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Written by Graham Norwood

Landlords are fed up of being overcharged by letting agents, according to a survey of 600 investment property owners.

Only 30 per cent of landlords agreed that fees were fair - but most other results were even more damning. Some 78 per cent felt agents’ fees were not transparent and nearly 90 per cent of landlords claimed that they had been misled by agents at some points.

Almost one in 12 landlords - eight per cent - claimed that a letting agent had actually stolen money from them. The research, by an online forum called Movebubble, says three quarters of landlords have been charged up to 20 per cent of their rental income per month by an agent and about eight per cent claimed the fee could be as high as 30 per cent.

The survey also suggests some letting agents are not carrying out work they are billing for. And despite being charged for reference checks, 46 per cent of landlords say they do not have any evidence that the checks were in fact undertaken.

Comments

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    Great attempt at self publicity by Bubblemove. Would I trust a new start website founded by an ex estate agent, a lawyer and a soldier? Will it be around in a year's time, with hundreds of these sites to chose from?

    • 30 July 2014 23:19 PM
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    Unlike most agents, we are actually transparent with our fees. Prior to taking on either a tenant or landlord we explain everything so no-one goes out of pocket for no reason and in over 35 years of trading, have never had a complaint.

    so to say say that agents fees are 'shady' is wrong. what most people dont realise is that the lettings industry is a business, not a charity and agents (like every other business) have overheads and have to be paid for.

    go to your local agent and ask them how much they spend on advertising alone and its probably more than most people earn in a year!

    we will concede that there are a minority of useless agents (independants and chains) who havent got a clue what they are doing and are just after money, which is wrong. to get paid you have to provide a good service.

    if you want a good service then please contact us www.elliottdavis.co

    • 25 July 2014 11:09 AM
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    Although I do think that it is rather shady to charge both the landlord and the tenant for letting/renting a property I would also say that business is business.

    I have dealt with a few useless, overpriced agents in my time. I have also dealt with a few good, reasonable ones.

    The former got fired. The latter remained.

    The best way to deal with this problem is to vote with your wallet. Agents are business people too. If the income drops off, they'll either go to the wall or change their ways.

    Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

    • 25 July 2014 09:32 AM
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    I am a tenant and may I say that Agents are getting away with daylight robbery!! I have had to pay £102 for checks to be made about me. When I asked what this was for, they could not answer, saying it was their "FEE" They did however, say that I could either pay it or lose the property!!! I also have to pay £90 for them to draw up a document which, when sent to me as a draft was so full of mistakes, I had to visit the agent in person to discuss this with them!! They are an absolute rip off and I would advise landlords NOT to use letting agents and to do it themselves!. Could I ask if there is any ombudsman that monitors letting agencies???

    • 25 July 2014 09:22 AM
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    A landlord claiming money has been "stolen" from them usual amounts to a landlord being charged as per terms of business and the landlord not having read them properly and then querying why they have been charged more than expected.

    What about all the agents owed fees by landlords for renewals they are avoiding?

    • 25 July 2014 09:20 AM
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