What makes a good letting agent?

Earlier this week, the ‘eviction notice’ pictured above was doing the rounds on Twitter. Hard to know if this is real or just fake news but if this is a genuine notice from a letting agent to their tenant - pink felt tip aside - there are so many reasons why this is completely unacceptable that it’s hard to know where to begin.

So we asked Sam Hay who heads up LifebyRingley, our Manchester-based Lettings division, for her tips to help landlords – and tenants – find a professional letting agent who will work hard on your behalf – and who can be relied on not to deliver notices like this one! It is easy to get a feel for an agent simply by doing some research of your own online. Sam says a good starting to point is to look at their marketing material. How do they currently advertise their properties? Are the pictures professional and the descriptions well written? Find out what others say about them. Take a look at their online reviews - which cut through the marketing blurb companies send out - to get a feel for the level of service they offer. Where are they located and are they members of a professional body such as ARLA? – This is important as it not only gives you an idea of the standards they are expected to maintain but means they will also have a complaints system in place if things go wrong. Once you’ve shortlisted a handful of agents, here are some questions to ask them individually:

• How long have they been in business? A firm that is well established and has a solid client base is generally a better bet.
• How do they deal with their maintenance ie, how does the process work? If it isn’t dealt with quickly and professionally it can cost you a good tenant.
• What is their accounting process?
• How do they train their team and how often does training occur?
• Check what their fully managed service includes and what it doesn’t, so you are fully aware of the charges
• How proactive are they when it comes to finding tenants?
• What technology do they use? It is important that you can access all documentation easily

At Ringley we aim to tick all these boxes. We're confident we offer value for money and a great service for our clients - and we're here to answer your questions, so give us a call or contact us at https://lifebyringley.co.uk/ .