A letting salesperson is more than just a “sales person.” A good lettings agent will act on your behalf and offer suggestions and guidance making sure that you get the best rent for your property.
From the point of view of the prospective tenant the lettings agent will help fine tune the search process and select the most suitable properties to view. They can also offer advice on such things as housing benefit and council tax bandings. Although most lettings agents are genuine in their desire to help, one should be wary of the agent who tries “too hard” to push you in to a particular property.
Once a prospective tenant has located a suitable property the lettings agent’s next job is to help negotiate with the landlord to finalise the deal. It is worth remembering that the agent is working for the landlord and will obviously be trying to safeguard his income. That being said, a good agent will recognise that a done deal is a better deal that one that does not complete.
When dealing with a letting agent it is is also worth finding out whether the agent is acting as a managing agent or simply a tenant-finder. The chances are that the agent will be much more proactive with the properties that they manage, as they are the ones that will have ongoing contact with the tenant.
The Internet has opened up a world of information that wasn’t before accessible to landlords and prospective tenants. There are generic property finder sites such as Right Move and Primelocation, however the information on those sites is can vary wildly.
When it comes to locating a good lettings agent it is a good idea to use the internet to search. Having created a list of agents the next step is to find each agent’s website and check it to see how up to date it is. Whilst searching the internet for lettings agents you may come across a review site, a good example of one such site is the Cheltenham Lettings Review, this site is well used by tenants, landlords and agents.
The role of an agent has altered in the last couple of years. In the past, agents were the merely way tenants and landlords could access information. Now agents are much more involved in the whole process, from tenant finding to negotiation and management.