jmenendez Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Hi We have been letting a property using a letting agency. The service provided by them is just rent collection We were wondering if it would be possible to do a totally new contract with the same tenant (this time not using the agency) once the contract is terminated with the agency and the check out is done. There is a clause in the Agency terms and conditions that says that minimum £1,000 fees will apply during the tenant occupancy duration. They claim that if the tenant stays they have the right to charge us that fees even if the contract has been terminated and the check out has been done. After that we are doing a totally independent new contract SO what is tenancy occupancy duration in this case?. Is it the time between the check in and check out? Or is it just the time the tenant stays regardless the contract have been terminated. Please, can anybody clarify this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 In short......if the Tenant was provided by the Agency and they have a contract stating terms and conditions which, presumably you have signed up to, then you cannot cancel a contract and provide a new one for the same tenant without incurring a fianancial penalty which they have indicated that you would be liable to pay to the agency if you went ahead and did what you are proposing. Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trenners Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Hi jemendez, The agent has found you a good tenant who pays the rent every month and respects your property. By reading the horror stories on this forum you should be counting your blessings and thanking the letting agent for doing such a great job. Instead, to try and squeeze as much profit as possible, you are now trying to look at ways to get rid of the letting agent and wriggle out of the legally binding contract that you signed with them so that you can approach the tenant directly. It really does amaze me how greedy some landlords can be....... When your property was empty and tenantless and earning no rent you were really grateful to the letting agent for finding you a good tenant.......... Now that you've got a good tenant you want to dump the agent. I think the best strategy is to extend the tenancy (with the letting agent) and, when the existing tenants finally leave (for real rather than pretending to leave), try marketing the property yourself next time. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPEL Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Putting the ethics and contractual issues to one side between you & the agent, the tenancy agreement is between the landlord and the tenant. Therefore, should you choose to ditch your agent, the tenancy agreement still remains in force. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Hi Jimendez Outrageous isn't it ? I think that if you use a tenant finder service you should pay for it - a one off fee . If you commission someone to manage for a term then it is upto you to negotiate not only the term, but the terms of the agreement When signing any kind of agreement -you should look very carefully at the terms and implications thereof BEFORE signing but if i were to use an agent for managing say a 6 mth AST then i w ould want 6 mths stipulated onth the agreement . Period. There are lot of other things i would want to see on there - like a 3month break clause if i was not happy with service and many other things which they wont agree to which is why i self manage !!!! Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J4L Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 ''like a 3month break clause if i was not happy with service'' I'd agree to that!!! But then we're not the 'norm' are we! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 What is even more outrageous ( nothing persnal here Gareth 'cos i know how touchy you can get!!HAHA) Is a renewal fee for a "fresh contract" with the same tenant -- This condition is are not something i would even contemplate !!! if the agent was doing a "good job" then then yes, keep them on - sign a new 6/12 mth contract with them to manage prop (just as T signs new contract for 6 /12mths) ...............but stumping up more cash for a sig ..............NOT ON YOUR NELLY !!!! Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J4L Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 ME? TOUCHY? Never!!! This is how WE operate, Find Tenant Only - one off fee, includes, tenant checks, inventory, check in, Tenancy agreement. We charge £100 set up fee plus a 4% one off fee, or £200 ( whichever is the lower ) for the length of the signed contract 6 or 12 month, whichever. No further fees for the Landlord or Tenant - EVER!! However if the Landlord comes back to me and wants me to renew the TA, do a check on the property, check a tenant out, sort a repair etc then he gets charged! Of course he does! He wanted us to find a tenant and get them in for him and wanted to manage it himself. If we fully manage the property and 6 months down the road the initial agreement runs out then why should I charge the Landlord for drawing up a new TA? No reason to do this whatsoever, because at the same time the Landlord will be signing up with me for a further length of time. So the answer here is NO there is no further charge to the Landlord. See Simon? Yes I can get a little touchy about some stuff but I have enough business nonce to understand what Landlords want and need, to see What is fair and unfair, and capture THAT market from these others. This is WHY we set up this agency because we felt that Landlords AND tenants were paying over the odds for what has been (up to now) sometimes a very poor service. Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPEL Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 J4L not having a go at you but how long do you think you can sustain a champagne service for beer prices? If you're in a high street office something will give sooner or later as operating costs increase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trenners Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 I agree with GPEL. The problem with landlords, in general, is that they want champagne service for lemonade (or even water) prices. It really annoys me when I hear of landlords trying to terminate their contracts with their lettings agents because of greed, greed and greed on the part of the landlord. Don't get me wrong, I know that some letting agents provide poor value for money and landlords would be better off letting their properties themselves that using these rogue agents. If you have an issue with the agent (due to poor service) then the landlord should document the reasons why the agent is in breach of contract and then terminate. However, if the letting agent has delivered good service and the landlord is simply looking at ways of grabbing more money then they need to wait until the existing tenants leave. At that point the landlord should not re-appoint the agent and, instead, advertise and find a new tenant themselves. Letting agents provide a valuable service to busy landlords who haven't got the time to deal with the many hassles caused by difficult tenants. No-one forces a landlord to use a letting agent in the first place - but - having decided to engage with an agent it is only fair that the landlord honours that agreement for the duration of the tenancy. I run a letting agency business and I never compete on PRICE. If my landlords want me to let out their property (with my legendary customer service and vast experience of letting etc etc) then they have to pay my price. If you pay peanuts you get monkeys. If you pay a cheap price you get a cheap service ! Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Hi All this seems to have got a little comfused here ! The only point i was making was that i feel "the rogue" agents are the ones who tie you in to "the time" the tenant is at the prop as opposed to a fixed term management contract - I also agree that it would be unfair to try to break the contract b4 the "management contract is up" unless you are experiencing problems ! I think a fair sensible "contract" would be very similar to an AST where the term has an initial fixed term 6/12 months of management then let it go periodic with 1 mth notice from either party -NOT trapping the LL into resign (AST) fees and Man fees for what could be many many years (should the T decide to stay) Re-sign fees are nothing short of a rip off - J4L has actually got the right idea and will attract far mor LL if he proceeds in this way. Who Knows maybe one day i might consider using his services or someone with the same fair and sensible approach.............(cant believe i am typing this .............LOlOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!) I actually think J4L's fee structure is fair as well ................! I have to wonder who is being greedy here ......................! Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J4L Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 J4L not having a go at you but how long do you think you can sustain a champagne service for beer prices? If you're in a high street office something will give sooner or later as operating costs increase. Do you see writing up a Tenancy Agreement as a 'champagne service' then? Because I certainly don't! It's in my terms and conditions that if a landlord wants us to continue managing his property with the same tenant then I ain't gonna charge him for drawing up the new agreement. Where's the cost?? Few sheets of paper and a bit of ink and 10 minutes of my time. I'd rather keep the Landlord and earn a %age of the rent every month than just 'hit & run' like most people do. From my very 1st post in here I have stated that I would like to be a Landlords and a Tenants advocate, fairly and properly and reasonably. By ripping em off will only p**s em off so I won't do it I can sustain these operating costs as long as I need to cos i'm 'minted' haha Sorry couldn't resist that. Seriously, Trust me, my business plan has taken all these things into consideration. It's not a case of 'sustaining it' it's a case of 'increasing it' Answer me this a or b? a. You buy 100 pairs of jeans at a wholesale price of £10 and everyone else was selling them at £25 and in your 1st month you sell 10 pairs at £25, and each month thereafter you sell 10 pairs, taking 10 whole months to sell them all. b. You buy the same jeans (£10 pair) sell them for £15 (thus undercutting everyone else) and sold them all within one month. You choose??????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J4L Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 If you pay peanuts you get monkeys. If you pay a cheap price you get a cheap service ! Mark Mark with respect you don't know what MY service is like because you haven't contracted me to do any work for you personally. I agree 'some' landlords are very greedy (they are running a business aswell though) so by fair means of negotiating etc I hope to retain them in the fairest way. A small percentage of a figure is better than 0% of nothing so surely it's better to have them on board! Yes of course some will try and rip me off but I have it in my T&C's that if they cancel 'unfairly' i'll sue their ar**s off. But again this is a 'fair' clause. It doesn't have any misappropriate clauses in, it just says it in Black & White. (This one for Simon) Yup I also have a month get out 'notice' period for the Landlord. You know how I look at this? Well I personally think no one will use this because of the service I can and do deliver, but if they do? Well frankly I wouldn't have been doing my job would I so I don't deserve to have their business. I'm happy with that. Competition is healthy. (the only people who disagree with this are the one's who aren't very good in a battle for it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Dewsberry Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 In any "business arrangement" there is ALWAYS room for negotiation .............as long as both sides get what they want out of it on a"deal" they are happy with, then it should be considered nothing other than foolish not to enter into negotiations -unless you have more business than you know what to do with ...........! LL by their very nature, are open to negotiation and i think J4L has exactly the right attitude - in the current market place to make good inroads ! as opposed to rigid ways: in attitude,terms,service offered and pricing. If i was opening an agency - I would do as any good salesman does - Find(or create) the specific need required by each LL , then fill the need, at an agreeable price, with the facility to flex to each and every required need - which to be fair to Gareth, he is doing!!!! If somebody walks into my shop with a fistful of cash, then as a business person i will make every effort to give him what he requires in order to relieve him his cash ........at a fair profit ........ It is for this reason that a very strong arm of my furniyure business is "bespoke" furniture at ridiculously low prices - this in turn drives more biz my way cos i dont take the pixx with pricing... I deal with loads of LL and letting agents on a daily basis - and with the summer term over now - we have beds and mattresses flying out of the door - do i do deals for LL ..........You bet I do .........!!!! Do i do deals for agents as well ......yep! It is certainly not all about price, in fact it has nothing to do with price, it is very much about value for money ......... This, in todays society applies to all forms of business..... Simo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J4L Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 Anyone buying my jeans?? haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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