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12:04 pm
15/12/2011
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Quotehello again!
sorry about the lack of posts since Christmas, but I've been extra busy meeting with LA's around Inverness; my last post.
thought i'd made up my mind and then came across some online letting agents.
as you were all so helpful before i thought i'd ask you all what the difference is between a traditional LA and an online LA?
has anyone every used an online LA before??
Happy Burns Day to you all too! 
12:06 pm
12/10/2011
OfflineYes, I've used Monster Homes Letting, and found them very good. Not a huge response, but I let the property, which is the whole object of the enterprise….
12:22 pm
12/10/2011
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Hi Jayne
As you will see we are a letting agent. I haven't really explored the online letting agent sites but on first impressions they seem like a good business model. Would I use one? Probably not. I am not saying that because they would be competition for us, I am saying that because whilst it appears to be a cost effective way of letting the property, I would like to know what ongoing support the sites offer. One site I looked at does all what we do except with our managed service we deal with the tenants on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis and deal with them if they need evicting. Because we have the contact we have everything to hand to issue proceedings which means all we do with you, is keep you in the loop so you don't need to worry.
Its horses for courses I guess. If you want to manage the property yourself it may be the way to go.
Hope that helps
12:49 pm
12/10/2011
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Hi Carole
We too are letting agents, but online and we have the same contact with tenants as you do. The only difference being that we work from home rather than an office.
The benefits for our clients, whether landlords or tenants, is that we do not stop at 6pm since I can often be found checking emails during the evening and on bank holidays. I even answered a couple of enquiries on Christmas Day. Another difference for landlords is that stories are often reported of agents disappearing with rents, deposits and landlords arriving at their offices to find them empty.
Our landlords know where I live and it is much easier to disappear from a rented office than a morgaged house!
As you say, different strokes for different folks!
Director
BakerReed Properties Limited
Member of The Guild of Letting and Management
Member of The National Approved Letting Scheme
Member of The Residential Landlords Association
Member of The National Landlords Association
Member of The Westcountry Landlords Association
1:04 pm
12/10/2011
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@Lyndon
Ditto on all fronts
12:52 pm
Hi Jayne,
I have used both high street and online letting agents.
I have only ever used a letting agent for advertising my property, so can't comment on the difference between them in terms of ongoing management…..although i guess that a h/street agent uses their own people, and an online agent outsources it????
In terms of advertising a property, as far as i'm aware, the only difference is that a high street agent will advertise it in the local rag (although in my experience, they only advertise it for maybe one week in a month, so not that much exposure), and in their window, but both online agents and h/street advertise on rightmove, prime location etc etc.
In my experience, online letting agents are WAY cheaper. I have used theonlinelettingagents.co.uk a couple of times and found them really good, and their customer service was equally as good as my h/street LA. It is a DIY service…you have to upload your pics and description etc. But they handle all of the calls, and vet the applicants to make sure they fit your criteria (no pets, no dss, whatever you have requested), then call you to arrange a viewing time. You have to do the viewing. If the tenant likes it, they contact the online letting agent. They check with you to see if you are ok with the tenant. They reference check the tenant and do a tenancy agreement. Then it's over to you.
The online letting agents i used (www.theonlinelettingagents.co.uk)were free to use. I think you can get them to do lots of other things if you want…gas safety, reference checks, EPC, fully managed service etc etc. All of the things the h/street agent offers.
I only went to an online agent because i was sick of paying my old LA's fees (1 months rent to find a tenant), who kept asking me to do the viewing (because they didn't have enough staff to do it, or the tenant wanted to view on a sun etc), and i thought i could do it just as well myself. I'm a total convert now and wouldn't go back.
I guess it depends on how much support you want. I know some people like to be able to walk in to an office, but for me, it's online letting agents all the way!
1:24 pm
26/01/2012
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BarbaraChabeaux said:
Yes, I've used Monster Homes Letting, and found them very good. Not a huge response, but I let the property, which is the whole object of the enterprise….
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for the recommendation Barbara-yes your property went very quickly. My view is that it all depends on the level of service you require and your expectations. Monster Homes is an online letting agent but not only do we provide a property marketing/tenant find service we also provide full management and lots in between. The thing we are keen to get across is it is the Landlords choice. If it is a landlords first time letting a property I would not recommend that they choose our Property Marketing Service as thats exactly what it is-we will market the property on Rightmove and other portals and then pass all tenants onto the landlord to conduct the viewings and do the rest. We can of course provide tenant referencing, AST's etc as extras. But for an experienced property investor who likes to take care of things themselves this service is perfect. But we will explain this to the landlord and offer them a different service such as Let only or Full Management.
It's not really a case of online vs high street. It's more a case of providing a service which is right for the landlord. We literally have a service for everyone, from property marketing, let only, let only and rent collection, full management etc. We do everything a High Street Agent will do for you but our overheads are lower so we pass this saving on to the landlord. For instance our Let Only fee is just £250 where as other local agents are charging a whole months rent!! And we are not just sat behind a website-we meet clients at their properties, we are contactable by phone, we do viewings if the landlord wants us to. We even had a customer who used our property marketing service last night after seeing this thread and call us at 8pm and I answered the phone-not many agents are contactable at that time of night.
So really I think it's about offering fair fees and the right level of service for the landlords level of experience. We are happy to do as little or as much as you want. And on the subject of outsourcing-we use all our own people in Essex as thats where we provide full management. We provide the property marketing service nationwide. In fact we are based in Chelmsford, Essex and Let Barbara's property in Liverpool!!
Hope thats been helpful.
Neil
1:39 pm
12/10/2011
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I only went to an online agent because i was sick of paying my old LA's fees (1 months rent to find a tenant), who kept asking me to do the viewing (because they didn't have enough staff to do it, or the tenant wanted to view on a sun etc)
A good point well presented, I am just glad we go the extra mile and offer a service above and beyond the industry high street standard 
It's not really a case of online vs high street. It's more a case of providing a service which is right for the landlord.
Correct
Regards
Mark
6:20 pm
12/10/2011
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@ Frankie12345
I see that theonlinelettingagents.co.uk are a national company and that is probably why you do your own viewings. We concentrate on Bristol to Weston-super-Mare and take photos, description and accompany viewings as a FREE service. We can do this since the tenants are charged when they take the property.
We are indeed cheaper since we are not paying for an office, but we offer the same service as the “High Street” agent. If the landlord wants them referenced, a tenancy agreement and inventory etc then that is chargeable. Like Neil, we are available out of hours and this is of additional benefit to those landlords who are overseas and affected by the time difference. Also we tend to allow tenancies to become periodic rather than charge landlords “renewal” fees.
We endeavour to treat landlords as individuals since a landlord in a new build that will be easy to let, will have less problems letting or managing than a property in need of refurbishment in a less-desirable area. It does hep that we are also landlords.
I think Neil summed it up perfectly when he wrote, “It's about offering fair fees and the right level of service for the landlords level of experience. We are happy to do as little or as much as you want.” That, surely, is what ALL agents should have as their mantra?
12:39 pm
15/12/2011
OfflineThank you for all your kind feedback (again!) you must all think I'm a right dunce! 
As my parent’s home does not have a mortgage (which I've just inherited) and my income supports my existing flat (which is what I'm planning on renting out) the cost isn't really a worry for me, but I can see the benefits of online LA's for landlords who don't have the cash to use a traditional LA and the time to manage their properties themselves.
I'd still be interested in finding some online LA's in and around the Inverness area and what they can offer me?
But seeing as it's just the one property I have and also after reading so many horror stories about LA's pocketing deposits and such, I'm now considering whether I should take full responsibility and manage it myself?
After all, I've got all of you to go to if I get stuck!!
What would you do?
7:30 pm
PS Properties UK are traditional estate agents based in South East London, and we are increasingly challenged by the growing presence of online LAs.
On the financial side, there are a million reasons to opt for the online LAs. However, we have clients who still prefer that personal contact, ability to come sit in your office and discuss, rather than the "remote" relationship encountered with online LAs. Some of the repeat custom we receive are as a result of this physical contact.
However, as more people get squeezed by the economy and look for ways to make cuts in spending, it is highly likely that online LAs will have more custom coming to them -which is a shame, really, as we are more on the ground and resolve most landlord and tenant issues more expeditiously, and often cheaper.
In terms of marketing, though, we cover the local area more effectively with our presence, window displays, ads in local papers and community centres -this is relevant marketing where the property is located. All these are on top of the Internet marketing used by online LAs.
Steve Elliot.
Property Consultant,
6:39 pm
13/02/2012
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