Feedback on Rent Now

Landlord Discussion
1

Hi All,

First time using Rent Now and wanted to feedback my experience and hopefully help others in a similar situation. For context my apartment is a 1 bed new build in central London so all pretty straightforward.

Pros:

  • Inexpensive (especially compared to agents…)
  • Easy to get listing set up and online
  • Additional services (EPC, viewing service etc) were straightforward to book and arrange
  • Clear advice and information on legal requirements as landlords on the website
  • Enquiry management straightforward
  • Online management of letting process generally straightfoward (see issues below)

Cons:

  • Holding deposit: nowhere (at least that I could find) does it tell landlords that tenants must have a UK debit card for this and for tenants it’s buried in the FAQ. Ideally you would take other methods but if not it would be helpful to have this made clear upfront (it would require adding about 5 words to the rent now flow diagram) so that tenants can figure out a solution. It resulted in me trying to help a tenant in a different timezone figure out how to get it done and just came across as not very slick and professional. As a London based flat, overseas tenants were 90% of my enquiries.
  • Referencing: again, no indication that speedy referencing can’t be done on overseas tenants until I’d ordered it and the tenant had tried to enter their details. Looks unprofessional and added a day or two of unnecessary delay
  • No ability to speak on the phone - I did find a phone number but was only told someone would be in touch which did happen but sometime later. Not great for urgent enquiries!

Overall I would use OpenRent again as the cost saving is huge and paying an agent for the work I have had to do would not be good value. Second time round it would be smoother as I would be able to warn overseas tenants about the UK debit card and I would be prepared that overseas tenants require the full referencing service. However, I do feel that as a first time user OpenRent really stumbled at the crucial point (signing the tenant on!) by not making these issues clear upfront when there’s really no reason not to.

Hope this helps

1 Like
2

I must say I didn’t know about this debit card requirement. I must have been really lucky with the two sets of tenants I engaged, both of them from overseas. I have used OpenRent RentNow on several occasions and have found them fast and efficient, but just recently I have found tenants through a local Facebook group, for free. I have had to do everything myself, obviously, but have used RentGuard for referencing and miServices for the Inventory Report. The latter two charge more if you are using them outside of the RentNow system (no matter I am an old customer of both), but I have managed to get good tenants this way, and still come off marginally more cheaply by using Facebook!

3

I have used Open rent fir some time now and find them helpful and quick to respond to queries. They have everything available you could possibly need with zero hassle. I highly rate them.

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