Nottingham Letting Agents are all the same right? A common misconception that I’m pleased to be able to rebuff. Some Letting Agents quite rightly have a dreadful reputation, and many are poorly trained, but just like solicitors, garages, restaurants, and hotels , if you shop around and do your research, you’ll find some outstanding operators that are nothing like the charlatans that the popular media like to portray.

As a landlord, your letting agent should be a person you trust. Their honesty & integrity is essential. They are the ones finding you tenants, and arranging your repairs, and potentially helping you find another property to purchase. Choose your agent wisely get them on side. A few key questions you might want to ask when you’re talking to agents are: 

Who will physically manage my property? It’s important to know if your property is being managed here in Nottingham, or from a call centre in Southampton. 

How do you handle rent arrears? You’d hope that your property manager would be involved, right…. 

How long are your voids between tenants? The answer should be in days, not weeks..   

Letting Agents in Nottingham come in all shapes and sizes. Increasingly there are large franchises, there are multi-branch national and regional concerns, and there are a choice of local independents. Many are ARLA licensed, and that probably should be your first port of call. ARLA licensing is the industry standard. It shows a level of training, and it means the agent has signed up to abide by a code of conduct. For some reason it doesn’t necessarily mean however that there is an ARLA member in each branch though, and that is something you should be aware of.

Many national chains and franchise networks also operate call centres – one national brand manage their property from Mansfield, for instance, and one from Southampton. Most independents will have one or two branches and will manage their properties in-house.

Are Estate Agents & Letting Agents the same thing? No. is the answer. A lot do both, but increasingly lettings and management is a standalone discipline. Sales is more front end & marketing led, whilst lettings can be more property law and management focussed. With rules and regulations surrounding lettings & management changing every few months, a specialist agent that is trained and focussed is essential to make sure your property and its tenancy are fully compliant.

Take up recommendations, and read reviews..

When you go on holiday, presumably you read the reviews of your hotel or the area that you’re going to stay? You may even do the same with restaurants, and even films? Your letting agent should be no different…. See what other landlords say. Have a chat with some if you wish. Have a look through their Google reviews and decide whether they sound like somebody you can work with. Whatever you do, don’t just choose on price, unless of course you always buy the cheapest car, book the cheapest hotel, and eat in the cheapest restaurants. When it comes to letting agents the saying “if you pay peanuts.……” couldn’t be more true.

If you’d like a frank and open conversation about investing in Nottingham, or you have a property that you need to rent out, call Granger & Oaks today. Even if we can’t help you ourselves, we will probably know somebody that can.