What two years of running Nook Lettings has taught me about choosing the right agent
Nick Brake, Director
Before we set up Nook, I had my own properties managed by a letting agent. So I know what it feels like to hand over that responsibility and assume that everything behind the scenes is being dealt with properly.
Two years into running Nook, I think I’d choose an agent very differently now.
I’d still look at the management fee. Of course I would. But it wouldn’t be the first thing I looked at.
I’d want to know whether the experience I was being sold was the experience I would actually get.
I’d want to meet the people managing my property
If I were appointing an agent now, I’d go and sit in their office. I’d want to meet the people I was going to speak to regularly and the people actually managing the property.
And I’d ask them questions.
How do you deal with maintenance issues? What happens when a tenant falls into arrears? How do you choose the right tenant rather than simply the first one who can move in? What happens when something goes wrong at 6.30pm on a Friday?
Because once you hand over the keys, you are handing over far more than the job of collecting the rent.
A rental property can represent hundreds of thousands of pounds of your money. It also comes with responsibilities around the safety of the people living there, the condition of the property, compliance, maintenance, records and the decisions that have to be made when something does not go to plan.
Get those decisions wrong and the consequences can be costly and, in some circumstances, very serious.
That is why I think landlords should scrutinise the people managing their property at least as carefully as they scrutinise the percentage on the management agreement.
Experienced people need time to use their experience
One of the biggest things I have learnt over the last two years is that hiring experienced people is only part of it.
You also have to give those people time to do the work that actually matters.
There is a lot in property management that can be systemised, automated or handled as straightforward administration. We use those systems because they allow our team to spend more time where their experience has real value: talking to landlords and tenants, visiting properties, meeting people and making judgement calls.
Good systems should support experienced people, not replace them.
Because when something goes wrong in a property, the landlord does not need somebody simply moving a task from one inbox to another. They need somebody capable of deciding what actually needs to happen next.
Sometimes good management is stopping on the way home
A tenant in the Harbourside called us in a panic about a leak in the bathroom.
It would have been very easy simply to call an out-of-hours contractor and pass the problem on.
Instead, Emma stopped at the property on her bike on the way home to see what was actually happening.
She reassured the tenant, secured the leak and established that it could be dealt with properly the following day. The tenant felt looked after, and the landlord avoided an unnecessary emergency call-out.
A relatively small problem stayed a relatively small problem.
For me, that is what experienced property management looks like.
It is not simply having somebody available to answer the phone. It is having somebody who can look at a situation, understand it and make a sensible decision.
That judgement protects the property, but it can also protect the landlord from unnecessary cost and unnecessary stress.
Good tenant relationships protect the landlord too
The other thing I understand much more clearly now is the value of the relationship with the tenant.
That is not just about being nice to people. It has a very practical value for the landlord.
If a tenant feels listened to and knows that somebody is paying attention, they are much more likely to work with you when something cannot be fixed immediately. They are more likely to report issues properly, less likely to let frustration build into something much bigger, and good tenants are more likely to stay.
Tenant turnover costs landlords money, and so does poor communication. A washing machine that takes a few days to replace does not necessarily have to become a major problem if there is already trust there.
That relationship matters.
A letting agent is not a commodity
I increasingly think landlords can treat letting agents as though they are largely interchangeable.
Compare the percentage. Compare what is included. Choose one.
I think that is a mistake.
A lower percentage can look attractive, but I’d want to understand exactly what sits behind it.
Who manages the property? How experienced are they? How many properties are they responsible for? What is included? What is charged separately? And, crucially, when something genuinely needs attention, will the person dealing with it have the time, experience and authority to make the right call?
Your property may be one of the largest assets you own. The people managing it are making decisions that can affect your money, your tenant, the condition of the property and whether your responsibilities as a landlord are being dealt with properly.
That deserves more scrutiny than simply comparing two percentages.
Come and sit with us at Nook
If you are choosing an agent, my advice now would be simple.
Meet the people. Ask questions. Find out what happens once the valuation is over, the paperwork is signed and the tenancy has started.
See how the place feels.
If you are considering Nook, come and sit with us for an hour. Meet the team. Ask us how we handle maintenance, tenant selection, arrears and the things that inevitably crop up.
You should feel confident that you can hand the property over, get on with the rest of your life and know that somebody capable is paying attention.
And that the service you were promised at the beginning is the service you will still be getting six months, a year or two years later.
Two years into running Nook, that is probably the biggest thing I’d look for now.
Let’s talk
If you’re choosing a letting agent in Bristol, come and sit with us at Nook. Meet the team, ask us your questions and see how we work.
Email hello@nooklettings.com or call 0117 370 4778.
