Is it yet another new rental requirement.....!!!!!

tarry67


Joined: 16/05/2008
Posts: 1053

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 08:55

I am just trying to find out if the rules have changed regarding paying an agent their commission on renting your property. A company that advertises on this 44 site not only takes the first months rent as commission from the owner but also charges the same to the unsuspecting tenant as a finders fee, so they are getting double bubble. This is practice in other countries but a first here as far as I am concerned and seems just another con.

misunderstood


Joined: 08/04/2011
Posts: 1004

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 09:10

I thought they could take a deposit from the tenant, against damage to your property, but a finders fee - seems another creatvie way to fleece to me.

walkerscott


Joined: 13/08/2009
Posts: 901

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 09:23

That is a pure rip-off ...

It is usual practice to agree one month's rent as a form of commission but not to also take a finders fee from the tenant as well.

It is not normal practice here in England or in Germany and I have yet to experience it elsewhere. It may of course be kept confidential so as to not embarrass the Agents involved in such behaviour.

Tenants and Landlords place your ads on my site and save your money:

http://north-cyprus-property.moonfruit.com/

tarry67


Joined: 16/05/2008
Posts: 1053

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 09:51

My exact reaction was the same but the trouble is if they do it and others catch on then it may well start a trend. Rentals are expensive enough here now without having to pay some middleman hundreds of pounds on top.

Harold2555



Joined: 19/04/2008
Posts: 1139

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 10:25

It does seem a high price for the letting but as long as it is clearly stated in the terms and conditions then it is not a rip off just an expensive service.



The rental market traditionally charges the landlord a commission on finding tenants, not the other way round and not both. If I was a prospective tenant then I would vote with my feet and not use that agent. Landlords would soon become fed up as well if enough tenants did it and would themselves use someone else. Market forces would kill this very quickly.



Only if we sit back, complain but ultimately go along with it will it become the norm.



There is also an opportunity here for other agents who don't do this to advertise the fact and gain Market share unless lethargy grabs them to.





H

DoctorW


Joined: 28/11/2010
Posts: 334

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 10:44

How about letting us know which agents follow this practise. We are moving over early next year and will be renting at first. I wouldn't want to waste time with these agents.

tarry67


Joined: 16/05/2008
Posts: 1053

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 11:05

I wouldn't name this or any other agent on the forum as its down to the individual. I was just making people aware of the situation and that other agents that I have dealt with do not do this. Hopefully the agent in question will read this and change their policies.

Groucho



Joined: 26/04/2008
Posts: 7993

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 11:52

A finders fee? Blimey you'd have to be blind not to be able to find your own... every second villa is available for rent!

elko2



Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 4400

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 12:04

msg. 5 Haarold,

I agree 100%. Good luck to any agent who can charge both parties. Basically it comes down to supply and demand which is the cornerstone of capitalism

ismet

bazilbrush


Joined: 29/03/2008
Posts: 404

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 12:26

Sadly they are using cyprus44 for advertising to get their customers, as its a good european catchment site.

If you go into anything with your eyes shut you will get led astray.

I personally would walk out of any agents that tried to charge me 100s of £s for a finders fee.



Ismet

There is a difference with "an agent that can charge both parties" and one that "can get away with charging both parties".

HelmsleyAgent


Joined: 04/04/2011
Posts: 31

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 12:58

The only time an agent should charge the tenant a finders fee is when they are not receiving a commission from the landlord which sometimes happens. Also if that is the case they should make the client aware of this before the rental process continues.



Also to post 6, agents are not a waste of time well some of us are not, we are here at the convenience of the client and to scale down the choice of property they are looking for to find something that meets there expectations, to say all agents are waste of time is to say that yellow pages is. Its a database for the people!

Harold2555



Joined: 19/04/2008
Posts: 1139

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 13:22

Message 9 Ismet



Well perhaps i wouldn't say "Good luck to any agent who can charge both parties" rather perhaps congratulations to any agent whose service levels make this acceptable!"





H

Pippie


Joined: 02/12/2009
Posts: 1288

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 19:05

I suppose if the agent was 'finding' the properties to show the prospective tenant then they might be able to justify some sort of 'finders fee'. But if someone goes out and finds the place they want themselves by responding to agency's adverts, in those cases the finders fee shouldn't apply - I would have thought anyway!!



I've never had to pay a finder's fee and I'll avoid any agent that tries to charge one when it's usually me who's doing the donkey work.



Besides, this is a small country, so agencies be warned, it's easy for landlords to do their own advertising to find a tenant and then just pay someone to manage it for them out here; you'll be redundant in no time.

cyprusman3



Joined: 09/06/2009
Posts: 297

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 19:48

I have a few rentals and some of the agents take half a months rent from me and half a month rent from the incoming tenants but these are usually agents that do not have fixed offices.

JohnBey


Joined: 05/04/2009
Posts: 46

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 22:09

Tarry67 - Name and shame please, so that everyone can steer clear or are at least aware.

Harold2555



Joined: 19/04/2008
Posts: 1139

Message Posted:
11/04/2011 22:16

I do not feel that there is any purpose served in Nameing and shaming in this case. I do not know who the agent is that is being referred to but I do know that the first thing I would ask as either a prospective tenant or landlord of any agent is "what fees do you charge?



I recommend that everyone follows this advice and there can then be no problem.





H

bazilbrush


Joined: 29/03/2008
Posts: 404

Message Posted:
12/04/2011 11:27

Harold2555

I totally agree it is so much easier to ask the question and turn around and walk out as maybe the agent was not aware that other agents don't practice like them. Its good that we have been made aware and also good that an agent has also replied on the topic.

Pugwash


Joined: 06/09/2010
Posts: 1797

Message Posted:
12/04/2011 11:38

Finders fees are not uncommon even in the UK but are usually only in a landlords market not a tenants market as we have now, quite common in London in the boom times.

tarry67


Joined: 16/05/2008
Posts: 1053

Message Posted:
19/04/2011 11:00

This company are still advertising on here and not only do they take the first month's rent from both the tenant and the landlord, they also charge the landlord 10% pm and the tenant 5% pm for management fees, amazing that people pay this without blinking an eye. Its becoming like the uk where the rent is getting higher than the mortgage repayments.

I think these companies need reminding that the recession is not over yet.

islandgirl


Joined: 12/09/2009
Posts: 302

Message Posted:
19/04/2011 12:14

If someone "signs" up to an agent who charges this it is not a rip off but a legitimate charge. If you are mug enough to pay it or have not done your homework it is your own stupid fault. I get fed up with people shouting rip off for their own stupid mistakes. If you buy a car one day and find the same car the next at 1000£ less have you been ripped off? No If you put your house up for sale with an agent and he says 10% have you been ripped off? No Have you been foolish yes. Do not cry "foul" when you trip up over your own stupidity.

halffull


Joined: 26/01/2009
Posts: 571

Message Posted:
19/04/2011 13:00

Well said islandgirl! I totally agree and your so right so many complain about being ripped off or hard done by on this forum when most of the time it's down to the individuals own actions.

Had it yesterday were taking our new neighbors around to buy a few bits she bought in one shop, walked into another, same product lower price, was she ripped off? NO! she bought the product at what she thought was a good price, although it turned out not to be the lowest!

walkerscott


Joined: 13/08/2009
Posts: 901

Message Posted:
19/04/2011 13:12

The UK Ex-pat community are being milked, there is absolutely no doubt about that. That aside, people do have the choice to say "NO" ... but too many seem to be in a rush.

The more Landlords and Tenants who use a central multi-listings service to view property adverts the better. Will cut out a great many sharks! In the UK there are now good deals on management fees which range between 5% and 12%, 5 to 8% being the average for a good agent.

The rental market is going to get bigger and thus I am providing a platform through which all can place their property rental ads and requests, which may well also help unclog the daily traffic of agents prostituting themselves through the medium of this forum:

http://north-cyprus-property.moonfruit.com

yorgozlu



Joined: 16/06/2009
Posts: 4437

Message Posted:
19/04/2011 13:44

walkerscott;



"The UK Ex-pat community are being milked"



by who,may I ask?



Or,is it by any chance that,though these things happen in UK(which is how they arrived here),all of a sudden,not ok to happen in TRNC,because 'you' are now an Ex-pat(!)???



Or,are you refering to Brits as being stupid?



Or,did you think and expect that,because properties are very cheap to buy here,everything else go along with it would be the same?

walkerscott


Joined: 13/08/2009
Posts: 901

Message Posted:
19/04/2011 14:34

Hi Yorgozlu,

My comments were not directed at race or gender, just an observation. In the UK, like everywhere, there are rogues. The UK rental market is very strictly controlled and regulated by all sorts of laws now. What happens here now is only a reflection of what has already been happening overseas elsewhere in an unregulated environment. There is always free will to accept or refuse what is being offered

Your assumptions are yours and like everyone else, you are entitled to express them.

Property is not cheap here. It is all relative and a matter of perspective, nothing else.

Always be yourself, because the people that matter don't mind, and the ones that mind, don't matter!!

Regards

John

yorgozlu



Joined: 16/06/2009
Posts: 4437

Message Posted:
19/04/2011 15:46

walkerscott;





"The UK Ex-pat community are being milked"



By whom,you 'assume',may I ask?

walkerscott


Joined: 13/08/2009
Posts: 901

Message Posted:
19/04/2011 16:10

By those who Tarry67 says take monies from both the property owners and also the unsuspecting tenant for one and the same transaction ... also depending on your perspective and digressing a little, by the builders and developers who take the money for properties and do not deliver the finished goods ... by legal professionals who are supposed to protect buyers' rights and positions and take monies but decide that they do not have a duty of care ... and and and ... I shall cease here.

Like I said, my comments were not directed at race or gender but people similar to those who behave like the example Tarry67 was discussing. You have made your own assumptions and you are entitled to air them in an appropriate way

yorgozlu



Joined: 16/06/2009
Posts: 4437

Message Posted:
19/04/2011 18:52

>>>>>>>>>>>By those<<<<<<<<<<,





.......and those are??????????

Vanessa


Joined: 16/02/2011
Posts: 34

Message Posted:
15/05/2011 13:55

Post22.... "daily traffic of agents prostituting themselves through the medium of this forum: "

Cleaver gay! Lett them better prostitute themselves via your website for £1 first month and for more later!!! So, they are flocking in!!!!

suehowlittle


Joined: 31/10/2010
Posts: 1202

Message Posted:
15/05/2011 15:45

vanessa, what is a Cleaver gay please? - it can be a clever gay or a clever guy and I know which one my money is on. lol

Vanessa


Joined: 16/02/2011
Posts: 34

Message Posted:
15/05/2011 16:41

Dear! you are good at spelling, but miss the point...so are you cleaver girl ar clever girl? Mmmmmmm

Vanessa


Joined: 16/02/2011
Posts: 34

Message Posted:
15/05/2011 16:41

Dear! you are good at spelling, but miss the point...so are you cleaver girl ar clever girl? Mmmmmmm

raidercruise


Joined: 07/06/2010
Posts: 237

Message Posted:
15/05/2011 16:51

Finder fee. Awful. Please name them..