Whilst many landlords will happily pay a letting agent to take care of everything, some landlords like to get stuck in and control as much of the process as possible, which leads them to a ‘let only’ service. This is where the letting agent finds the tenants and sets up the tenancy, before the landlord takes over the running of things from there.
 
Regardless of the service I’m instructed to undertake, my philosophy is always the same in regards to finding a tenant; it’s about getting the best tenant for the property, not necessarily the first one that comes along. That means finding ‘nice’ tenants who will pay the rent and look after the property and, where possible, who want to stay in the property long-term.
 
Unfortunately, some agents will do the minimum amount of work to get the job ‘done’; which to them means finding any tenant who’ll take the property. This is particularly true in the case of a ‘let only’ service whereby they may keep the better tenants for their managed stock, knowing that once they’ve moved tenants in on a let only basis they’re the landlord’s problem! Be sure you know who the tenants are and check their referencing reports to ensure you’re going to be comfortable dealing with them once they’re in your property.
 
Some unscrupulous agents have also worked out that by putting a short-term tenant in the property they won’t have to wait as long before being instructed (and paid) again to find the next set of tenants. Whilst the agent will make more money this way, the landlord will suffer from additional void periods and wear and tear from the greater churn of tenants.
 
You should watch out for agents with lots of similar (unlet) properties on their books and consider whether it is in their best interest to get your property let or the one across the street, which might start earning them a chunkier ‘fully managed’ fee.
 
A major reason landlords go down the ‘let only’ route rather than ‘fully managed’ is to save money. Unfortunately for these landlords they might be in for a shock when they next instruct an agent on a ‘let only’ basis, as the banning of tenant fees has seen letting agents greatly increase their price in this regard (many used to offer ‘let only’ very cheaply to landlords in the knowledge they would be in line for a big ‘admin’ fee from the tenants).
 
Be sure to check there aren’t any added costs or renewal fees tied into the service too. It’s a legal requirement for letting agents to list ALL the fees they will ever charge to landlords on their website, although I know a few who still aren’t doing this…
 
So, when it comes to choosing a letting agent, don’t be afraid to ask some tricky questions at their initial visit to weed out those in it for the short-term gain at the expense of your long-term pain!

A lot has been said about Labour's plans to allow tenants to purchase property from their landlords at a discount. Most have quickly realised this is unworkable, but when has that ever stopped a good political soundbite?!

Here's a thought though - how many landlords out there who have held properties for many years would sell but don't because a great chunk of the profits they made will be swallowed up by capital gains tax? 

Let's say you bought a house in 1999 for £85,000. On average, it would now be worth £250,000. Why would you sell a £250,000 asset from your balance sheet that gives you a 4% return, when doing so would only give you around £200,000 in your pocket (after selling fees & capital gains tax)...for which you could put in a savings account and earn less than 1.5%!?

I believe if you scrap capital gains tax on property sales you'd see a flood of landlords taking the opportunity to sell. And if your political intention is to create "homeownership for all", why not scrap capital gains tax IF you sell to your current tenants (or first-time buyers / owner-occupiers?).

Basically, politicians should think about using the carrot once in a while when it comes to their tinkering in the housing market, which would actually be more effective than automatically grabbing for the stick to beat landlords with.