important guidelines for selecting good letting agents in the uk

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Page 1: Important guidelines for selecting good letting agents in the uk

Important Guidelines for

Selecting Good Letting

Agents in the UK

There are many landlords in the UK who feel that a

letting agent is absolutely necessary. While, there are

others who would manage their affairs on their own. There are quite a few landlords who would also

entrust their homes or properties to real estate agencies. There are several important aspects that you

will have to consider before you choose letting agents in Wakefield or any other area in the UK. First and

foremost, you will have to see what services are being offered by the letting agents. Then, you will have

to see which services you will need the most.

The most comprehensive service offered by letting agents in the UK are generally termed as ‘full

management’ services. With these services, you don’t have to move an inch—the letting agent will do

everything on your behalf. One thing to be noted here is that you will have to pay a higher amount for

comprehensive services.

Full management generally encompasses searching for tenants, drawing up contracts, collection of rent

from the tenant, and dealing with issues such as repairs and maintenance. If the cost of letting agents

services is too high, then you can cut down on the services. For example, you can only ask the letting

agent to find the tenant and draw up the contract. The rest can be taken care by you. This is a good deal

if you are prepared to collect the rent on your own and also take care of the maintenance problems. It is

very important for you to understand the service fee structure of the letting agents in the UK.

There are two main ways in which estate agents milnthorpe are charging customers these days.

These two ways are: On a fixed fee basis or on a proportion of rent basis. Estate Agents in wakefield

generally charge customers on the percentage basis. This percentage needs to be mutually decided and

it would generally range between 8 to 10%.

If there is any estate agent who is charging a higher percentage, that is more than 12%, he or she needs

to be immediately discarded. If you are selecting the fixed mode of payment, then you will have to

negotiate very well with the letting agent. For simple tenant finding services, you can offer a flat rate to

the letting or estate agent in the UK. It is very important that you select a letting agent who is reputable

and fair. You can check out if the letting agent is attached to any trade associations. For example there

are three main trade associations in the UK that letting agents may sign up for.

These are the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), the Association of Residential Letting

Agents (ARLA), and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. When you get into a conversation with

a letting agent, you can ask if he or she is affiliated or a member of the aforementioned associations. If

yes, then you can easily do a background check on the letting agent by using references.