x

Graham Bowcock

1545 Profile Views

About Me

my expertise in the industry

Graham's Recent Activity

Any reputable agent will have a good database of decent contractors but this article raises a number of issues about the use of contractors. The first issue is the agent having an understanding of property issues and just how a property works. There are many agents who use junior staff in their offices and sadly they lack experience of owning or occupying houses; most do not have any formal training or property qualifications. A good agent should be able to liaise between the tenant, landlord and contractor to establish what needs doing. Now bear in mind that many tenants demand instant attention. Arguably they are right; rents are strong and rising in most areas and for some people part of the attraction of renting is that somebody else sorts out the repairs. Whilst the agent (again with experience) should manage tenant expectations, not all tenants are reasonable, especially if they are lacking heating or hot water. Finally, look at the contractors. Okay, £90 may be excessive for tightening some pipework, the contractor will have had to travel to the job, provide a van, provide tools and needs the experience to know what to look for. If it's so easy why isn't the landlord doing it himself or setting up in business as a plumber? It is quite hard to find good reliable contractors, mainly because there is so much work about (in my area anyway). A good agent should be insisting that the contractors have insurance and meet H and S standards; it's amazing how many people walk away from jobs if they have to provide proper paperwork! Therefore the pool available to an agent is limited. We use a number of contractors but have lost count of the number of times a contractor has failed to do a job or send in a quote because he forgot (juggling his mobile whilst driving or stuck under somebody else's bath) so we tend to use larger contractors with admin staff to provide good support. This is not actually more expensive (even if it was it's worth paying a bit extra) but it's a damn sight more reliable for all involved. There are some jobs (minor plumbing being an example) where getting a quote is not practical; just pay the call out fee and get it sorted. Sometimes the landlord just has to take it on the chin so as to avoid wasting time for all those involved (I speak as a landlord as well as an agent). Graham Bowcock

From: Graham Bowcock 03 February 2017 10:17 AM

My firm has always made charges to tenants and these reflect the general market and also what is happening locally. By not charging tenants our fees to landlords would need to be higher and this may well inflate rents. I have found from my early days (25 years ago) that some reasonable charges to tenants ensures a good deal of buy-in; it's amazing what we can often be expected to do for nothing. The mention of fees just to change the name on a tenancy is ill informed. Once a tenancy is set up it is a legally binding agreement. You cannot just add or remove tenants on a whim. The landlord is entitled to proper advice on such matters and if it is the tenant seeking the changes then the tenant should pay. If we go down the route of no charges to tenants, how many landlords will permit such changes to occur? Fees are legally transparent so any tenant can choose an agency where they feel charges are reasonable. Our landlords are happy with the split of fees (they are all made aware); if they ever felt that fees charged to tenants were jeopardising their property we would review on a case by case basis. In times of recession we have reviewed fees at all levels. Without income my firm cannot make a profit. Without profit we cannot pay good staff. Without profit we would nto exist.

From: Graham Bowcock 18 April 2016 13:54 PM

Breaking News