Landlords - Anyone let a property privately - no agent?

[SardineQueen]

Hi there

Does anyone have experience of letting a property without using an agent? Where did you advertise/how did you do it? I'm thinking of doing this but I don't know where to start!

TIA

We've done it a lot. Put an ad in the local paper and make sure you take up references.

Gosh that was quick!

Thanks hully.

How do you get around the credit check? Or do you just take up more than one reference?

I was thinking of asking them to run a credit check for me - you can get them free online I think.

You can pay to have them done online, I don't think we've ever bothered though, but it's been a while so it may be that it wasn't possible last time we had to let a flat.

We get an employer's ref and a current landlord's ref. Basically whatever you do is no guarantee - if they're going to screw you, they're going to screw you...

I would say though, that may be use an agent to find a tenant and run checks etc, but after that do it yourself because agents do nothing and charge loads.

I've found a couple of tenants privately. I advertised on gumtree as a featuerd ad (London) and put adverts in local cafes and newsagents.

In terms of screening tenants and chasing references, I used the website tenantverify, they had a good list of questions you should ask, things to be careful of etc.. And I think there was a link there for a company to check references and credit check. Really glad i did it privately (so far) and didn't have to cough up for the estate agents!

Good luck!

hully yes I am planning on managing it myself but they want 8% - for each year! So even if the person stays on and the agreement just ticks over you still have to hand over another months rent basically.

I am feeling a bit like it's money for old rope and also feeling a bit tight

goosey thanks for those tips. I am going to check out those websites and possibly make my move in the next few days I think...

I let my properties myself - it's really easy if you live within easy reach so can do viewings etc without too much effort. I advertised on gumtree and on a couple of other sites (I think one was called myspareroom or something similar) and found tenants very easily. I arrange a day at the weekend with my current tenants when I can do a whole series of viewings.

When someone shows interest I say I need a #200 holding deposit (you would be amazed how many times people who absolutely love the property and are desperate to take it just disappear - a holding deposit shows they are serious). From that holding deposit I explain that #25 will be used for an online credit check, I ask for employer's ref and current landlord details. The remaining #175 goes towards the deposit or first month's rent.

Done it a few times now (we have three properties) and it's always been fine. We live in London where there is a shortage of reasonably priced rentals and the tenants are really grateful that there are very few upfront costs - as are we.

You could advertise on Tepilo it is Sarah Beeny's property website. Was thinking of listing ours to sell on there.

Hi
We had a bash at renting our house on Gumtree but had some VERY dodgy responses - we have no proof but we very strongly suspect the prospective tenants were intending to use the property for cannabis-farming. So having taken their £200 holding deposit, ended up giving it back after a panic! We lost confidence then, and used an agent.

Another point, it is very difficult to get reliable references or credit checks on people who have not been in the UK long.
I have in the past advertised privately to let a flat, and that worked out fine, but that was a long time ago and I just wonder if there are more scammers out there these days..?

Been letting my flat without an agent for 5 years now after taking previous agent to Small Claims Court 3 times
I also now manage a house for a friend who has moved back abroad.

I'd second joining RLA - lots of information, advice, forms, forums and a fantastic Helpdesk service.

I advertise in the local paper, local shops and through various friend's/churches/companies.
I always take a non-refundable fee for reference checking - usually £30 which covers costs of Credit Ref agency (through RLA), Land Registry and contacting referees. It lets them know I'm serious about checking them out thoroughly and lets me know they are serious about the flat.
I ask for an employment ref plus current and previous landlord's references (current one may be desperate to get them out!)and proof of identity. I check through Land Registry that the person providing the reference owns the property they say they are letting (it costs £6), I check the employer online to see if a website exists and will ring that number and ask for the named referee so I know they are legitimate.
I am very upfront with prospective tenants about the referencing process and it seems to weed people out very quickly.

Always be VERY wary of anyone who can take your property 'right now', if they love it so much they will wait a few days whilst you check them out.

Have also had some very weird responses from Gumtree

We did it twice. Put an add in the local paper. Always got references, didn't do credit check but said we would which I found puts the dodgy ones off.

But beware managing it yourself is a pita. DH had to go round at 11pm on the day they moved in because the rads weren't working, turns out they just hadn't turned them on!

Just to illuminate the flip-side:

We rent our flat in a private agreement with the landlady. We advertised ourselves as tenants on Gumtree because we were sick and tired of overpricing and nonsense from agents. As well as some obvious scammers, we had a few genuine replies and offers of really decent properties from landlords who likewise had got sick of dealing with agents. They stick 8% on for the landlord and take another 10% off the tenant it seems, so it ends up being a very expensive way to rent and the service you get is so often still utterly shit.

Our landlady asked for employment, landlord and personal references and got a credit check, which she paid for. As we are both self-employed we also happily provided a guarantor.

We have found it to be a wonderful arrangement and our landlady describes us as 'perfect tenants', and we've just renewed the contract for a further year.

My advice would be that you're more likely to be able to get a good feel for your tenants if you find them directly, and there are loads of good, nice, clean, honest tenants out there who want to look after a home, and are equally sick of being done over by agencies (£150 for a credit check that costs £18 online, anyone?). But trust your instincts and if there's anything that seems amiss with them, don't risk it.

Thanks all

I'v decided to do it myself! Join the RLA and advertise on gumtree. The tenantverify site looks good as well but I'll do some more investigations before I go for it!

Quodlibet yes I have seen threads on here where tenants have talked about charged and been . Basically it seems they are doing very little and then charging everyone involved through the nose for it

Wish me luck!

Good luck! Add one more nice landlady to the world, hurrah!