London Renters Wishlist
Our friends and acquaintances often turn to us when they are on the lookout for a new home in London. We usually help them by just spreading the word but often advise on which websites to use, which letting agents to contact, etc. We help a little bit more if they are new to the city, as we want to make sure they keep safe and don’t end up being trapped in a place they didn’t really want.
We thought it might be a good idea to take that wishlist out from the drawer, and put it up on our website. Maybe one of our dear readers knows a suitable place that is available for rent. Perhaps they have some interesting information about the area or have just used an agent that was so good they’d like to recommend them. These are just a few ways in which we can help someone trying to find a needle in the haysack:D
So if you want to help – here is our London Renters Wishlist.
Please note that since there are a lot of incompetent letting agents operating in the market at the moment, we will be forwarding ARLA member agent offers only. List of London letting agents can be found HERE.
Renters who want to add their wish can just fill out the form below the list and press “Send”. All requests stay up for 4 weeks! We will not give your E-mail address to anyone – it is entirely up to you if you want to answer the E-mails we forward you. All suitable offers will be forwarded once a day. Advice and other offers will be sent in an E-mail once a week.
This is of course all for free!
Jump to London Renters Wishlist
Edit 28.07.2009: The wishlist has proved to be useless in this form. We’re currently working on some changes!
Why just ARLA members – it’s a trade organisation formed to protect it’s members, not an independent supervisory body. The last 3 cases of fraudulent activity I have dealt with have all come from ARLA members.
Good question. Partly simply because most of the good agents we’ve dealt with are members of ARLA, and we want to support these professionals. They’ve helped us save time, money, and nerves countless times.
We used to hunt for bargains on classifieds sites but quit after growing tired of receiving so many obvious scam offers. The worst crooks don’t bother or can’t join ARLA (or drop out fast), so we can be sure that there is some quality to the service we recommend.
Would you recommend members of Guild of Professional Estate Agents?
P.S. Looking forward to your tutorial on how to find a flat;)
I wouldn’t use membership of any trade organisation as a recommendation (that applies to more than just Estate Agents, in fact in some cases it’s a contra-indicator – the best plumbers and builders don’t need the extra cost of CORGI or Guild of Master Builders endorsement to attract business).
I did once write an article on the dangers of Agents as part of the series of articles I’ve been writing about renting scams – I had one particular scam conducted on one of my tenants by one of the largest agents in London in mind when I wrote it, so it’s a little single minded, but I still think there is sound advice in it. http://pimlico-flats.co.uk/blog/renting-studios-flats-in-london/renting-scam-4-men-in-suits/
I know you are looking for a quick fix filter that says “if they don’t have this badge move on”. From my personal experience the filter you have chosen doesn’t work, and also it only filters the agent not the landlord – even the best agents market properties for rogue landlords. The nearest thing there is to landlord accreditation is that Licensed HMO’s have to be run by a Local Authority approved “fit and proper person” (yes I am one!) but TBH I don’t think it’s administered tightly enough to give a guarantee, and Licensed HMOs are a small fraction of rented property available.
My advice? – Read my 7 articles on scams http://pimlico-flats.co.uk/blog/tag/scam/ and then go to the classifieds!
Thanks for thinking with us, Nick.
Just answered someone on Twitter who said they have a flat to rent in SW1 – potentially an ideal home for renter no 1. He is not a letting agent but he seems trustworthy. If this is a great flat, perfect for my friend – I should be able to forward the offer to her:-)
I’ll give it some thought.
The wishlist has proved to be useless in this form. We’re currently working on some changes!