We cannot ignore the fact – letting agents are useful. On the other hand, they are expensive too. The landlords trust the agents that they are going to manage their property, they are going to find tenants, or they will just be going to collect rent, etc.
What are letting agent fees?
These are the payments paid to the letting agents by the landlords for the service they provide to them. The services provided by the letting agents are different from the other letting agents. The most common services provided by the letting agents are tenant-finding, management of the property, etc.
Fees of letting agent from the landlord
The letting agent fees are around 10 to 20 % of the monthly rent of full property management. For let only service, they charge about three or 4-week rent. The fees of agents are higher in London.
Work performed by letting agents
The primary role of letting agents is to find the tenants, and this duty is time-consuming for the landlords. So, landlords can save their time by hiring an agent because they can recommend a suitable price for the rent. An Agent can collect the rent from the tenants on the landlord’s behalf. Also, this work is no more time consuming for the landlords.
Services provided by the letting agent
Letting agent provides different types of services. Some are given below-
- Finding a tenant,
- Collection of the rents from the tenants,
- Full management such as taking care of maintenance and repairs, etc.
Fees of an average estate agent from landlords
The payment paid by the landlords depends on the level of service provided by the letting agents. A rough idea is given below-
- One-off fee for finding a tenant. And this fee can be high as a month’s rent.
- Five per cent of the rent collected by the letting agent.
- Twenty per cent of the monthly sum for full management.
Is it necessary to pay the letting agent?
The answer is no. It is not necessary to have a letting agent for finding any house for the rent. You can do it on your own. Many landlords don’t believe in the letting agents. They believe in completing all the letting processes themselves. For example, if anyone doesn’t have the time to look for the maintenance, then they can hire agents to ensure management like maintenance.
Ways to save your budget- tips for tenants
- Don’t hire or avoid letting agents as they charge extra money. Because nowadays, it became a suicide mission, especially at the time when you try to limit your budget.
- Try to do your research.
- Don’t rush into renting the first place you find.
- Get yourself a partner or roommate.
- There are many social sites through which you can find apartments at the cheapest rate. Example- Rentberry. Then you don’t require any letting agent for finding a house or apartment for the rental purpose.
