You’re wondering which letting agent to give your business to. That probably means you own one or more investment properties, and you’ve decided not to manage the tenancies yourself. Good decision. These days, with all the legislation that surrounds landlords, it’s practically impossible to manage your own rental properties and stay on the right side of the law.
But how do you decide which letting agent to choose? Maybe you’ve been burnt before. If you move your properties to a new agent, how do you know they’ll be any better?
Here’s what to look for, to help you answer those questions and more.
Look for good reviews
Job one is to read their client testimonials. Not the ones posted to their own website; anyone could have written those! Head to sites like Google and Trustpilot to see what people real people want you to know about this letting agent.
If someone has taken the time to go online and tell you ‘this company is great’, that’s a huge vote of confidence.
Even a BAD review for the agent is sometimes GOOD news for you, as a landlord! The video below tells you why, and how to spot a good bad review!
If the letting agent you’re considering ONLY has negative reviews run away, but the odd disgruntled tenant isn’t always a bad sign!
If you know other landlords, ask around for recommendations too. Live reviews are the best kind.
Find out about their processes
As we said above, it’s almost impossible for landlords in England to self-manage and stay legal these days. The problems that face landlords face smaller letting agents too. It takes a team with solid processes to stay compliant, competitive, and customer service focused. When you’re deciding which letting agent to choose, keep that in mind.
Landlords are constantly dealing with emergencies, on top of the admin and routine maintenance that go with the job. If they’re smart, they hire an agent to handle everything for them. But even if you hire an agent, you’re legally responsible for your own properties. You HAVE to be able to trust your letting agent.
Before you hire them, find out how they handle the constant barrage of emergencies, and the ever-changing legal landscape. What processes do they have in place to make them future-proof? It’s those processes that will keep your investment safe and lucrative for the long-term.
In this video, Homesure’s CEO Nick Stott explains how our processes work, how they keep our landlords and investors safe, and how our culture of continuous improvement allows us to evolve.
The changing landscape of our industry doesn’t frighten us – the way we operate makes us stand out from the competition. We’re thriving and growing precisely BECAUSE the competition can’t keep up! Don’t settle for anything less!
Ask whether they support regulation
If property agent regulation was introduced tomorrow, Homesure would exceed all requirements, because we already hold ourselves to a high standard. We wrote a whole post about why we support property agent regulation.
When you’re deciding which letting agent to choose, find out their stance on this issue. It’s the difference between a green light and red flag.
Find out more about our property management service, and why some of our landlords have been with us since we first opened the business 18 years ago!
