Do you need a Lettings Agent?

This is a question that I’m asked a lot, and I always give the same answer which is that managing a rental property is a bit like servicing a car. With a bit of time and effort I could probably maintain my own car and I’m sure it would be OK for a while but eventually something would happen and I’d be hit with a large repair bill.
Well it’s the same with property management. If you type ‘Landlord help’ into Google you will see and array of sites littered with questions from landlords who have had problems managing their own properties. Frequently the questions relate to fairly standard things, for example rent arrears and how to end a tenancy. Standard, but if you don’t know the answers you could end up with an expensive legal bill.