Paul Shamplina on Property Management & How to Find a Good Letting Agent

We are, of course, a little biased towards the notion that property management is better for landlords. After all, we have a management arm to the company that manages 100’s of properties. Now, how about this for a testimonial as to why you should use an agent?

Paul Shamplina, who is a Buy to Let Expert and TV presenter, has been urging landlords to use letting agents as the private rented sector sees further regulatory pressure. Shamplina says, given the last year of heavy regulatory changes, landlords need to seriously consider using professional help to manage their properties even if they haven’t considered it in the past.

“There have been 47 changes to regulation and law in the UK during Covid and for the small portfolio landlords now everything has changed massively,” he says. Failure to keep up with regulatory changes may mean you cannot get your tenant to leave your property as the eviction process requires that the landlord has followed all the rules and regulations to facilitate the use of clauses for evictions in more and more cases.

“I believe it’s essential that they have a letting agent on their side albeit the correct agent by picking the right one, which is very important.”

Tips for finding the right letting agent

1. Check for accreditations

It’s important to mention that letting agents are not required to be regulated by law. Therefore, you should actively seek an agent that is registered at a minimum with the National Approved Letting Scheme. There are others such as the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

2. Check to see if they deal with the legal headaches

Landlords are required by law to fulfill various legal checks. Things such as electrical safety, gas safety, Right to Rent, etc and it is constantly changing. It can be a full-time job trying to keep up with everything hence it makes a lot of sense having someone handle this for you.

3. Check for insurance

Any agent worth their salt will have professional indemnity cover which, in the unlikely event that they make a mistake, they are covered for damages.

4. What’s their marketing like?

No landlord wants an empty property! Granted, there is usually a bit of time between tenants where a property is vacant but don’t extend this period by using a letting agent that has terrible marketing!

5. Check the fees

When it comes to fees, the amount you’re expected to pay can vary considerably from agent to agent. Letting Agents are required by law to provide a ‘Scale of Landlord Charges’ document to you. This should uncover any hidden charges that you may not be aware of.

6. Check their reviews and testimonials

What other people are saying about the agency is a really important step to your research. Whilst a full 5* agent may sound good in theory, in reality, there is a risk those reviews are fabricated. It’s always best to check on Google for reviews. Don’t discount those agents that have a small percentage of negative reviews and have taken the time to formulate a detailed response, this is usually a good sign the agent is honest and proactive.

Are you looking for help in managing your property?

Here’s the call to action! Of course, we’ll want to encourage you to use us as your letting agent, after all, we are rated highly by our clients. We like to think we are good at what we do and we have been around for a long time, in fact, we were one of the very first letting agents in the area. Give us a call on 01454 316 718 to find out more about us and to arrange a no-obligation market appraisal and consultation.