Letting out a flat - managed or non-managed

[MuseumofInnocence]

Hi, I have become a landlord on my flat from before I met my DP. For a while, I rented it out to a friend, and it was all done in a non-managed way. They have left and I have gone to an agency to find new tenants. They have found some and now I have to decide if I want them to manage the flat, for 10% of the rent, or to pay them a one-off fee. I would love some advice here please.

On the one hand, 10% is a lot of money that adds up over time. On the other hand, it reduced my stress and worry about people I don't know living in my flat. I don't live in the town where the flat is, but on the other hand, I don't expect too much to go wrong as it's a newish flat.

I would be grateful for any advice. Thanks a lot

id go managed unless you want to be contacted about every issue and need to fix it asap

We have a rental property, 170 miles away from where we live which is fully managed.

For us it’s been worth it. Only one thing has gone wrong but being able just to instruct someone to deal with it was useful.

Our contract says we can take over management if the tenants prove to be low maintence after an initial period. Is this an option?

Don’t forget, management fees are tax deductible too..

It’s not hard to find workmen if necessary.

If you need to evict then agents are useless. You have to fill and file the paperwork yourself anyway.

We get the agents to find and vet the tenants then we manage ourselves

Pay for the management without question. Biggest thing I did to reduce my stress over having to rent out my flat which is 250 miles away from where I now live.

Depends if you can be bothered being contacted to fix stuff, and if you’ll actually be responsive. There’s nothing worse than a landlord who’s too greedy to pay the management fee but doesn’t get off his arse to sort things when the tenant needs them done!

You might want to ensure that you at least supervise check in and check out, because if the agency screws that up and fails to notice or record any damage, you don’t have a leg to stand on.

You need to go managed if you don't live close or have a good team of tradespeople set up.

How will you deal with it if they call you and say the boiler has gone?

In your situation managed is essential. It's also pretty cheap at 10%. I would assume that includes rent collection? That in itself is a minefield!

The problem is finding work people in a timely manner! The agents will have people they can call on. They come quickly and this keeps your tenant on side! I would go with the agent and they should also do condition checks and check in and out services. If you don’t really want all this and have a job yourself, get an agent.

We tried to do it ourselves for a few years but it’s s struggle. I think the agents get you nicer tenants if they manage it too!

Also, one other advantage. I didn’t have to pay up front to fix the issue (which included having to order parts). The agent simply deducted it from the following months rent.

Does 10% include VAT?

When we were looking into managed it turned out that although the tennant would call the agent, the agent would usually call you before instructing a trades person. And of course the fee doesn't actually cover the cost of the repair. We got landlord cover from British gas. It was a lot cheaper and the cost covered parts and labour. The tennant can call them direct if there's a problem

Thanks. VAT needs to be added, so it’s 12% in total for rent collect. We even live overseas but the person I need to convince is my dp who thinks the fees will be around 1000 per year is a waste of money.

And will your DP be the person to deal with issues including emergencies at any time of day or night including when he’s at work, asleep or on holiday? Or will that fall to you?

Our agent contacts us for permission to spend, but only because we’ve told him to. In another few months, we’ll be saying anything up to £x amount, just do it and tell us after. Again, we did this initially while we were seeing what the tenants were like.

And the British Gas cover looks good... it wouldn’t have covered our issue.

We are overseas.
The thought of having to attempt to find fencers, plumbers or electricians (don't think the boiler has gone wrong yet!) from 5000 miles away, and coordinate the tenant being at home to let them in makes me feel quite ill.
Yes, the letting agent email to get the ok to spend, and then I hear nothing more until the deduction comes from the rent. I just don't have the contacts in the area anymore to get this sort of stuff done easily.

if you live overseas check your council requirements.
my council requires the landlord to be in the county, or for them to have a contract with a management company.

Oh I wouldn't attempt to manage it yourself if you aren't in the immediate vicinity - despite what I said earlier in the thread.

If you're looking into 'managed' then I would advise you to read the contract very carefully and find out what they do/don't manage.

A friend of mine has been stung for around £3000 unpaid rent plus left with a damaged property when the tenant finally left despite the fact they were paying a company to manage it.

I'd presumed that the company would have vetted the tenant in the first instance and then at the first sign of non-payment of rent acted in some way. TBH I'm not quite sure what they did but it was my friend that had to basically go through the process of getting the tenant out.

You’re overseas and you think you can manage a property, fix problems and do inspections etc? Sorry but that’s not fair on the tenant who needs someone local and responsive. I wouldn’t even consider renting under those circumstances because when stuff inevitably needs fixing it’ll be a right pain in the arse if the person responsible is in another country!

If you live nearby it’s perfectly feasible to manage yourself. The odd repair/phone call is not really a bother. Most things that go wrong just need a plumber or electrician., esp if boiler is pretty new.

Abroad?? If you know a handyman who you can call easily you could probably do it at a push Though better to have it managed for you, even though the cost is annoying. Saying that you should still keep an eye on what the company do, deposits law, do gas checks on time etc as ultimately you are still liable and if tenants stop paying rent you have to get them out (it pay someone again).