First time renting, how to handle letting agents?

Posted by Spaceeebunz@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 7 comments

My partner and I are moving together for the first time, neither of us rented before. We viewed and put a holding fee down for a flat and our reference checks were successfully completed. The problem is, our move in date should be in 2 weeks. We barely had any contact with the letting agents as they would never call us back and always out of office for viewings. We haven’t signed our contract or paid for the deposit yet. Is this normal? We don’t want to annoy them off before signing our contract but we had a few questions they never answered to and we are getting quite annoyed/worried. How would you handle this?

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7 Comments

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AJackson3@reddit

It's my experience they'll do everything in the last 3 days. We're moving Monday and only sorted deposit, first month's rent and contracts today.

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MostlyNormalMan@reddit

View them as lazy, untrustworthy spivs and chancers, because thats what they are. If you've paid the holding fee, passed the reference checks and have been given a move in date then you should be fine. You'll normally sign the contract on the moving in day when you get the keys. In terms of them not answering your questions or getting back to you, that's normal. If they've promised to sort something out before you move in, but haven't put it in writing, then it won't happen.

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mingingflange@reddit

How would I handle it? I'd blast them with piss and fire.

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Laserpointer5000@reddit

you need to get a contract in principle, this is essentially a case of you need to have information from the estate agent in an email of where to send the deposit for the rental of X flat and you need to send the deposit. In this email there should also be mention of expected amount of rent and on what day to pay. Once you send the deposit that's it your contract is formed, even if you haven't signed anything.  Estate agents are all bad at their job, they are young and probably haven't had a job before. They don't really have a boss that is properly managing them, and they don't really know how to be professional. All in all they are just something you have to manage.

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ernie_milkie008@reddit

View them as the vermin they truly are.

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Moggy-Man@reddit

Chase them up. I used a letting company to let out my flat, and I had interviewed a few agents from different companies. The one we went with said and promised the moon, and almost immediately things began to fall apart. In the end I was constantly getting my rent late, and ended up losing my deposit because they hadn't registered it and ended up fucking off to a different part of the country and setting up a new business there. Point is, THEY are working for YOU, and not the other way around. If you can't get hold of them I'd start leaving messages threatening to abandon the contract because you can't trust an agency you can't contact.

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