Houses

[kenny]

52 minutes ago, JonnyBoy said:

Can anyone who has rented out a property enlighten me on their experience when choosing to do it self managed or through an estate agent? For peace of mind we are thinking of paying an estate agent for a managed service with the rent guarantee on top. They charge 12.5% fee for this. We don’t mind about not making a profit as long as someone else is paying the mortgage and we aren’t getting hassle then I think it will work well. Can always change after 6 months as well, would probably move to managing it ourselves in the future but we are new to this 

We use Carlton estate agents for ours. I think they charge £50 a month.

 

The best thing about it, is they have better access to tradesman when something is wrong than we do. Typically they get stuff repaired within a couple of days which is what we want for our tenants.

 

[JonnyBoy]

12 hours ago, kenny said:

We use Carlton estate agents for ours. I think they charge £50 a month.

 

The best thing about it, is they have better access to tradesman when something is wrong than we do. Typically they get stuff repaired within a couple of days which is what we want for our tenants.

 

 

Sounds good, £50 seems cheap? is that for fully managed? do you get a good price as you have multiple properties?

[kenny]

1 minute ago, JonnyBoy said:

 

Sounds good, £50 seems cheap? is that for fully managed? do you get a good price as you have multiple properties?

No idea, we only have the one!!

 

 

Just checked, its now £60+vat which is dead money when nothing goes wrong and invaluable when it does.

 

[JonnyBoy]

Just now, kenny said:

No idea, we only have the one!!

 

 

Just checked, its now £60+vat which is dead money when nothing goes wrong and invaluable when it does.

 

 

True, 12.5% with rent guarantee seems about right then, it is a one bed so will be about £85 a month and rather pay for peace of mind like you say. 

[Wolfox]

13 hours ago, JonnyBoy said:

Can anyone who has rented out a property enlighten me on their experience when choosing to do it self managed or through an estate agent? For peace of mind we are thinking of paying an estate agent for a managed service with the rent guarantee on top. They charge 12.5% fee for this. We don’t mind about not making a profit as long as someone else is paying the mortgage and we aren’t getting hassle then I think it will work well. Can always change after 6 months as well, would probably move to managing it ourselves in the future but we are new to this 

It’s up to you, but, I really didn’t rate the estate agent I used…. I got far better tenants independently…. If there was an issue I’d end up resolving as they’d charge an arm and a leg for a tradesman to come out…

 

I use Openrent…. Steps you through the whole process of renting and gets you access to Rightmove and Zoopla to advertise…

 

Each time I’ve advertised I’ve been inundated with requests…. I hold an open day for people to visit and weigh up who I’d like to live there….  Openrent process does the financial check and we sign docs and they move in

 

i have a delightful family in there at the moment and I hope they stay for a very long time…. They asked for a new kitchen which I’ve brought and as he’s a carpenter he’ll be fitting it…

 

I get the security of 12.5% rent guarantee but I’ve never had a week where my house was not occupied

[FoyleFox]

I've done both. Had an agent who was useless, didn't check on the tenants properly to ensure the property was being well looked after. Didn't particularly help with the eviction when they stopped paying, either.

 

The properties I rent out now I deal with myself. It is my business, and for a time I did manage other properties for other Landlords.

 

It's not rocket science. However, you do need to ensure you're compliant with your gas/electric certs, rent deposit protection, referencing etc. Additionally, you need to be prepared that you can be available 24/7 in case of an issue - burst pipes, broken boilers etc. And most definitely do regular inspections, including photographs to compare to the initial inventory. Invaluable if there's a dispute further along.

 

The Openrent Wolfox references looks a great option for stepping you through the process if you do want to go the self-managed route.

 

It really depends on how comfortable you feel doing it yourself and if you've the time to do the management, if you've a busy job and family, an agent might be a good choice.

[The Year Of The Fox]

On 23/05/2022 at 22:41, JonnyBoy said:

Can anyone who has rented out a property enlighten me on their experience when choosing to do it self managed or through an estate agent? For peace of mind we are thinking of paying an estate agent for a managed service with the rent guarantee on top. They charge 12.5% fee for this. We don’t mind about not making a profit as long as someone else is paying the mortgage and we aren’t getting hassle then I think it will work well. Can always change after 6 months as well, would probably move to managing it ourselves in the future but we are new to this 

Do it yourself. 12.5% is very high for a start. My mum uses Martin and Co and got them down to 8-9% 

 

I still think it’s a waste of time and that they take money for nothing, and I tell her so. But she’s 63 and panics about everything. 

 

Lettings agents will promise you the earth and deliver nothing. A decent landlord insurance policy will cover any missed rent, providing you’ve ran your own credit checks (they usually stipulate that in the small print) Also make sure you have legal cover in the landlords insurance- that was invaluable to me when I needed to evict in the middle of the pandemic.

 

All of us must know a reliable local builder and associated trades that you can use to carry out any works too. It does help that I’m a plumber and Gas Safe registered and I know that obviously not everybody is 😂 But most people have their own trades they use for work at their residential address 
 

Agents never seem to carry out any property checks either, but again it’s something you can do yourself. 
 

Make an inventory and take photos before letting it out, I use contracts bought from Amazon for unfurnished properties. 
 

You can/do get bad experiences (See the Coalville Town thread in the main section 😂) but no amount of lettings agents could’ve prevented that. 
 

The house next door to my rental is ran by a lettings agents named after a well known leicestershire park. The house and garden is absolutely horrendous. I called them up once enquiring if they looked after properties for landlords and whether they carried out regular property checks. After they told me they did, I told them that 41 G******** St is a terrible advert for their business and that I wouldn’t be using them any time soon 😂

Edited 26 May 2022 by The Year Of The Fox

[The Year Of The Fox]

Just read the post above mine and realised I’d forgot to say what they’ve said-

The only use Lettings Agents may be is advice on the most current legislation. Electrical certificates, landlords gas safety checks. CO detectors are now mandatory too. 
 

But if you ask your own electrician/gas safe engineer then they should be clued up on what’s most current 

[Ian Nacho]

It goes without saying that now isn't a good time to buy, but is it a bad time to buy?

[FoxesDeb]

1 hour ago, Ian Nacho said:

It goes without saying that now isn't a good time to buy, but is it a bad time to buy?

I think you've answered your own question there. If it's not a good time, that means it's a bad time, surely? Are buyers still offering over and above asking price? With the way things are with the cost of living crisis in the UK I would have thought that house prices would come down again at some point, it can't be sustainable, but I'm no expert. 

[Nalis]

1 hour ago, Ian Nacho said:

It goes without saying that now isn't a good time to buy, but is it a bad time to buy?

Its bad for supply but probably wont get much better in terms of price. Historically houses prices increase or stagnant, they rarely drop by anything more than nominal bar the crash in 2007-10.

 

Just do whats right for you and dont spend beyond your own means.

 

Thats just my thoughts,like most of us who the fvck knows eh.

[Strokes]

22 minutes ago, FoxesDeb said:

I think you've answered your own question there. If it's not a good time, that means it's a bad time, surely? Are buyers still offering over and above asking price? With the way things are with the cost of living crisis in the UK I would have thought that house prices would come down again at some point, it can't be sustainable, but I'm no expert. 

I’ll be shocked if they don’t nose dive over the next 18-24 months.

[kenny]

1 minute ago, Strokes said:

I’ll be shocked if they don’t nose dive over the next 18-24 months.

Supply and demand. The demand for housing is still high so they won't.

 

If ordinary folk can't afford them then investors will still buy them or housing associations will.

[Nalis]

1 minute ago, kenny said:

Supply and demand. The demand for housing is still high so they won't.

 

If ordinary folk can't afford them then investors will still buy them or housing associations will.

This is my opinion on it too. Supply is still dogshit at present and is showing no signs of letting up.

[kenny]

3 minutes ago, Nalis said:

This is my opinion on it too. Supply is still dogshit at present and is showing no signs of letting up.

The UK population increases 300-400k per year, so we need 100-200k new houses per year just for the population growth.

 

We are currently building less than 200k per year so it's getting worse not better.

 

In the politics thread there are complaints about the Tories selling off land for housing. What's clear is that we need more housing we just don't want it where we live and probably not where it's needed most.

 

Hopefully the work SPS has done with city centre housing works and brings people to live in the city rather than tearing up more greenbelt.

[Strokes]

17 minutes ago, kenny said:

Supply and demand. The demand for housing is still high so they won't.

 

If ordinary folk can't afford them then investors will still buy them or housing associations will.

We will see I guess but the stamp duty freeze created a lot of demand and thus house prices have superficially rocketed. I’d be amazed if they don’t begin to drop in the next few months and continue to fall.

[kenny]

1 minute ago, Strokes said:

We will see I guess but the stamp duty freeze created a lot of demand and thus house prices have superficially rocketed. I’d be amazed if they don’t begin to drop in the next few months and continue to fall.

Might do but I doubt it, stamp duty freeze ended a year ago.

 

Plus the Tories can't afford for people to crack their pants about negative equity with a GE looming so will do whatever they can to keep them stable.

[FoyleFox]

Signs of stability in the prices rather than sky rocketing rises of the last 18 months, absolutely,  but unlikely to drop. According to the property industry news I've read. 

[Wolfox]

On 28/05/2022 at 16:09, Strokes said:

I’ll be shocked if they don’t nose dive over the next 18-24 months.

 

On 28/05/2022 at 16:12, kenny said:

Supply and demand. The demand for housing is still high so they won't.

 

If ordinary folk can't afford them then investors will still buy them or housing associations will.

With super Gove writing policies that give the NIMBY’s the opportunity to vote on schemes I don’t predict that much building will be going on…

 

it’s so clear…. They need to crack on and build otherwise the generation below don’t have a snowballs chance in hell of getting access to the property ladder

 

its a huge issue…

 

in the meantime property remains inflated…. I predict a period of stagnation at best 

Edited 29 May 2022 by Wolfox

[Footballwipe]

1 hour ago, Wolfox said:

 

With super Gove writing policies that give the NIMBY’s the opportunity to vote on schemes I don’t predict that much building will be going on…

 

it’s so clear…. They need to crack on and build otherwise the generation below don’t have a snowballs chance in hell of getting access to the property ladder

 

its a huge issue…

 

in the meantime property remains inflated…. I predict a period of stagnation at best 

You've still got this NIMBY attitude though as they both hate building in existing communities, but also hate the thought of large NEW communities as well. These people hate the thought of more housing, despite living in a house that used to be green space in the past, and popping out 4-5 kids themselves.

 

The Gove vote plans, also, are terrifying. Allowing nimbys to band together to vote down harmless proposals like extensions will not only be restrictive on people, but also ripe, RIPE for corruption and abuse. Whoever has the most for a backhander to their neighbour can build. Mad.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

You can tell the market's peaking when the number for sale goes through the roof. People looking to downsize trying to get off at the top.

[Ian Nacho]

Just been looking at some locations. Was thinking of central Loughborough due to it being fairly well connected but by all accounts it a bit of a dump. Any thoughts?

[StanSP]

On 23/05/2022 at 22:41, JonnyBoy said:

Can anyone who has rented out a property enlighten me on their experience when choosing to do it self managed or through an estate agent? For peace of mind we are thinking of paying an estate agent for a managed service with the rent guarantee on top. They charge 12.5% fee for this. We don’t mind about not making a profit as long as someone else is paying the mortgage and we aren’t getting hassle then I think it will work well. Can always change after 6 months as well, would probably move to managing it ourselves in the future but we are new to this 

Bit late response and not sure what's happened since you asked but we only got the estate agent to find someone for a small fee, and then we manage the rest. 

[Nalis]

15 hours ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

You can tell the market's peaking when the number for sale goes through the roof. People looking to downsize trying to get off at the top.

From stalking your profile I see you are Bournemouth, is that what its like there at present? In the North East, Yorkshire and Midlands the supply appears to still be low.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

22 minutes ago, Nalis said:

From stalking your profile I see you are Bournemouth, is that what its like there at present? In the North East, Yorkshire and Midlands the supply appears to still be low.

I am yeah, massive older population hence why I made the comment about downsizers looking to get off at the top. Absolutely eye watering figures for a decent family home with a garden, garage etc but there has been a bit of an uptick in the amount going on the market.

Edited 30 May 2022 by Sol thewall Bamba