Paying to apply to rent a property
Discussion
Just after anyone's thoughts on this.
I've seen a property nearby that I like the look of, so went in to the estate agents to get more details.
When I got home I read through all of the paperwork and it looks like I have to pay to even apply to rent any property with this particular estate agent.
Is this a normal thing now? I've not heard of it before and can't see anything about it on any other estate agent's websites.
Here is a link to the paperwork
http://homesearch-sheffield.co.uk/lettings/pdfs/te...
I've seen a property nearby that I like the look of, so went in to the estate agents to get more details.
When I got home I read through all of the paperwork and it looks like I have to pay to even apply to rent any property with this particular estate agent.
Is this a normal thing now? I've not heard of it before and can't see anything about it on any other estate agent's websites.
Here is a link to the paperwork
http://homesearch-sheffield.co.uk/lettings/pdfs/te...
Never heard of it before.
Sheffield rings a bell as somewhere someone told me that one particular estate agent had the market sewn up though, IIRC, so maybe it's unique to there. They were talking about the sale rather than rental side though so it may not apply even if I'm right in thinking they were talking about Sheffield.
ETA: I'd walk away regardless.
Sheffield rings a bell as somewhere someone told me that one particular estate agent had the market sewn up though, IIRC, so maybe it's unique to there. They were talking about the sale rather than rental side though so it may not apply even if I'm right in thinking they were talking about Sheffield.
ETA: I'd walk away regardless.
Edited by TuxRacer on Tuesday 21st December 23:10
Harsh as it may seem, it's been pretty standard for the last few years AFAIK - although it usually means you've been 'accepted' subject to references and the property won't be offered to others - I've never heard of them taking the money and then turning someone down for no reason!
Edited by Ultuous on Tuesday 21st December 23:23
Just read the agreement. (Deleted my older post as I didn't realise the situation.)
That's the referencing fee. You pay that once the landlord accepts your offer and you're then on the road to renting the property. It covers all the things like credit checks, cost of drawing up the contract, and so on - plus, at £235, a healthy profit for the agency!
No money should change hands until a let is agreed.
That's the referencing fee. You pay that once the landlord accepts your offer and you're then on the road to renting the property. It covers all the things like credit checks, cost of drawing up the contract, and so on - plus, at £235, a healthy profit for the agency!
No money should change hands until a let is agreed.
Timberwolf said:
Just read the agreement. (Deleted my older post as I didn't realise the situation.)
That's the referencing fee. You pay that once the landlord accepts your offer and you're then on the road to renting the property. It covers all the things like credit checks, cost of drawing up the contract, and so on - plus, at £235, a healthy profit for the agency!
No money should change hands until a let is agreed.
Ah right I must have read it wrong then. Don't think the other local estate agents are doing this but might give a quick ring round tomorrow to find out.That's the referencing fee. You pay that once the landlord accepts your offer and you're then on the road to renting the property. It covers all the things like credit checks, cost of drawing up the contract, and so on - plus, at £235, a healthy profit for the agency!
No money should change hands until a let is agreed.
Letting Agents are not my favourite breed of business. I think they take the money and don't do the job.
We rented for a few months a few years ago, as we were between houses, and at the time I was working as an 'Office Angel'(!)
I explained that the rent was going to paid for out of the interest on the sale of the unmortgaged property, and that we were renting until a suitable property came up for sale. I told them that my income wouldn't support the rent, and gave them a copy of the letter I wrote to my solicitor authorising disclosure of my finances to prove ability to pay. We had been at the previous address for 10 years.
They turned me down initially, saying my income wasn't enough to pay the rent! Then; when eventually it was worked out, I met with the landlord at the house to sign the agreement, but the dates and parties were all wrong on the docs they supplied.
So they took my money for vetting me, took the landlords money for preparing the documents, and didn't do either properly.
As it happens, we were there for 9 months, and bought the house opposite the one we rented. The landlord has gone back to not using agents to find tenants.
We rented for a few months a few years ago, as we were between houses, and at the time I was working as an 'Office Angel'(!)
I explained that the rent was going to paid for out of the interest on the sale of the unmortgaged property, and that we were renting until a suitable property came up for sale. I told them that my income wouldn't support the rent, and gave them a copy of the letter I wrote to my solicitor authorising disclosure of my finances to prove ability to pay. We had been at the previous address for 10 years.
They turned me down initially, saying my income wasn't enough to pay the rent! Then; when eventually it was worked out, I met with the landlord at the house to sign the agreement, but the dates and parties were all wrong on the docs they supplied.
So they took my money for vetting me, took the landlords money for preparing the documents, and didn't do either properly.
As it happens, we were there for 9 months, and bought the house opposite the one we rented. The landlord has gone back to not using agents to find tenants.
Timberwolf said:
Just read the agreement. (Deleted my older post as I didn't realise the situation.)
That's the referencing fee. You pay that once the landlord accepts your offer and you're then on the road to renting the property. It covers all the things like credit checks, cost of drawing up the contract, and so on - plus, at £235, a healthy profit for the agency!
No money should change hands until a let is agreed.
Sounds about right, they will need to pay for credit checks, + the admin time of writing to previous landlords etc. The contract bit is easy, it will be a standard AST contract. They will need to do an inventory/condition survey before and after the tenancy.That's the referencing fee. You pay that once the landlord accepts your offer and you're then on the road to renting the property. It covers all the things like credit checks, cost of drawing up the contract, and so on - plus, at £235, a healthy profit for the agency!
No money should change hands until a let is agreed.
I manage my own BTL, and I would rather have paid someone £200 so sort all the initial bits out.
It is fairly standard now for most agents to charge a tenants admin fee. Anything from £50 to 1 weeks rent.
There may also be a 'holding deposit' which you need to put down to show your faith in the deal which is refundable when you move in or non returnable if you pull out.
You need to establish whether the admin fee includes referencing as this is often extra on top.
Its not something you can normally negotiate out of.
You should defintely not pay an admin fee just to view properties or at anytime before an offer is agreed in principle.
There may also be a 'holding deposit' which you need to put down to show your faith in the deal which is refundable when you move in or non returnable if you pull out.
You need to establish whether the admin fee includes referencing as this is often extra on top.
Its not something you can normally negotiate out of.
You should defintely not pay an admin fee just to view properties or at anytime before an offer is agreed in principle.
Went along to the viewing in the end. The estate agent said that its only the application that goes through that gets charged (as said in the above posts).
Agent did seem pretty decent but their fees are about £50 more than the others, although its not a great deal in the grand scheme of things.
Thanks for the help everyone. Can always rely on PH (unless its a question about a woman/mx5/oxo tower restaurant).
Agent did seem pretty decent but their fees are about £50 more than the others, although its not a great deal in the grand scheme of things.
Thanks for the help everyone. Can always rely on PH (unless its a question about a woman/mx5/oxo tower restaurant).
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