Letting agent V's DIY renting

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Pexus1976

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Hi there,

I've decide to rent my apartment but am unsure on which option to go for in terms of looking for and dealing with tenants directly or hiring a letting agent to do it for me.

My question is what are peoples experience of getting a letting agency to rent and manage the property and tenants?

Would I be better off advertising and looking after the tenants myself?

All comments and advice appreciated.
 
Never used an agency, so no comment on them.

Currently DIY renting and all is fine now. First tenant was a disaster and we were too eager to 'get someone' into the house. Took a slower pace and had a very competitive rental amount second time round, so interest was high. Met prospective tenants at 30 min intervals and made no commitment to any of them. Went away and thought about who would best fit the property as we want a long-let tenant. Opted to rent to a mature couple with late teen kids (3). To date all fine. Rent in every month. Property inspections no prob, just agreed to get some paint work done and the boiler serviced as it was 'dripping'. So it worked well.

Got references on the two people that signed the lease. One of these was from a 'Garda'. To date, v. happy and don't have to share the rent with a letting agent.

But we are 10 miles from house so can respond to any issues. Expecting that we will have quite a cosmetic job though when they are gone, just through normal wear and tear of 5 adults/late teens in the house. We are comfortable with lease agreement documents and registration with PRTB, so that helped as some people are put off with documents that have a legal nature. But I think that the PRTB is one you have to do anyway, not sure if the letting agent can take care of it. Can't remember details of the doc.

If all the above sounds like too time consuming, then letting agent could be a good idea. Just remember the cost aspect!!
 
Its one apt,do it yourself,letting agent is just another word for cowboy,the Irishlandlord forum is full of threads of LLs getting really ripped off by these chancers and getting left in the lurch by individuals who were happy to take the big fees but who put any type of tenant in and failed to change utilities into their name etc or indeed manage the apt/property at all...stay clear of agents they are bad news (unless of course you have a recommendation,it must be quite disheartening for those genuinely professional agents too see so many charlatans posing as agents and in the process destroying their own hard won reputation)

http://www.irishlandlord.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46

http://www.irishlandlord.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1063

http://www.irishlandlord.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1210

http://www.irishlandlord.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1180

http://www.irishlandlord.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1054

http://www.irishlandlord.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46


I could copy and paste similar links here all night....
 
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We have used the same letting agent in Dublin for 10 years now to let and manage our house as we live abroad and can't do it ourselves. I chose the agent after meeting with several agents in the area - this one was by far the smartest of them. At first he was very good, then, I think, he started taking us for granted to some extent as we live abroad and it is difficult for us to get a new agent. So I am not entirely happy with him but, compared to agents from hell discussed in the above threads, ours is jut brilliant!
We have never had serious problems with tenants he found for us, and only a total of about 4 months voids (in total) in 10 years, which I think is pretty good.

So I would actually recommend getting an agent, if you are not confident about handling everything yourself. You just need to take care which agent to choose:)

I also think the tenants are less likely to try something dodgy with a GOOD letting agent than with an inexperienced landlord.

It might be an option to use a good agent for the first letting (to ease things for yourself to begin with). Then see how it goes and whether you will feel confident handling future lettings yourself.

If you are fairly confident you can handle everything yourself, then you don't need an agent. But I would caution against DIY sorely to save money on agent's fees - as getting it wrong as DIY landlord can actually cost you a lot of money and a GOOD agent's fees may in fact be well worth it!
 
i initially used a letting agent myself but then went the DIY route. letting agency fees can be high but with competition the fees are coming down. the problem with the DIY route is that its fine if your a hands on person as some tenants need to have their hands held whereas others you will not here from one end of the year till the next. the links to the website above will get you your lease and you can customise it to suit yourself.
make sure, though that you can gain access to your property at least once a quarter.
 
Letting agents are a complete waste of money.
Being a landlord can be a complete PITA, depending on the tenant.
But the agents general pass on the crap anyway.

So you are MUCh better off DIY.
We lived abroad for a time and paid a neighbour to act as an agent.
Very cost effective.
 
i have done both, and have gone back to do it myself, i found agents can be more hassle than tenants, money not right and they pass on the problems
 
Mommah said:
Letting agents are a complete waste of money.
Being a landlord can be a complete PITA, depending on the tenant.
But the agents general pass on the crap anyway.

So you are MUCh better off DIY.
We lived abroad for a time and paid a neighbour to act as an agent.
Very cost effective.
Click to expand...


Can you tell us the amount that you paid the neightbour pls?
 
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