Should I choose the agent with the cheapest fees?

Have you ever bought something because it was cheap and then it didn’t last very long or it didn’t really do what it was supposed to? Well, don’t do that when choosing your letting agent.

You will naturally be attracted to the opportunity to save a few pounds and who would blame you?

With rental demand high and properties in short supply, some letting agents are slashing their letting and management fees to attract landlords. This will seem too good to be true and it often is.

Opting for a letting agent who offers you the cheapest fee is not always the most cost-effective solution when letting your property. There is often a reason the letting agent is offering less than average fees.

These letting agents will not be investing in their staff, training and development, or the latest in innovation and technology.

We have seen first-hand too many landlords who have been let down by their letting agents who were chosen because they were offering the cheapest/lowest fees. These letting agents have turned out to deliver a poor, and in some cases, dishonest, unprofessional service and usually ended up costing those landlords a lot of money, certainly more than what they would have saved on fees.

Being a reputable company in any industry (let alone the property sector), requires constant reinvestment into the business and this cannot be done by charging really low fees.

We recently had a landlord contact us as his current letting agent had failed to let his property.  It had been vacant for more than 2 months and he was losing a substantial rental income.

Soon after this particular landlord had instructed us to let his property, we had a number of viewings arranged and let the property to a very reputable company for 12 months.

One of the reasons was because, by reputation, we are the first port of call for many companies and relocation agents looking for good quality properties.

Sadly, by choosing the letting agent offering the cheapest fees, this landlord ended up losing a few thousand pounds and suffered a lot of stress and worry, all for the sake of a slightly lower fee.

Being a well-established letting specialist and with 30 years in the industry, PMS Lettings has been approached on many occasions by desperate landlords when they have been let down by their agent.

We are keen to make you aware that when choosing a letting agent you get what you pay for in terms of service and professionalism. You will naturally want to keep your costs down and will be looking for a competitive rate, however, when choosing a letting agent you should never base your decision on price alone, but also consider experience, reputation, professionalism and overall quality of service.

A professional landlord will choose on quality of service, an amateur landlord will choose on price. A good way to do your research on local letting agents is to read reviews left on them at google.co.uk or www.allagent.co.uk these are true reviews left by either their landlords or tenants.

There is more to letting and managing a property than you may think. Having knowledgeable, qualified and well-trained staff are a must, particularly when advising landlords on the lettings market, vetting prospective tenants, complying with complex legislation, compiling a professional inventory, ensuring tenants’ safety and landlords’ interests are fully protected, and dealing promptly with maintenance issues.

All of this and much more requires a lot of time, expertise and resources and the letting agents charging exceptionally low fees are highly unlikely to be able to provide this.

It could end up costing you thousands of pounds in lost rent, legal fees or even fines should the lettings agent fail to comply with the law.

For peace of mind, PMS Lettings recommend choosing a letting agent that specialises in residential lettings only and who has a good reputation.

For advice you can trust on all aspects of renting or letting in your area please contact us on 01243 252984, email: hello@pmsoriginal.kinsta.cloud or visit us at our office in West Street, Chichester.