Estate agent fees for landlord.?

[TheCloserYouGetTheSlowerIGo]

I've seen a rental property that I know the owner. Unfortunately they've emigrated. But can be found on fb.
The rent is 1200 pm which is out our price range. But had no interest for 4 months
A mutual friend said to message and offer the price minus fees and do without the agent.? And believes they would go for it as they're losing lots of money since they moved. The house is yards from here so perfect for work and school.
I'm not sure what to say or whether to even on not?

You could try. However, even if the agent doesn't find the tenant, if the ll is overseas they may still pay them to do contracts, checks, inventory, manage the tenancy and repairs etc so not save anything.

Not sure I’d want to be the landlord or the tennant without an agent when the landlord lives in a different country?

The agents fees mean that any issues can be dealt with pretty quickly (they can have their own electricians, plumbers etc), whereas if you have a private agreement with the landlord you’re waiting for them to fix it or arrange for it to be fixed. An agent should ensure that all the legal safety requirements are met, and will do inventories impartially. There’s a lot of benefits to having an agent as a tenant.

If you can wait until 1st June, a new law is coming in which means Letting Agents will no longer be able to charge extortionate "fees" and will only be able to take money for things like deposit (refundable), holding deposit (refundable) and rent in advance.

See here;

www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2019/01/letting-fees-to-be-banned-from-june/

How friendly are you with the owner? I've had landlords who live abroad with no agency involved and it has only worked out because we've had a good relationship with frequent contact. I think without this there's a real danger that issues don't get dealt with. That being said a lot of agencies in the UK are shite so you might not be much better off using them

Thanks.i messaged them. They are calling tomorrow so we shall see.