Setting up a Letting agents

[da8iwr]

Me and my sister own 14 houses which are knocked into flats, but we are having major issues with the letting agents we are using.

I also have a friend who has dozens of properties and another friend who owns a property maintenance company, maintaining properties for landlords.

I am wanting to set up a letting agents, to cut out the other guys, and even take on third party work. Is there any laws and requirements i need to be qualified in to do this kind of work, as the small amount of research i have done so far, says i don't.

Regards
Ian

 

[Astaroth]

Not sure we have any estate agent types on here?

My understanding from having previously looked into this as well is that there are no requirements specific to estate/ letting agents however there are qualifications and associations and it may be advisable to have at least some of these to give the company credability.

 

[Calypso]

My friend set up a letting agent without any qualifications. He said the key was to advertise lots of properites and get lots of enquiries, then get those enquiries matched to houses he then went off looking for! (does that make sense)
Anyway, you sound like you'll be in a good position as you already have the properties.
Another good tip would be to get very friendly with local property companies and new developments (perhaps via planning department at local council), as this generates loads of new business too, as so many new developments attract "buy to let" purchasers.

Good luck.

 

[Aspect Investments]

My advice would be to contact a lettings agency franchise. They will tell you all you need to know about rules and regs. You just need to think of a good excuse why you will not be buying one.

Here is one to start you off http://www.belvoirfranchise.com/

 

[Spire]

Hi

I manage my own properties, as far as I am aware the only legal requirment that u will face is the new deposit scheme, when you take tennant deposits, not sure of the full details as my tennats are long standing and it has only been law for about a month so not had to use it.

 

[da8iwr]

Yer i heard of that, i think its like an Escrow payment, so the there is a middle man holding the money, which means i cant keep it without good reason, and the tenant cant get it back without showing its ok.

but that is literally all i know, i don't know who holds it, who has permission to do this, and who makes interest of that money whilst being held.

 

[DarrenC]

I deal within holiday lettings, and whilst not into property management, I do help get owners enquiries and bookings. If you want any assistance on marketing or promoting homes let me know.

 

[Spire]

Hi

Well what I know about it is that there are 2 ways of doing it 1 is were a third party holds the deposits, and the other is the letting agent holds the deposits and has some sort of insurance.

Then at the end of the tennancy if both parties agree the deposit is returned to the tennant.
However if there is a dispute then the third party will arbitrate and make a decision about who gets what, so in the event a tennant trashes the propety, the letting agent is going to have to show the condition of the property prior to the tennant moving in to prove that it was the tennant the trashed it, in order that the letting agent can retain the deposit.

 

[Gavin Harris]

Hi Ian,

My knowledge of letting agents is limited to one of my clients - but they are members of the Association of Residential Letting Agents - ARLA.

They might be worth contacting for advice, and if nothing else, would at least be good to associate your business with.

More information at http://www.arla.co.uk/

Good luck - I know many people who rent have a bad time with their letting agents, so there's got to be a gap in the market for an agency that actually looks after their tenants properly.

 

[Lorna]

I asked my partner who is a Chartered Surveyor.

Letting Agents are pretty much like Estate Agents - unregulated unless you join a governing body. Obvious choice would be ARLA and you may be able to get into NAEA. The NAEA also offer training courses so you can put nice certificates on your office wall. The Ombudsman sticker looks good on your shop front as well. These are all voluntary and offer limited re-dress to the consumer as the amount of red-tape often deters.

You should consider who and how you will implement: Tenancy Deposit Schemes, Inventories, Tenant Background Checks etc.

The most important thing is to offer good customer service. In the property industry there is so much deception and everyone plays close to their chest. If you can offer something different that grows organically through good recommendations then go for it. Good Luck.

 

[DuaneJackson]

I looked at this before and though it was pretty reasonably priced.

 

[wood1e2]

it is totally unregulated, but I believe there are moves to regulate the market, and joining ARLA, would give customer confidence, and obviously good customer service.

A friend of mine set up 18 months ago, and is going great guns due to good customer service

With her help we have developed an online letting administration package, www.encasasoftware.com

 

[wanderer1825]

I recently bought the package DuaneJackson is referring to and have found it to be very good, full of information.
I shall be starting my own Letting Agency in the next few weeks.
I decided to do this after my sons experience with a few poorly informed agents.

If you need to know any more please pm me.

Tony

 

[Chris-TT]

I looked at this before and though it was pretty reasonably priced.

Cheers for the URL, bought the package this evening, certainly worth looking into.

 

[voucha]

hi guys i posted a thread on he regarding letting agencys as well. Seems like a couple of people on hear are looking into the same idea. Maybe it would be a good idea for us to all contact each other for help and advice throughout the creating and start up... pm if you fancy it

 

[Chris-TT]

Is there anyone who has had experience in this field who can advice on the best way to get the first client? Do you offer an incentive for the first month of operation, such as the first 3 months fee free? I’m imagining this is probably the hardest task since you have no profile to begin with.

Does anyone know the costings for listing on rightmove.co.uk?

 

[mountie]

Does anyone know the costings for listing on rightmove.co.uk?

Rightmove are costing considerably more for new joiners than this time last year.

It was then £300/£250 for sales and joint lettings offices and £100 for lettings and it is now £475/£400/£150 for new joiners. That is 50 per cent plus increases in one year! (Fees are per month per branch)

 

[Chris-TT]

Thanks Mountie, I was hoping there would be an option to pay per property rather than a monthly subscription, as it will take 2 properties on the books and let out to tenants just to cover the advertising cost.
How would people rate the findaproperty website? I’m unsure about prices at the moment, however you pay per property rather than a subscription. So it might be a viable solution until a couple of clients are on the books.
Hopefully we should be receiving the package tomorrow so we can look into everything from a much more in-depth perspective.

We’re quite eager to get started and flyering, we have setup a dedicated business phone line in the office (was a spare that we didn’t need in the end for one of our other businesses). The company name has been decided and we are getting the logo designed at the moment. The domains are registered and after we have had a good read and have made a few updates to the site it will be ready to go live.

 

[defiance]

Hi

I manage my own properties, as far as I am aware the only legal requirment that u will face is the new deposit scheme, when you take tennant deposits, not sure of the full details as my tennats are long standing and it has only been law for about a month so not had to use it.

agreed.

don't need any spec quals. but read the regs.

 

[speedtrip]

Guys, I am a Franchisee with Red homes .... ive been going about 3 months and sold 6 homes now that are completing in the next couple. However, I have investors buying through me going to other Agents for letting services. Then there are investors who sell via the sales team of their letting services.

I am thinking about launching lettings alongside to bring in sales from lettings and vice versa so im throwing leads/money away.

If you had a letting service you need to use Right Move, circa £75pcm to advertise on-line and then a further £200 - 400 pcm for your local paper, plus your own website.

Maybe their is a JV opp here, anyone?