Agent in the hot seat

AGENT “IN THE HOT SEAT” – WHAT’S FULL MANAGEMENT?

Full Management (frequently referred to as a “fully managed” service) is a service offered by most letting agents to landlords that wish to have a more passive experience, where their letting agent is responsible for and will deal with all aspects of the management process including:

• Management of tenants • Rent collection • Safety compliance management • Property inspections • Management of property maintenance • Assistance in any disputes • Protection of the deposit

PROS

This is a great option for landlords who either don’t want to self manage or, for whatever reason (usually time or location related), cannot self manage. It is a passive service, because the letting agent will manage the property and the tenants and will ensure that the tenancy and the property are compliant. So, if it’s passivity that you are after, then this could be the right service level for you. Most agents will be happy to discuss tweaks with you, and trigger points at which you would like to be involved. For example, some landlords are happy to be completely hands off and let their agent choose tenants and some like to have the final say on tenant selection themselves; some are happy for the agent to sign the contract on their behalf, and some want to sign it themselves – and so on and so forth. Usually, if something is do-able and makes sense, your agent will be happy to oblige. Where the tenant find service leverages your agent’s selection experience, full management carries on, where that service ends, leveraging the agent’s management and compliance knowledge and expertise and often their trade contacts too.

The biggest one here is cost, as full management is an ongoing cost, as opposed to a one off fee, for a one off service, like, for instance, a tenant find. The important thing to mention here is that your agent will be spending a lot of time, on an ongoing basis, managing your property, managing your tenants, and keeping abreast of compliance, in order to keep you, as a landlord, safe. The other important thing to mention here is to choose your agent carefully. There are some great agents out there, and a conversation with them, asking some good quality questions, will help you to choose the right one. Make sure that you do this well and that you don’t choose based solely on price, because they will be managing your biggest asset and their knowledge of the local area and of regulations and compliance are crucial, especially if you want a truly passive service – remember, you cannot outsource your responsibility as a landlord, so your choice of lettings partner is an important one.

Full Management versus Tenant Find Whereas with a tenant find, the agent’s services do not extend beyond the check in, Full Management “does what it says on the tin.” A full management service incorporates all aspects of managing the tenancy. This often works well for landlords who do not have the time, experience, or knowledge to self-manage, or who have more than one property. It can also work well for more compliant or time intensive property models, like HMOs (Houses of multiple occupation) or SA (Serviced accommodation). The Cost

This will vary from agent to agent, as with all costings but, our advice here would be, don’t be lured in by very low prices. A full management service is time heavy, and time equals money, so if you are being quoted a very low cost, we would see this as a potential indication of how much time is going to be spent on the management of your property, so “buyer beware.” It’s also important to choose the right lettings partner, not just one based simply on price. There are some fantastic agents out there, so pick up the phone and have some conversations with them and ask some searching questions about how they go about the business of managing property. We charge 10% plus VAT for a single let and 12% plus VAT for an HMO, with discounts available for portfolio landlords. Different agents will have different fee structures, we have chosen ours to reflect time spent and the level of complexity involved. Our Tenant Find versus Our Full Management With our Tenant Find, you get to leverage exactly the same experience, knowledge and team as you get with full management, just for the part of the process that you need. We don’t outsource any part of our lettings service, so you get the full KPA experience, just for the “tenant find bit.” With our Full Management service you get that very same, experienced team, managing your property, your tenants and keeping both you and your property fully compliant; it can be as passive as you’d like it to be. Most agents work in a similar way and a conversation with them will help you to make the right choice about your lettings partner. Us versus our Competitors There are some great agents out there and, whilst it’s hard to comment, specifically, on exactly how they carry out their Full Management service, a chat with them would soon answer any of your questions and queries. Most agents define the service in a very similar way and are very happy to chat with a landlord about specific needs when it comes to the management of their property. The relationship with your agent is a partnership, never more so than in a management capacity, as they will be responsible for the day-to-day management of one of your biggest assets. Have those conversations, ask those questions, address those concerns – you will be pleased that you did! If you have found this subject useful, then 21you can find other, related, blog articles here.