As a first time LL should I use an agent or find my own tenants?

[pippala]

As title can anyone advice?
Agent fees are between 10-15%of rent. Rent profit working out at 7%
We thought of advertising in local paper and online and finding our own tenants.
Is it buying trouble to do it alone?
Should we prehaps use an agent for the first year until we know what we are doing?
If the tenant renews after the first lease is up the agent still charges 8% even though they haven't had to find us a new tenant!!!
Thanks in advance to all those experienced LL out there!

Do it yourself! Much better.

Gumtree is great for advertising.

Thank you! Any drawbacks to going it alone?

I'm looking for a house in/around Nottingham

Do it yourself. The only drawbacks are the tenants calling you in the early hours because they've locked themselves out. You have to sort out the yearly gas safety certificate.

Well I would switch off my phone before bed!!!!
Got a great Plumbler/boiler repair man who has just done the certificate for me. Do we need one for the electrics?
So many things to work out/do for complete beginners.

There is a landlord sites that can do searches ect on the tenant for you just an a agent would.

When I remember it I will come link!

www.landlordzone.co.uk/tenant_screening.htm

It's a good site for lots of LL related stuff.

Thank you cowboylover!

Sorry just read again; you need gas safety and an Energy performance certificate (£70 ish) but that's the only annual certificates needed.

I have beeen a LL for many years and paid an agent for my first property. Which meant that I was paying them £60 per month to collect a direct debit, big mistake. The tenants renewed each year for several years and so I couldn't change the arrangement. They would arrange repairs at my expense usually at ridiculously inflated prices.

With my next property I had an agent as an introducer only, which means they advertise the property, find suitable tenants, take references and credit checks. give me an insurance policy for non payment of rent. Draw up tenancy agreement and set up direct debit to pay the rent into my account. This costs one months rent, after which I receive the rent in full. When the contract is renewed it costs half a months rent.

I also have british gas homecare agreement, which does the gas safety certificate. Services boiler and heating. Insures boiler heating and plumbing and drains and all electrical work. In the event of a problem the tenant can call British gas and make their own appointments 24 hours a day. I find there is very little I need to deal with that doesn't fall within the policy. Depending on the size of the house this costs about £36 per month. HTH

If you can manage it to take up references etc yourself I would try it without an agent. Because they are mostly greedy lying ignorant bastards. They usually have very little legal knowledge and make their living by screwing over both landlord and tenant by charging them both highly inflated 'admin fees' for the paperwork (a lot of it unnecessary) they produce. [Speaks from bitter experience].

Your tenants will probably prefer not to be continually charged renewal fees, and you will save yourself a lot of money!

Before anyone objects, I did say 'mostly'. We did have one reasonable agency once, who left us alone.

I was once charged £70 (2 *£35) for a credit check, didn't get around to dropping off paperwork. Agent didn't care, just wanted the cash.