Guest MM2Melb Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 8% should cover a regular rental agent as they do pretty much nothing for their money and as soon as there are problems they do nothing. Can a friend do it for you and just pay agents a fee for a tennent find? if so get your friend to get references themselves also as agents dont do it properly. Sounds like there are a lot of pitfalls to beware of and a lot of it is down to luck. Great idea about using your own tradespeople as have noticed lots of agents also specialise in "maintenance" and they defo have a captive market when you live abroad. I think it is a really bad idea to use friends for this kind of thing and it is too much to ask (unless you pay the friend a set fee and agree a backup plan for when they can't/don't want to deal with your problems. When the agent came through ours he asked about a friend comes to pick up linen etc if you swap between short and long term letting, but I said this would need to stay in a cupboard - our friends have busy lives and who says they even have cupboard space.... Anyway a home is an investment which takes some costs but which ultimately is a big financial asset to look after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joob joobs Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 We are in Scotland too, you don't have to register here in Edinburgh unless it is an HMO ie you have people from more than two families (student house usually!). we don't want the hassle of that, would rather limit it to a family or two professionals. There is another optional scheme you can use here, (preferred landlord scheme?)and they have regs like the ones mentioned, sensible and safe. We will probably follow the guidance but will not join the scheme as will use an agent anyway. Here's a link to the Landlord Registration (Scotland) page, this will tell you of the exemptions where you don't have to register, but everyone else has to register. https://www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk/Pages/Process.aspx?Command=ShowHelpWhoRegisters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MM2Melb Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 Here's a link to the Landlord Registration (Scotland) page, this will tell you of the exemptions where you don't have to register, but everyone else has to register. https://www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk/Pages/Process.aspx?Command=ShowHelpWhoRegisters Thanks for the link. I had never heard of that and even when we rented out my a flat while we rented another place elsewhere the agent didn't tell us!! I think the exemption applied though and would do so in this due to it being a primary residence rather than a buy to let property. We will look into it. ...the Edinburgh landlord accreditation scheme I was talking about has been axed locally due to council budget cuts (tram!?) I saw just now, but the national (still voluntary) accreditation is still in place: http://www.landlordaccreditationscotland.com/ . This has the rules related to safety etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joob joobs Posted September 24, 2011 Share Posted September 24, 2011 I think the exemption applied though and would do so in this due to it being a primary residence rather than a buy to let property. We will look into it. I had 4 different agents out last Monday and they all said I'd need to register, and this is my primary residence that I'll be renting out while I'm in Aus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sol Survivor Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Some good tips posted here but a couple of relevant things that no one has touched upon; -make sure the Lettings agent is regulated by ARLA (the Association for Residential Lettings Agents). If they're not then it could be that they're dodgy in some way as it's very simple to sign up and not that expensive, and ARLA then have a code of rules and ethics that the agent has to abide by. -with regards to tax each owner has to fill in whats called an NRL1 form which can be downloaded from the HMRC website. To note, if the property is owned by a husband and wife for example then you need to fill one in each. You will then be allocated something called an NRL number that your agent will have on file. This will mean they will not need to deduct tax from the tenant's rent that comes in, but bear in mind that if the agent is not in receipt of your NRL numbers then they are legally bound to deduct base rate tax from your rental and then pass this on to HMRC on a quarterly basis. -be weary of the fantastic rate agent. If 2 agents offer you 14% and 15% respectively but one offers 10% there's probably a reason for that, they're not any good. When choosing an agent make sure they advertise on all the property domains not just one or two, so always primelocation.com / findaproperty.com / rightmove.co.uk / zoopla.co.uk and from a Property Management point of view, just make sure they have a department or person who's sole role is doing Property Management, and that they're not a jack of all trades, as the Management side will get neglected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherbetdip23 Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 Some good tips posted here but a couple of relevant things that no one has touched upon; -make sure the Lettings agent is regulated by ARLA (the Association for Residential Lettings Agents). If they're not then it could be that they're dodgy in some way as it's very simple to sign up and not that expensive, and ARLA then have a code of rules and ethics that the agent has to abide by. -with regards to tax each owner has to fill in whats called an NRL1 form which can be downloaded from the HMRC website. To note, if the property is owned by a husband and wife for example then you need to fill one in each. You will then be allocated something called an NRL number that your agent will have on file. This will mean they will not need to deduct tax from the tenant's rent that comes in, but bear in mind that if the agent is not in receipt of your NRL numbers then they are legally bound to deduct base rate tax from your rental and then pass this on to HMRC on a quarterly basis. -be weary of the fantastic rate agent. If 2 agents offer you 14% and 15% respectively but one offers 10% there's probably a reason for that, they're not any good. When choosing an agent make sure they advertise on all the property domains not just one or two, so always primelocation.com / findaproperty.com / rightmove.co.uk / zoopla.co.uk and from a Property Management point of view, just make sure they have a department or person who's sole role is doing Property Management, and that they're not a jack of all trades, as the Management side will get neglected. Great! Thanks for that. If there's a problem with your property and something needs to be fixed how do you know they're not going to overcharge you? Is this just a trust thing? Also we have a big garden - just under half an acre with quite steep hilly banks - do we have to get a gardener in for that? Carla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sol Survivor Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Most agents will have a set figure whereby they agree to consult you over a certain amount and obtain quotes first but any minor repairs under this figure they just get on and deal with and then send you receipts for the work. Landlord's who ask for quotes on minor repairs are just stopping the agent from sorting problems out quickly and then this in turn annoys the tenants. Garden wise tricky, it is supposed to be the tenant's responsibility, but a lot of Landlord's acknowledge that it's maybe a hard job to expect the tenant to stay on top of it themselves if the garden is vast. So they sometimes are happy to just arrange for a fortnightly visit from a gardener that they pay at their own expense, which obviously most tenants are ok with, or go 50-50. Some Landlord's like this as well, as it means if the tenant's don't attend to the garden, it doesn't turn in to a jungle. Also the large garden might be off putting at the marketing stage, so nice to be able to let applicants know that there is a gardener looking after things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesnparry Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Most agents will have a set figure whereby they agree to consult you over a certain amount and obtain quotes first but any minor repairs under this figure they just get on and deal with and then send you receipts for the work. Landlord's who ask for quotes on minor repairs are just stopping the agent from sorting problems out quickly and then this in turn annoys the tenants. Garden wise tricky, it is supposed to be the tenant's responsibility, but a lot of Landlord's acknowledge that it's maybe a hard job to expect the tenant to stay on top of it themselves if the garden is vast. So they sometimes are happy to just arrange for a fortnightly visit from a gardener that they pay at their own expense, which obviously most tenants are ok with, or go 50-50. Some Landlord's like this as well, as it means if the tenant's don't attend to the garden, it doesn't turn in to a jungle. Also the large garden might be off putting at the marketing stage, so nice to be able to let applicants know that there is a gardener looking after things. good to go 50 50 as the gardener can help you with feedback on your property and the agent's performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherbetdip23 Posted October 8, 2011 Author Share Posted October 8, 2011 good to go 50 50 as the gardener can help you with feedback on your property and the agent's performance. Good thinking! Even better idea may be to get my Dad to do it he retires this year! :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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