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Renewal fees

Once again the statement for a a big fat renewal fee has arrived. They do nothing and have done nothing for the past 3 years yet expect their 11% up front. Tried to argue it last year but was swiftly told that they would charge 8% compound interest whilst they chased us in court. Got legal advise but was told that as I had signed the contract it was legally binding.With the OFT chasing them this year I thought I would ignore the letter but they are threatening legal action again. Problem is I think they are going bankrupt so there will be nil chance of recovering past years fees!! What's everyone going to do?
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renewal fees

I was thinking I could renew direct with the tenant that Foxtons introduced 2 years ago, after a year of paying 17% and then another year of 17% for the first quarter and then 11% for them doing nothing but renewing the contract each year for which they are also charge, I decided anough was enough.  I called them thinking this would be simple, but have been informed about T&C's which state that they are contractually entitled to continue taking 11%.  I need out of this contract -I want all of my money and dont see why they should be paid for doing nothing!  Has anyone tried formally terminating the tenant with Foxtons but actually privatley renewing the contract with the same tenant?  Any advice on this welcome..

THis very issue is the

THis very issue is the subject of High Court action by the Office of Fair Trading. Hopefully very soon this repugnant practice of continuing to charge even though they do nothing, will come to an end. The solution in your case is simple. Tell the tenant to terminate the contract (lease) and then draw up a new one with the same tenant. They will be happy because they will not have to forfeit any further fees and you, evidently, will also be happier.

Renewal Fees

I work for an agent, although thankfully not Foxtons.  I cannot understand why landlords keep saying they are paying renewal fees for nothing.  Surely if an agent had not found you a tenant, you would have no rent coming in and therefore would not have to pay renewal fees.  If you don't want to pay fees, why not find you own tenant?  I can say that over the past 9 years I have rarely had a landlord who has opted for a non management service that has dealt with his tenant on a profession basis.  Because of this the tenant call the agent constantly for help, and in turn we sort out the problems direct with the landlord.  We also negotiate a renewal contract for the landlord, this also takes time.  Whilst my company does offer a reduced commission on renewal fees, you must understand that if this fee was not charged most agents would not be able to continue to trade.  Therefore you would have no one to let out your flat for you. 

Would you offer your tenant a reduced commisson for the second or third year of thier lease, as the majorty of you landlords do nothing for them whilst they are paying your mortgage for you.

Having read your reply I

Having read your reply I would hate to hire you as my agent. You obviously have no empathy with the landlord and in fact seem to resent the business they are in...and it IS a business, not a free ride which you imply. I have 5 rental properties. I pay the agents their fee up front and manage the properties myself. I reveive, on a weekly basis, requests for domestic problems to be solved be it from a faulty dishwasher to boiler breakdown. It is a full time job without going into more detail and one which needs nerves of steel. Furthermore it is and UNPAID full time job as there is little profit at the end of each financial year, it is more a matter of playing with numbers and hoping the property makes a profit long term. You need to get another job.

I don't need another job

I don't need another job, unlike you I get paid for my work, and am very well paid because I deal with professional landlords who know what they are doing.  You might want to work for nothing but you are on your own in this world. It's landlords like you that make agents lives a misery.  You want something for nothing.  These tenants are paying your mortgage and you scoff at the fact you have to pay to find good tenants.  I am glad that I don't have to deal with second class, greedy, unprofessional, uneducated landlords like you, and feel sorry for whoever rents from you. Perhaps you should go back to school, learn to spell, and then you could get a job that pays!!  And please don't plead poverty, you are making money, but because you are brain dead you can't see past your nose. 

And nerves of steel?? Don't make me laugh.......doing a real job like fighting for your country, policing the streets, fighting fires etc that requires nerves of steel, not sitting on the end of the phone asking people to fix your boiler and emailing your tenats because you are too scared to talk to them, you total utter ******!! 

I find your comments comical and quite amusing even if your command of the English Language if very poor indeed.

I bet you use Foxtons as well you *****!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is it as simple as that, I

Is it as simple as that, I have a feeling that Foxton's have taken care of that in their Terms and conditions too. I am in exactly the same position, my contract comes up for renewal in september and i would prefer to keep the tenant but do it privately. Can I really just cancel the contract and start again myself?

former Foxtons Property Manager

This will make you laugh....or cry!

What you are suggesting doing is a practice that Foxtons has it's own name for - a Comms Dodge. If they suspect you are committing a Comms Dodge they will employ a private detective to gather evidence of what you are doing and sue you for the outstanding commission. There are certain tell tale signs of a comms dodge

1) If you and the tenants both say you want to renew and then suddenly change your mind

2) The landlord asks for the whole deposit to be paid to him "and he'll sort it out direct with the tenants"

3) Neither the landlord or the tenant call in about the deposit at all - it often gets forgotten if they are not moving out.

If you do privately renew you may get away with it if your clever but if see a man in a rain mac and sun glasses hiding behind a paper outside your property then you're goign to get caught!

I hate foxtons but these landlords are bang out of order!!!!

I have been working in this industry for quite some time and completely fail to understand the perspective of these landlords.  You, as a landlord, sign terms which grant us as agents a percentage of the revenue we secure for you.  If our work generates income over a protracted period of time (in excess of the standard year on a tenancy) why should we not benefit from it?  You will have done nothing more than we have to secure the renewal!

Renewal Commission

Hello there, I am employed by letting agent. Before your levels of anger rise to a terrible level, I would like to say that I do have a certain degree of sympathy for a number of landlords who have found themselves slapped with a huge bill by their agent.

Firstly I think that Foxtons are a particular breed of agent, one which relies very heavily on its inflexibility and particularly clever sales tactics (although most employing the tactics are not necessarily clever) which when combined can catch out the unitiated or unsavvy landlord. There are many others like them in London and my initial advice would be read the terms and conditions you are signing very, very carefully. One tactic employed would be to not have you sign terms until the very last minute, when your property is about to become vacant and they have an offer from a tenant on the table which "will not go through unless you sign the terms in the next 10 minutes". The small print format of Foxtons terms almost guarantees you will miss something.

At the end of the day, most agents in the current marketplace are hungry for business and will negotiate, Foxtons in my experience will not. There are plenty of mid-size agents in London who are competent, have a strong market presence in local areas and will do as good a job as you could wish for in finding you good tenants. Most smaller agents will offer you the lowest fees, but often cannot let your property fast enough or at all.

With regard to the case itself, this hinges on the issue of whether a landlord is a "consumer". If the court thinks not, then the OFT are unlikely to be sucessful. The question most landlords will have to ask themselves is whether or not they truly believe they are a consumer. Past case law would point towards a firm no, but precedents can be changed. One must also consider the public ploicy aspects of the High Court agreeing that landlords are consumers; this will have implications for taxation of landlords and may mean that other points of consumer law affect how landlords must operate. I think a successful result for the OFT may be worrying for the government (not just agents).

I think there are a number of ways to try and evade commission, many of which can work quite sucessfully, but I will stop short of giving recommendations. If anyone wants to share ideas though it may be interesting.

At the end of the day, when one signs a contract it should be read thoroughly and if you feel you wish to negotiate you should try. If your agent is unwilling to be flexible then you either accept this or you do not and find another one. You are signing a legally binding document which relates to the income on one of the biggest investments you will make in your life, and great care should be taken not to allow a 12 year old in a Mini Cooper dressed up as Red Rum to pull the wool over your eyes.

Most landlords in my experience are happy to pay for renewals as they appreciate the benefit good tenants bring them - paying the mortgage on their investment which will in time bring them a significant capital gain.

As I said previously, I do sympathise with many who have been pushed into signing contracts they have not been given full opportunity to read or understand, but all being adults we have to take responsibility for our own actions.

I'm looking forward to the case being heard in court, but unfortunately this doesn't look very likely in the immediate future. So for the time being their terms are binding, but who knows if they will have to pay back commission....

Renewal commission

On the subject of renewal commission, can anyone answer my query.  Do Foxtons calculate their renewal commission as a percentage of the new year's rental amount, or is it on the basis of the original rental amount paid during the first year that the tenant signed up?

Renewal Commission

Hi There, it will be calculated on the new rental amount, but in fairness that is the same with all the agents.  You could try to get a discount though especially if you collect your own rent.  If you arrange the renewal with your tenant direct and provide your own addedum paperwork they have no right to charge you a renewal charge, I think it is around £200.

Let me know if you need any more help. 

 

Renewal commission

Im afraid you are in fact wrong with your last statement re the addendum and negotiating the renewal. On the signed terms and conditions it would have stated taht you are to pay a renewal fee this is regardless of whether you arrang the renewal yourself!

By doing it your way you will  in fact make less work for Foxtons with yet still the same end result!

That's Foxtons for you!

I am not wrong, I did the exact same thing with my agent and the fee for renewing was waived. I did pay renewal commission however, and they gave me a 3% discount.  Anything is worth a try and if you deal with a decent agent they will always give a little.....UNLIKE FOXTONS.

Are you sure!!!

I applude you but if you were able to draw up an addendum and pay no fees then why is their currently a court case re renewal fees as currently as if you are right then there would be no need for a court case surely??

thanks of post

Thanks for the interesting article, I love this site

Yes I am sure!!!!

Can you go back and read what I put!  I said I did not pay a fee for renewing, of course I paid renewal fees!! This fee is in addition to the percetage of the rent you pay.

for gods sake man!!

Confusing!

I think you need to show a bit more clarity about what you are insinuating, because by paying commission you did pay a renewal fee!

I am pushing this because on this website you are promoting that people ignore their signed terms and conditions (which they are legally bound by) to pay less fees or avoid paying fees! Do you think that to be fair? It's like walking in to a newsagent and asking to pay less for a scratch card because you scratchced off the ticket yourself!

You could I  always just pay for the renwal fee which is what you originally agreed to when you asked the letting agent to rent your property instead of promoting that people avoid paying what they are legally due to pay and then claiming that as good business!

can the person (landlord)

can the person (landlord) terminate the contract with Foxtons? is there any way out?

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