20th
Dec 2016
Claims are being made that landlords who are using a letting agent can on average save £1,910 a year if they leave the marketing of their property to the 'experts'.
An insurance company polled 500 UK landlords and discovered that there is a mistaken belief among many of them about the cost effectiveness of contracting a letting agent. 53% of landlords in the survey do not use an agent when renting out one of their properties, and 40% stated their reason for not doing so is because of the cost. It is reported that landlords can make an average monthly saving of £159 by using agents.
The survey's findings come amid the assumption that because of the impending letting agents fees ban on tenants will mean that landlords will be charged more, which in turn will be passed onto the tenants by increasing rents. It is more than probable, that many landlords will opt to rent their properties themselves to tenants in spite of the considerable savings that can be made by contracting an agent.
The major savings that can be made is to reduce expensive void periods, as reported previously landlords endure a four month waiting period to rent out their property for the first time. 76% of those who took part in the survey said that their agents are extremely adept at sourcing tenants for them, they are also extremely helpful in other areas such as egal and fiscal matters, which saves them time and effort, a cost in themselves.
Half of those landlords that use an agent said that the decided to do so because they had an superb knowledge of the local area and 44% continued with the company because of the excellent service it provided.
Being relatively stress free is also a major factor when working with an agent, as 41% said it improved their life and around a quarter of landlords email, text or speak with their agents weekly.
David Hadden, Head of Property for the landlord insurance arm of the firm, said: “Landlords who use letting agents find them very useful – especially before a letting – and state they help to reduce stress, free up time and, critically, save them money.
“The perceived cost of using a letting agent is among the biggest deterrents for many landlords, but those that do use an agent are on average reporting significant savings. Landlords considering letting their properties directly to tenants in light of changing legislation must seek advice to avoid potentially compromising their income, their quality of life and the provision of support and service that agents can offer. ”
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