Whats best for you? Let only or full management?

As a Landlord you have two big questions hovering over your head. The first one being; should I use a Letting Agency to rent out my property? and What level of service should I pick when I go forward with an agency? Both questions in which can drastically change how your Landlord journey looks, however, with a simple read into what each service offers, you will easily find which one fits with what your expecting as a Landlord. In this blog I will be discussing Let-only and Full management services so we can determine what side of the scale your willing to sit at. 

So what does the Let- only side look like?

When you select the Let-only service with the Letting agency of your choice, you are handing over the initial set up responsibility to them. Meaning that you are hands-free until a carefully selected tenant is chosen for your property.

This service usually means that the Letting agent will Advertise your property and they tend to do this by putting it up on external marketing sites for example, OnTheMarket. In addition they should market your property on their own website and potentially in the shops window, this will allow for maximize exposure; giving you the best chance to have a variety of prospective tenants.

Once advertising has been completed and the agency has gathered a select few tenants to go ahead with, they will book them in for a viewing. A viewing will give these tenants a chance to see your property in person and get a feel for it, photos don't usually show enough so this step is always essential. These viewings will therefore narrow down the selection of tenants to one in particular, this tenant will then be placed through referencing which is essentially a background check to see if what the person is saying is correct.

If referencing clears them the Letting agents will prepare a tenancy agreement under the terms and conditions that they have; as well as any additional ones that you would like to add, the tenant will sign this document and the agency will collect the first months rent and deposit. 

Pros of Let-only:

• Low cost - One full payment
• Your in full control
• ideal if you reside within a close vicinity

Cons of Let-only:

• Your in charge of handling Maintenance, repairs, inspections and rent collection
• Having to know all ever-changing regulations
• Can become stressful when dealing with problem tenants

What does Full-management look like?

Full management entails everything that the Let-only service does and much more. Once, the Letting agent has completed all the steps stated above, they then will be in charge of rent collection every month from your tenants and they have the responsibility to pass these moneys over to you while deducting their monthly fee.

The Agency will be dealing with all the maintenance that is required within your property and all the repairs that are reported, allowing you to keep your hands clean while they go in and fix these issues for you.

The agency will also be required to carry out inspections of your property, every 6 months at minimum. These inspections allow them to see how your property is being treated and to double check of any repairs are needed that may have been missed or not reported by the tenant.

The Letting agency will then be able to serve any notices to the tenants if they are not complying to the original tenancy agreement and therefore they will keep to any of the legal requirements that come with these notices. Therefore, the agency will be the main route of communication for the tenants and so they will send you updates to keep you informed on your property. 

Pros of Full-management:

• Saves you a significant amount of time
• 24/7 professional support
• Legal compliance
• Ideal for a large portfolio 
• Peace of mind

Cons of Full-management:

• Higher cost
• Less direct control over tenant communication and decisions

Although I have only discussed Let-only and Full-management services within this blog, there are a variety of services that Letting agents offer. This is why it is essential to speak to multiple Letting agency's first, before you discuss which one you will work with. 

Additional reads:

Landlords: why it’s crucial to conduct regular inspections:

The most common mistakes that Landlords make and how to avoid them: