Times are tough for estate agents...why it seems like every estate agent is now doing lettings.

Look around a small town like Bexhill and you'll notice just how many estate agents there are, 14 at the last count! With a population of approximately 41,173 and only 9.3% of the population living in rented accommodation, why are all estate agents turning to Lettings.

The sales market is stalling, Brexit uncertainty has crushed confidence in the property market, according to the official surveyors’ body, with buyers evaporating, prices falling and sales taking a record amount of time to complete. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said the time taken to complete a property sale has widened to 19 weeks, the longest duration since it began collecting data.

It seems that estate agents up and down the country, unable to sell property, are pouring into the lettings business instead. Like rental properties themselves, the market for letting agents is now saturated. 

Of the 14 agents in Bexhill only one estate agent does not do Lettings alongside their sales. So this must be good news for landlords? More competition means better deals and reduced  fees surely? Not so, the influx has been so great that the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) has warned about a flood of "unqualified" agents without professional qualifications or standards hitting our high streets.

So yes, you might get a great deal, but will your letting agent be up to speed on all the relevant legislation, know what notices need to be served and when and have in-dept knowledge of the lettings market? Or will they simply be an unqualified sales agent trying to boost their income at the expense of landlords and tenants.

Choose a letting agent who is well established, knows the business and the town and most importantly is qualified in Lettings.

Section 21 case study - let this be a lesson!

In a recent court case,  Assured Property Services Ltd v Ooo, the landlord had attended court seeking an accelerated possession after having served a Section 21. He was in no way concerned as the Section 21 had been hand delivered, the two months had expired and the tenants were still in-situ. He was not seeking payment of any rent arrears, simply to regain possession of his property.

At court the tenant advised the judge that he felt the landlord was not able to serve a Section 21 as he had not been issued with a gas safety certificate at the start of the tenancy. The landlord admitted that is was simply an administrative slip up and the tenant was given a copy of the certificate at a later date.

The court decided that because the gas safety certificate had not been provided at the outset and because the landlord admitted his mistake, the landlord could not then serve a Section 21 to claim possession of his property. This meant that as long as the tenant paid their rent and did not breach any of the terms of the tenancy, the landlord would be unable to evict them.

It is well known that landlords have a legal obligation to provide a gas safety certificate every year but not all landlords understand that it needs to be given 'before that tenant occupies those premises'

This case makes it clear how important it is that landlords and agents need to be able to prove when and how documents were given to tenants. It would be suggested that the tenants sign or initial to say that the relevant paperwork has been received before the keys are handed over. 

So, what happens if you are in this situation now? Maybe you handed over the keys and know the gas certificate was provided at a later date or for some reason the tenants were never given a copy. In short, it puts you in a difficult position. If the tenants have make indications that they wish to move out, this could be encouraged! If this isn't the case you may want to let sleeping dogs lie. However if you need the property back and know you may hit problems in court it may be worth negotiating a tenancy surrender with a financial sweetener for the tenants - this is still most likely to be cheaper that the potential court costs. If the tenant is in arrears you can still use the Section 8 as this is not affected by the legislation, just make sure it is served correctly!

Not all letting agents are created equal!

Times are tough in the lettings sector at the moment, many landlords are feeling the pinch with recent legislation changes, increase in stamp duty costs and selective licensing. They need to know that they are getting good value for money and good support from their letting agents.

For such a small town there are an awful lot of letting agents in Bexhill. Many of them started out as estate agents and decided to dip their toe in the letting agent pool when the sales market slumped some years ago.

We feel that we are the right agent to let your property in Bexhill or the surrounding area, have a read of the points below and see what you think.....

Price - We feel that our prices are fair and reasonable for the work that we carry out. We offer a high quality service at a competitive price. While some agents will offer very low prices, you need to ask yourself, what corners will they be cutting to enable them to offer such a low price. Negotiating a good deal is one thing but don't fall for a too good to be true offer, as the saying goes "if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is".

Customer Service - We pride ourselves on our high standards of customer service, not only to landlords but also to tenants. A landlords main aim is to find a good tenant who stays long term and pays the rent, if that tenant is well looked after by the agent they are more likely to be happy to stay. We also make sure we have up to date knowledge on all the latest legislation and will keep landlords informed of any changes they need to make to ensure they are covered. We are a small team and landlords will get to know all of us, we offer personal service and are always on hand with help and advice.

Ethics - We strongly believe in a fair service for all. We don't charge hugely over inflated admin fees to tenants, we charge just £84 per person including VAT. This reflects the costs involved in carrying out the referencing fees, we don't feel that an admin fee of sometimes over £200 per person can be justified. We don't poach clients from other agents, we respect other agents that have worked hard for their leads and do not directly target landlords who have chosen to give their business to another agent.

Expertise - We don't do sales! We specialise in lettings, this means all of our knowledge and expertise is solely focused on letting and managing property. The staff you speak to in the office are the same people who will deal with all aspects of the process, from finding a tenant to dealing with repairs or issues with the rent. We know our stuff and can advise you accordingly to ensure your property is well looked after and that your tenants are kept happy.

Qualified and Registered - We are members of ARLA (Association of Registered landlords). This means we adhere to the high standards and levels of professionalism set out by the industry governing body. We have also carried out recognised training courses and exams to obtain ARLA  qualifications. We are also members of the Property Ombudsman which shows we are confident in our abilities to resolve any issues but that we are also committed to give our customers another route to find resolution in the unlikely event that they are unhappy with the way we have dealt with their issue.

We want your business, we want to let your property - its what we do. However, we also want to give good customer service, be fair and transparent in our practices and offer great property management at a great price.

If you have read this far and think our agency might be the one for you, give us a call. Chat with us and see what you think. We offer free no obligation valuations and advice and if you decide to go ahead and let your property through us, we will offer you three months free management if you place your property with us as sole agent.

Lettings isn't just part of our business, it is our business.