Reply to: Estate agents : renting fees

[FSM with Cheddar]

Those fees are negotiable, and in today's climate you are in a strong position to tell them to shove the fees.

[Cyberman]

Think yourself lucky. Some agents in Germany make you fill in a questionaire including questions like "Why are you looking for accomodation?" and "How will you be funding it, please provide evidence?" before you even get the address.

They then charge a commission based on the length of the tenancy!!! e.g 15% of monthly rent per month of tenancy. Barstands!

I rented for two years in Germany and paid a month's rent as a deposit and no extra fees. There were no silly questions, but I had to show evidence of continuity of work, which is quite a reasonable demand. A common practice when leaving the accommodation is that you have to ensure it is redecorated or you forfeit the deposit.

[BrianSnail]

Just hope nothing ever goes wrong with the property - their property management is a joke, they are only interested in the initial commission.

The property is managed by the landlord, so that is yet to be seen, but Foxtons really tried it on over the contract. They wanted 1 month rent in advance, 6 weeks depost, admin and referencing fee (£368), all just to hold the property after the offer was accepted, and before the contract had been drawn up!

Farkers!

[sasguru]

Not sure this is legal - check with your local CAB.
Silly going through agencies anyway, look direct in gumtree and moveflat.com

[Moscow Mule]

I just have rented through Foxtons, and wish I'd had a spoon handy at the time!

Just hope nothing ever goes wrong with the property - their property management is a joke, they are only interested in the initial commission.

[BrianSnail]

I would rather cut my nuts off with a spoon than rent through Foxtons.

I just have rented through Foxtons, and wish I'd had a spoon handy at the time!

[lambrini_socialist]

have things changed in the last few years, is this normal?

totally normal but usually negotiable in my experience....

[Moscow Mule]

Try to avoid F$%kstons, W£nkworth etc as their fees are high and any issues you have take ages to sort out.

I would rather cut my nuts off with a spoon than rent through Foxtons.

[sunnysan]

Laandaan

Fees from an agency could amount to circa £300. Just the way it is.

IME the smaller agents tend to be more reasonable + you get better service if something goes wrong but I suppose it depends on agent.

Try to avoid F$%kstons, W£nkworth etc as their fees are high and any issues you have take ages to sort out.

[Svalbaard]

Granted it was a long time ago but I don't ever remember having to pay any fees to rent accommodation. It used to be that you went in to the agency, filled out the forms, and if you passed the credit reference check you paid the first month upfront, plus a months rent as a deposit - and that was it.

Seems these agents have come up with new ways to extract money for old rope.

[Pondlife]

Think yourself lucky. Some agents in Germany make you fill in a questionaire including questions like "Why are you looking for accomodation?" and "How will you be funding it, please provide evidence?" before you even get the address.

They then charge a commission based on the length of the tenancy!!! e.g 15% of monthly rent per month of tenancy. Barstands!

[BrilloPad]

Why let when you can buy! prices are at the bottom and are bound to double over the next year.

[DimPrawn]

Setup your own letting agency and bypass the fees.

[Churchill]

We're about to sign on a to-let property. Fairly typically, we'd have to pay the first month's rent and a bond of similar amount on moving in.
The agent also has two fees... we have to pay an 'application fee' of £125 (non-refundable) to say we actually want the property, and an extra fee of £165 when we move in.

Is this normal? The last time I rented (5 years back) I don't remember any fees - I thought the landlord paid the fees. That last rented property was actually with the same agent as were deaing with now... have things changed in the last few years, is this normal?

Go direct, hasn't this site taught you anything? All agents(of every type) are bastards!

[Moscow Mule]

Is the extra fee for an inventory?

They like to charge extra for that, and to be fair it does protect you if it's an accurate one.