letting agent I've been looking at manages several properties on my road.
It's not new - years ago Openrent used to do to this same service without limits and it was good. Then they withdrew it.
They've clearly had issues (maybe it wasn't making money, maybe they lost the contract with their main provider) but have now come back to market with a lower price but limited service.
If I were you I would take Openrent and also a maintenance service from a company liek 24/7 rescue. Use openrent primarily (it will probably cover all your needs) and use 24/7 rescue when you have used up Openrent. Total cost probably £30-45pm. A lot better than 20%+ VAT every month plus a lot of agents just use a service like 24/7 home rescue but they do all the calling and arranging.....not worth it for hundreds every month (likely thousands every year)
Also for issues like lost keys some plans cover locksmiths.
What I also do is have a key drop box at each place that only I know the code to. If they lose keys I give them the code to the drop box.
Needs to be a solid boi like this one tho
https://www.safe.co.uk/products/ge-c500-police-approved-keysafe.html
I am assuming it will be something like British gas or home serve when it comes to tradesman
Check the Openrent terms, I recall it being up to three call outs. May have changed.
If it is only three calls outs maybe get some separate landlord maintenance which the tenants can call directly (to cover gas, elecs, boiler, pests, etc)
In my experience as a tenant, London letting agents are awful. They do not give a toss about your, your income, or your property and they DO NOT have reputable tradesmen. My letting agent has a god awful handy man for general things and anything requiring a professional they use this check a trade type system, I forget what it was called. So long as your flat isn’t falling apart you’ll probably have just a couple of issues to deal with a year. Just pay a bit more to hire reputable professional for these and you’ll be saving yourself literally thousands of pounds a year.
Stirling Ackroyd btw, if you do chose to have an agent avoid these guys like the plague.
I’ll manage it for you! I run a property management service called honest homes.co.uk! Check us out :):) we are based in Hackney though.
I will just add a suggestion to be extra careful with your referencing using OpenRent. Prospective tenants who know they won't pass agent referencing and questions tend to go through OpenRent in the hope that they'll get a more sympathetic hearing dealing direct with landlords.
Not to say some of these people might not become good tenants, but just so you are aware.