Do you use a letting agent?

[BenG]

Hi there,

We are just about to buy our 1st IP and I was wondering who here uses a letting agency to look after the property. I can understand using them when you don't live nearby but are they worth using when you live close and can keep an eye of the property yourself?

Thanks

 

[auzieblogger]

Its a matter of opinion .. Im sure you'll find some here that DIY .. and many that use PM for letting/managing
In today's market I reckon letting shouldn't really be a problem, but its managing that you should be concerned about :-
- rent not on time
- small repairs + maintainenance
- handling the tennant with weird demands !
- increasing rent when need be
etc etc

If you have the time & audacity to do it , then go for it
or else pay (7 -8 %) for letting someone else to do it for you

I'm sure many here will have a lot to add , aalso search for existing threads

Cheers
AB

 

[Xenia]

some property management offices have specialists they call letting agents that only focus on just on letting properties.

Is this what you mean by a letting agent?

If you are using an office with property management tasks allocated to different people instead of a one pm does all office, your property is likely to be looked after better!

 

[TheCamel]

I use a complete property management service, even though i live about 10 minutes up the road, and am active on the strata committee, and at the complex at least once a month.

my LLI won't cover me unless i use a property management agency, and, even though i'm very confident about this tenant, it gives me a tiny bit more piece of mind for what is, in all honesty, not alot of cash.

 

[BenG]

Yeah I pretty mych agree that it is not a great deal of $$$ providing the PM does their job well Does anyone have a good PM they would recommend for Coogee, Sydney? Also looking for one in a couple of month for Kingford, Sydney

Thanks

 

[wylie]

I like the money in my pocket, and have never paid for a PM. But I grew up with my parents self-managing, so it is second nature.

I would not self-manage unless I lived close by though.