A letting agent is responsible for providing a level of service to aid landlords in their management of properties, rents, and tenants. Their job is to put the landlords’ best interests first as they are the client in this scenario. It is important to understand that as a landlord, is it your responsibility to ensure that all your legal duties and commitments are met, and this should not fall on the letting agents. An agent is simply there to advise you and can take more control of other responsibilities such as sourcing respectful, reliable tenants and can even fully manage the tenancy.
What Services Do They Offer?
The best letting agents in Glasgow will be clear and transparent from the offset on their services and responsibilities, ensuring that you are fully aware of what you are paying for. Here are some of the services that a letting agent might offer:
Tenant Sourcing
A letting agent may offer to source tenants for your rental property. This may include marketing efforts taken on behalf of the agent which means they will advertise and market your properties on websites, newspapers, social media etc. Some may also offer professional photography of your property, as well as showing tenants around for visits.
Rent Collection
Some letting agents will also collect rent from tenants, however this is not always offered and should be stated clearly in the agreement. This will also depend on the agreement the agent has with the tenant themselves if they are paying bi-weekly or monthly.
Full Management
This service is the most hands-on service that a letting agent will offer a landlord and consists of day-to-day responsibilities being carried out. This means that the only time a landlord should be contacted, is in the event of an emergency, otherwise everything else will be dealt with by the agent. This includes tenant sourcing, arranging viewings, rent collection, credit checks, rent chasing, repairs, inspections, notices and deposit handling.

What Are The Benefits Of Hiring A Letting Agent?
One of the many benefits of hiring a letting agent, is that you will always receive your rent. Especially if you decide to opt into a fully managed service, your agent should ensure that you always receive rent payments no matter what. When rent is overdue, it can interrupt your cash flow and financial plans, therefore it is beneficial to hire an agent to take care of this.
Another benefit is that your legal requirements will be kept up-to-date, and you can seek advice and support of when and how to make changes to documents or certificates. This could be especially helpful if there happens to be any law changes. This can also cover safety procedures and documents such as fire, electrical and energy safety.
Letting agents should be able to seek out the best tenants for your property. It should be of their best interest to find the most respectful, reliable and overall suitable tenant for your properties. Having references and screening procedures carried out on tenants, it can emilite the chance of any difficulties arising in the future.
Final Words
Hiring a letting agent in Glasgow can benefit landlords in many ways. Depending on the type of service you choose to pay the agent for, you can allow them to deal with big responsibilities and ensure that the tenancy agreements run smoothly and positively. It is always best to research exactly what you are looking for and find a letting agent that is going to meet your standards and provide you with the service that you want.
