tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2426994241466690932.post2125659238318865358..comments2024-03-23T22:21:32.073-07:00Comments on Renter Girl: Just A Rentergirl Who Can't Say No.RenterGirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12556830109922784321noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2426994241466690932.post-56234530462885172662009-10-21T11:27:41.893-07:002009-10-21T11:27:41.893-07:00It's a big decision for me to make. And Shoe: ...It's a big decision for me to make. And Shoe: isn't it just the bare-faced cheek that irks?RenterGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12556830109922784321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2426994241466690932.post-18131342781573955712009-10-21T07:37:18.117-07:002009-10-21T07:37:18.117-07:00I feel your pain. My current landlady (who runs h...I feel your pain. My current landlady (who runs her own small agency cum art gallery - yes I know it sounds strange, it is) looks routinely for 6 weeks in advance and deducts 40 euros for "cleaning."Shoehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14090768549182973598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2426994241466690932.post-38593954526888743112009-10-14T08:53:35.346-07:002009-10-14T08:53:35.346-07:00If the fees are illegal then take the to court (on...If the fees are illegal then take the to court (once you have moved into the property). Don't let the bastards get away with it. At least it sounds like you have the law on your side, unlike in England.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06484872540906904591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2426994241466690932.post-18128543687043231232009-10-14T04:07:05.948-07:002009-10-14T04:07:05.948-07:00Hello Matt W! Yep - that is an excellent and usefu...Hello Matt W! Yep - that is an excellent and useful point. I wonder if charging money for a service that is not delivered is actually fraudulent. And the employment agency comparison is a pertinent one.<br /><br />And Clare: that is quite ingenious and brilliant in its stupidity. The guarantor thing is also pernicious. An agency I visited once said they don't used guarantors: "...if you don't pay the rent - we throw you out." Which is fair enough really.<br /><br />And Ben - your cynicism is well-placed: 'grey area' equates here with licence to bleed tenants dry.<br /><br />Thanks for reading! And good to 'meet' you all again.RenterGirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12556830109922784321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2426994241466690932.post-38565965164200818522009-10-13T12:44:27.339-07:002009-10-13T12:44:27.339-07:00Its all very well for the letting agents to comman...Its all very well for the letting agents to command fees from tenants 'for running their office' - but they take about 15% from the rental income anyway.<br /><br />Its illegal for employment agencies to charge fees. It should be the same for letting agents too.MattWnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2426994241466690932.post-3697837623871610062009-10-12T14:25:50.815-07:002009-10-12T14:25:50.815-07:00Just discovered from my latest experiences how let...Just discovered from my latest experiences how letting agents guarantee landlords they will get their rent paid. Simple - cherry-pick tenants with perfect references. For anyone else, demand a rent guarantor. My references should have been impeccable if the referencing agency hadn't been so stupid as to read an address ending in Cobham Surrey as Cobham Surgery, and then assume that as I'm a doctor, I must be a medical doctor (I'm not, I'm an academic doctor). So I was told, no rent guarantor, no flat. The referencing agency even managed to speak to the MD of the firm I work for - an engineering company - and still failed to realise that the guy doesn't run a s*dd*ng doctors' surgery. How stupid can you get.<br /><br />So at the age of 45 I have to find a rent guarantor like I'm a small child who has to run to Daddy for a hand-out. I asked the letting agent who he thought I should get to do this, considering the fact that in the eyes of the law I'm a responsible, accountable adult. He did at least have the grace to look non-plussed. He has the entire weight of the law on his side, with a take-it-or-leave-it contract and a deposit, and still he needs a guarantee. Why? Because without a guarantee the insurance cover for the landlord's rent doesn't kick in. So that's how the scam works; either perfect references, in which case there's no risk to insure, or demand a guarantor, in which case the guarantor is effectively underwriting the insurance. <br /><br />I paid 185 quid up front in fees. When I suggested I should pay less as the referencing agency had made such a mess of it, I was told no fee, no flat. What a fantastic world letting agencies live in. Charge the customer up-front to prove they will pay, and when you screw it up, still charge the full fee. Totally unaccountable. In my line of work if I screwed up like this, I'd refund automatically and apologise profusely. Not if you are a letting agent. These people are out of control and need to be regulated.<br /><br />ClareAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2426994241466690932.post-59265771852629483062009-10-12T09:06:56.952-07:002009-10-12T09:06:56.952-07:00The terms 'law' and 'grey area' ar...The terms 'law' and 'grey area' are pretty synonymous really but it does seem to display rather a lack of commitment to make a law and then not bother enforcing it. <br /><br />Glad to see you back online.Benjamin Judgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06637849151673108584noreply@blogger.com