Fitproperty1

Very good point Jeffery, that being said I am yet to meet a Landlord who does this. Cheers

It is still very strong, the student market is changing and becoming more competitive due to all the new student pod developments being built, if your property is in the right location and finished to a high quality it will still always let. The professional market is hot and only getting hotter at the time of me writing this there are only 12 one bed apartments & 8 two bedroom apartments to let in the whole of S1 and you can guarantee they already have offers on them. Sheffield city centre offers the highest yield for buy to let property in the country at just over 11% which is a staggering return. If anyone wants any free advice on where and what to buy feel free to get in touch. Fit Property only operate in the rental market and do not have a sales arm so we are perfectly placed to offer impartial advice on where you should invest your money. Cheers

Hi Elphi 24, I would advise if you have never done this before you should use an agent as it is not as strait forward as it may appear. Feel free to get in touch if you require any assistance. Many Thanks

Hi Mecheng46, My response was to the whole thread, who many be having problems with the building/their letting agent, not just your comment. But in direct response to your post, I would suggest viewing the flat and drawing your own conclusion. Cheers

For me personally, I would avoid the development as apartment buildings rarely improve overtime (in fact the opposite is generally the case) If you are having problems with your letting agents lack of action (generally the case with large nationals as all maintenance issues are normally dealt with by a central call centre miles away from the property) Ask for your landlords address to write to them (they have to give you this information) and point out your issues both inside the apartment and in the communal areas of the building, also send photos of any issues. I'm sure they will be grateful to know if their letting agent is doing a poor job as they pay lots of money (especially to national agents like Reeds Rains) for them to look after the property correctly, they also pay lots of money by way of a service charge to the block management company to look after the building, so if it is being run into the ground by the block management company they will want know why and why things aren't being fixed as they are paying for this after all. If a building isn't being looked after properly it will have a negative effect on their investment and they will want to do something about it, either by getting a better hands on local agent to manage the property or putting pressure on the block management company to get things fixed. In short if you are ever unhappy with your letting agents response or lack of action write to your landlord directly as the landlord may not even be aware of the issue and will want to know, They are then free to take action or change letting agents to someone more helpful....

Just as a side note always check with your landlord or letting agent before getting pets or changing locks as they may take issue with this. Cheers

Hi, The South West Ward contains Fulwood Ward, Crookes Ward, Ecclesall Ward, Dore and Totley Ward. (I do not think you will find anything in this area, even with a budget of £700.00 plus you would be likely to struggle especially with a pet. Demand is so strong in Sheffield landlords don't really need to accept pets to get their properties let) The South Ward contains Nether Edge Ward, Gleadless Valley Ward, Graves Park Ward, Beauchief and Greenhill Ward (You may have a slight chance of finding somewhere in Gleadless Valley but again the cat will make it hard) You might have to look further afield and use public transport.

It all depends on the agency you use...........

You’re completely correct Geared. A lot of my new landlords have come from the agency named by the OP in this thread, all of them were very unhappy with the service they received. Happily they are now all paying significantly less and receiving a better personal service to boot. (I myself used them to manage my First BTL property before I started working in the industry and found them to be utterly useless and soon took over management myself.) I also agree about the mark up many large agents put on contractors invoices often up to 25% something again we do not do in any instance at Fit Property. The problem with big agents is that they operate on volume so if they don't look after all their landlords properly they don't care and replace them with new ones. They also often charge huge termination fees some in excess of £600.00 for anyone who is dissatisfied with the service they receive and wishes to leave. People really need to shop around more and stop thinking they are going to be better off with a big agent. I've found 1st time or inexperienced landlords generally use big nationals but professional landlords use smaller independent agents which I think says a lot...... (obviously lots of landlords do it themselves which is great if you have the time and skill to do so) Cheers

Good Luck AJ.

Unfortunately AJ, the lettings market is just as costly and even less regulated. When vendors sell a house they are faced with a big bill from the estate agent to do so, thankfully most people don't sell houses every year. When landlords rent their properties out there is a strong chance they will need to re-market it every year so they are hit again and again with high fees, yet many never look into how they can reduce these costs and keep paying through the nose to these high street agents & franchises. At Fit Property we do not charge any Start-up, Re-Let or Renewal fees to our fully managed landlords at any point, quite literally saving them thousands each year in fees. As long as we keep their properties tenanted (something that we find very easy to do) the landlords do not see a drop in their income at any point which is great if they are looking to draw a monthly income from their properties. Cheers

Its not just the tenants that are being ripped off by these agents, Their landlords are also paying pretty much twice as much as they need too, to have their property looked after by them. (and I use the phrase looked after, very lightly) We have been saving landlords in City Lofts over a £1,000.00 a year in fees just by changing agents and their properties & tenants are being looked after much better as well.

Sadly many letting agency's charge very high (unjustifiable) fees plus have hidden charges and secretly mark up all the work that they do. Unfortunately I cannot name and shame....... Generally speaking though your national chains and franchises will be significantly more expensive for everyone concerned and for the most part you get significantly less for your money. Independent agents as a rule do tend to be much cheaper but I obviously cannot confirm this is the case for every single independent agent. Cheers

More good news for Sheffield! http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk/news/business/diggers-move-in-at-airport-site-as-developments-take-off-1-6832499

It would be interesting to see..........