| Over
the last 20 years there has been a major shift in rental properties
from the Government and Social sectors to the private sector.
In part this has been driven by the increased investment in
buy to let properties as more and more people see this as
a way to make money, in particular for future retirement planning.
So, the private rental sector is increasing,
not really breaking news maybe however it is the impact this
has on the infrastructure that supports the rental market.
Traditionally tenants and landlords have relied upon the local
letting agent shop to find or let a property.
This makes great sense because the tenant
is often based in the locality and they just need to walk
past the window of a local letting agent to see what is available
in the neighbourhood.
But, and there is one, with the proliferation
of on line search portals it is increasingly easy to find
the property you want by searching on the internet, you no
longer need to visit the local letting agents shop. For landlords
its not too different either, there is also a wide choice
of websites where you can advertise properties to let for
free, no fees, just place your add and wait for a tenant to
contact you.
Think about this for a moment, if tenants
and landlords can find each other through the internet then
why do we need a high street letting agent shop? Its true
that many landlords will still prefer to have their property
professionally managed, but the fees are high for letting
agent shops, mainly because someone has to pay their rates
and rents for the prime locations in the high street.
This is where things are starting to change,
e.g. the infrastructure that supports the buy to let market.
If we no longer need the letting agent "shop window"
then the letting agent should be able to manage properties
from a cheaper office away from the high street, these lower
costs should then result in lower fees for managed lettings.
Of course things don't change overnight, it
is not easy to ditch the high street letting agent shop and
take a back street office, as agents still get some leads
from window shoppers. But the change is happening.
Already we are seeing new letting agents such
as LetsManage set up on the internet, as they don't have the
high street overheads they can easily provide the same levels
of service at up to 50% less. This really is an amazing change,
great news for landlords and tenants as lower costs should
benefit both.
The
Letting Agent's Role | Successful
Property Letting And Management |
Buying
To Let Top Ten Tips | A
Guide to UK Buy to Let Mortgages |
Buy
To Let - The Pitfalls |
Buy
to Let - Dream or Nightmare? |
Letting
Agents Fees Are About To Fall |
Letting
agents for fast letting services |
Letting
agents directory - making your search easier |
