The Honest Agent: Q & A

Hmph, I thought so, I was caught off guard and didn't want to be rude.  Sometimes I am too polite for my own good.

And on the topic of letting people in, I swear there is always someone wanting to look at the gas or electrical meters!  How often should they be, and what do they do when there is nobody home?  They don't get in my door without ID....

helle,

Check your lease. We have a 24-hour warning clause regarding landlord and agent visits, and I thought that was pretty standard. The cheek, just popping over like that.

We live in a flat in the U.S. once where the landlord would waltz in just about any time he felt like it when we weren't home. What a horrible experience that was.

This site has been my saviour and explains your rights as a tenant

http://england.shelter.org.uk/

Here's my question for the housing gurus!

Tenants A & B live in a house together, with separate leases for their bedrooms.  Tenant A would like to rent the house by himself when their leases are up because Tenant B is looking to move out.  However, Tenant B changes her mind and ends up wanting to stay...but she can't afford the house without Tenant A (or another tenant).  Tenant A no longer wants to live with Tenant B and is willing to move out if necessary, but really wants to stay in the existing place.  The landord would prefer renting to just Tenant A.

If neither Tenant A or B want to leave, who gets the house when both leases are up?  Both tenants have a regular Assured Shorthold tenancy and the leases end on the same day.

I would say that is up to the landlord to decide but s/he would have to give the proper notice to the departing tenant.

That's what I would think, too.  The landlord always has discretion with who they are going to rent to.  They have no obligation to renew with one tenant and not the other, so long as proper notice is served.

That's what I would think, too.  The landlord always has discretion with who they are going to rent to.  They have no obligation to renew with one tenant and not the other, so long as proper notice is served.

thanks!  What constitutes "proper notice" (a letter? How far in advance of the end of the lease does this need to be done?)

the landlord must give you proper notice in writing formally asking you to vacate.  They must give you two months notice and it must end on the last day of the rental period.  If you pay your rent on the 1st of the month, then the notice must end on the 31st of the month.  If he writes to you on the 2nd of the month, then the notice would effectively be one day short of 3 months. 

If you want to vacate, one month's written notice is all that is required but same rule applies, it must end on the last day of the rental period. 

I have a quick (and probably silly) question...

Is it normal for someone from the agency to just pop in in the middle of the day?  We had arranged for someone to come in to deal with the mice (ew!), and a week after the traps were set, we had a surprise visit.  I saw in my lease that we are not responsible for the cost if it's not our fault, but that was never addressed, and I couldn't help but wonder if the unscheduled visit had anything to do with checking for cleanliness (and therefore fault for luring the mice)...

I was rearranging my cupboards the the time and had things all over the counter top 

Yeah, all tenancies should carry a clause that states that agents must only enter the property when:

a) Pre-booked (i.e at least 24hrs before) or,
b) At a time that has been agreed with you on a specific day.

Can I ask, is your tenancy coming to an end in the next couple of months? They might be showing people on behalf of the landlord, and again they MUST make you aware of this. If they enter again without warning, you have every right to ban them from doing so unless they send you written notice within a forty eight hour period.

This might sound harsh, but at the end of the day, the last thing you want happening is some agent wondering into your apartment without telling you first.

How often should they be, and what do they do when there is nobody home?  They don't get in my door without ID....

I'm not sure if it's the same all over the country, but if my meter readers come when I'm not home, they leave a little card for me to fill in the readings myself and post back.

I'm not sure if it's the same all over the country, but if my meter readers come when I'm not home, they leave a little card for me to fill in the readings myself and post back.

Same.

hello!  i've got a question for the estate agent- my partner is selling his house in about 8 weeks.  the tenants are leaving in 3 weeks, and then we're giving the whole house a blitz (he's a painter). 

he's had 2 agents around to value the place- he thought one of the agents was much more helpful & enthusatic.  but i've got my business head on- what questions should we be asking agents to make sure we find the one who will be best at selling the house?  what fees should we be asking about?  how negiotatable are they?  any other tricks from the "inside"?  thanks in advance!

First of all, it depends where you are in the country! If you are in London, then fees are definately negotiable. If an agent wants your business, they will lower the cost of their fees in order to obtain it. Having worked both in and out of London, I've seen how fees can change from area to area. For example, a typical London agent will charge anywhere from 2.25 % at the highest (never pay above this for a sole agency agreement) and some will charge 1.5%, which is the average fee in the Capital.

Outside London however, fees are usually charged at around the 1% mark, and in some cases they work on a 'sliding scale' basis. (Can be explained in depth in needed)
There is a rather large 'book of tricks' that EA's have been trained with, so watch out for the dodgy ones! For example, some EA's will overvalue the property, simply to gain the instruction, then call you in two weeks because it hasn't sold and you end up reducing the price, having lost two weeks!  Do your own comparable evidence by checking what similar properties in the area have sold for on:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk

It is the best property portal by far with all latest up-to-date info on what's on the market, and what has sold.
All EA's will be enthusiastic (that's what they're paid for), but remember that they are working for you, and as their potential client, you need to be clear on what they will do for you. Most agents should ask how often you would like updating. Ideally, it should be twice a week. Even if they don't have any viewings, they should at least touch base to let you know that they haven't forgotten about you!

Hope this helps. If you have any further questions, let me know! 

We're just about to put our flat on the market, and we were a bit surprised by the variation in valuations we've had. The first agent felt that it was a nice flat in a good location, and we should put it on for £250,000 - he said they'd just sold something similar and it had had a lot of interest and sold quickly. The second agent said that there was no market for that type of flat at the moment, and that he'd put it on for £200,000, but that it would be better to rent it out. We're obviously a bit surprised! A colleague who's looking to buy a new flat came round to check it out and said that in his experience of going round flats (they've been looking for a while), he'd expect it to be closer to 250,000 than to 200,000. We then checked the websites ourselves, and I've come to the conclusion that around £240,000 would be reasonable. We don't want to put it on at a foolishly high price, but we did wonder whether the 2nd agent was trying to get our custom for their rental business rather than their selling business? What do you think?

I don't want to jump to any conclusions about the second agent that came around, but it does seem that he was looking to convince you to let it out. The fact that he said that there is 'no market' for flats such as yours is surprising. My guess, is that they are not confident enough to sell it. You can present agents with your own comparable research from websites like Rightmove, and that way you are in charge and suggest that you market it at X price. But if they are selling in the area at say, 240-250k, then the agent that valued it at 200k is definately trying to get you to let it, as they may be desparate for stock. Also, don't forget that you can negotiate agency fees. Choose the agent you are happiest/most confident in instructing and if you have had a better quote elsewhere, ask them to match it. The worst they can do is to say no but if they do want your business, they'll do it. (Within reason of course!)