mentalist

So I have finally bought a house in UK in readiness for returning home, but may first need to rent it out for at least six months, possibly longer. Has anybody on here any experience of using UK property management agents? Just worried about getting ripped off by not being close enough to control the purse strings. One company I have approached claims to have several Dubai based landlords on their books, but they are probably just saying that.

csdf

We use agents. We agreed a minimum under which they can spend without our prior approval (I think it's £200, e.g. to replace a broken hoover). Anything above that needs our approval.

UKCityGent

You could go thru the guaranteed rent way for a year (which is usually the minimum)...

mentalist

Excuse me? Qu'est-ce que c'est?

soukie

We use agents for ours and so far have not had too many problems although have had to chase them on queries from time to time. Make sure that they check any work done before paying a contractor as some will take short cuts if they know it's a rental property. Agent costs are classed as an expense for HMRC tax purposes. One important question to ask when interviewing potential agents is about their staff turnover - avoid the ones with a high turnover as its best to have the same person check tenants in and out of a property so that you can maintain the property at its best. Recommendations are always best if you can get one.

gottheTshirt

I would recommend using a specialist letting agent/property management company rather than an estate agent who does lettings as a side-line. We have houses rented out through Belvoir. They are a franchise covering the country, so basically it depends on how good the franchisee is, but we have had good service with competitive rates. The manager and staff we deal with our mature and we can trust them to get on with the management without bothering us.

GolfGardener

All good advice above...

I've used a few agents, and their marketing ability is what seems to separate the wheat from the chaff, so try to get a feel for that. The cost of voids has the potential to be much higher than the cost of routine maintenance.