"We are thinking about moving to Dulwich"

[mdarren7]

Hi Guys and Gals,

Me and my partner currently live in SW London. Looking for a complete change of scene. Looking to rent at first - any tips/advise you can give of nice areas to live. Looking for a monthly rent spend of around ?1,000 per calander month. What are the good estate agents in Dulwich? The ones that don't charge the tennants all the extra costs etc. anyone know anyone who is looking to rent their flat out - LONG term. we are very nice nice tennants. We have been living in our current flat for 9 years.

Your help would be very much appriciated.

Cheers,

Darren

[Rowanofski]

I rented for a year on Bawdale Rd before buying in Dulwich and found the place through Loot.com with a landlord advertising directly. I don't know if estate agencies would not charge those 'admin' fees etc. I was desperate to avoid that too and glad we did. Got lucky with a beautiful basement flat with a garden and a nice landlord for 866pcm. That was 4yrs back though so probably gone up a fair bit. Generally anywhere around Lordship Lane is good, but probably more expensive. Good luck!

[mdarren7]

Thanks for your help!

[boomerang]

check out gumtree.com too

[Dorothy]

Have a look on the property section of this very forum!

All of the High Street agencies will charge an admin fee but I think Dulwich & Village Residential's fees are among the lowest.

[samshaw87]

Good estate agents...wishful thinking. Try 'least inept estate agents'

Experience with:

Ludlow Thompson - CRAP.

Foxton's - CRAP - they'll try and soften you with free beer (which you end up paying for indirectly).

Hindwoods - Currently with, seem nice, although fairly ineffectual.

Go direct via GumTree or this forum if possible - although be careful not to get burned.

[indiepanda]

People seem to speak well of Daisy Lets.

I would avoid Ludlow Thompson based on my experience as a tenant.

[Goodliz]

Daisy Lets are supposed to be very good and not have an office on Lordship Lane pretty much opposite william rose butchers. It has a bright pink sign.

[zeban]

Check out Moveflat on the net for whole properties to let direct from landlords.

Also, have used Bushells before and they seemed ok. I think they asked for less up front than some other estate agents on LL.

[Squ1rr3l]

When I was looking to rent, Bushells were really friendly, and I would have gone with them if I wasn't outbid on the flat I loved. I'm using Haart at the moment, and they're okay. No negatives, but no perks either. I rent near the police station for ?800pcm and the flat is liveable but nothing fancy. You should be able to find something really quite nice on your budget.

Be wary of gumtree, but in most cases it's just use common sense with keeping safe. If something seems too good to be true, it is. There do seem to be quite a few places for rent on this forum.

[zeban]

Squ1rr3l Wrote:

> Be wary of gumtree, but in most cases it's just

> use common sense with keeping safe. If something

> seems too good to be true, it is.

Absolutely! Best advice you can take when it comes to gunmtree

[bloonoo]

Echoing above with Gumtree - when we were looking to move to ED I advertised a 'wanted' for a 4 bed house - got all sorts of people mailing me about 1 bed flats etc, including one person who said she had a 4 bed flat overlooking Peckham Rye for a very cheap amount, the photos made it look like a show home and in the photo of the garden you could see a mountain in the distance.....somehow I don't think the photos belonged to her flat!!!

Also avoid Tobeal Estates based in New Cross (think that's what they were called) , the guy was very aggressive and showed us round a flat that had squatters in it!

[ralphation]

Daisy Lets didn't charge us much when we moved into our place and they've provided a reasonable service over the last couple of years as managing agents form a tenant's point of view.

I agree with the sentiments about Ludlow Thompson. The agent seemed reasonable enough but they I felt like I could feel someone trying to rip my face off when we started talking about the details (and costs) of the letting agreement.

If the owners of a two bed flat on the corner of Crystal Palace Road and Silvester Road that was on the market in the last couple of months are reading this, Ludlow Thompson cost you two decent tenants.

[philosophie]

DON'T use Winkworth's - they've reduced me to tears on occasion! They are managing the property for our landlord but never respond to any of our issues, even boiler ones. They don't seem to really do anything, in my opinion! We didn't rent through them in the end, but Daisy Lets seemed really nice when we almost got something through them. You'll be supporting a local business, too!

[pinkhalf]

I do find that errant letting agencies tend to modify their behaviour if you turn up and read their obligations to them, very loudly, in front of their potential customers. I have done this myself and its amazing the speed and standard of service you get.

Daisy Lets v good. Property Inn also good. The others on Lordship Lane are pitiful and play silly estate agent games. Ignore them.

[Kate_LL]

Avoid Ludlow at all costs! I had terrible experiences with them, which ended with legal involvement when they started letting themselves into the flat unannounced when we were at work! Awful, awful company with no interest in tenants once they have signed them up. Terrible customer service dept too and took months to get deposit back from them.

Current flat (on Lordship lane) is fantastic and we rent directly through the owner. Found it on gumtree so no admin fees or anything. Would recommend gumtree, but be wary of who is advertising on it.

[Zaardvark]

Have to echo the comments on Ludlow Thomson. My advice - if you are going with an estate agent get one with 24hr property management (or at least some sort of out of hours service - many property management sections run 9-5 mon-fri) and some sort of decent reputation, ask about the fees and read the contract carefully and try to negotiate down renewal fees and the like.

[Sue]

I was always under the impression that tenants didn't have to pay fees, only the landlord, has the law changed or have I been labouring under a misapprehension all these years?

[Dorothy]

Sue: tenants don't pay a fee to register with an agent to find a property (I think thats the law you are referring to and it still stands) but they do pay quite hefty "admin" fees nowadays. All legal.

[Sue]

So the agents basically take money from two sets of people for letting one house (6)

[LouiseC]

Yes they sure do and Ludlow Thompson charge double what most other estate agents charge, they tried to charge me nearly ?300 admin fee for a one bedroom flat, Bushells and Winkworths are around ?150. The only one who is worse is Foxtons but that goes without saying......beware and ask for a breakdown of costs, better still go private.

[Sue]

Blimey. They certainly have a nerve, considering what they already charge the landlord. And in my experience do very little for their money.

[claoud9]

Darren, daisy lets are brilliant we used them ourselves in Nov. Have you considered Crystal Palace? We still own a flat in ED but decided to rent it out and rent a bigger place until the market gets better. Our budget wasnt far off yours and we're in a large house with fabulous garden and private parking, something you'd be pushed to get in ED on that sort of budget. I do still go to ED every day as its just the best place to hang out during the day or otherwise but its only 10mins drive if you have a car. Good luck with the search.

[overseas]

Zaardvark Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Have to echo the comments on Ludlow Thomson. My

> advice - if you are going with an estate agent get

> one with 24hr property management (or at least

> some sort of out of hours service - many property

> management sections run 9-5 mon-fri) and some sort

> of decent reputation, ask about the fees and read

> the contract carefully and try to negotiate down

> renewal fees and the like.

"if you are going with an estate agent get one with 24hr property management "

Does anyone know of any 24hr property management agents? I am trying to find one for when I have to rent out my place. Thanks

[cab]

Avoid Winkworth, they are amateurs and show you houses you can't afford, allow people to 'gazump' and they ring you just to talk bollocks for half an hour to be friendly, when all you need to know is whether anything is available and how much it is! There are a couple of nicer female agents there (wow, I am sounding mega sexist now, sorry!) but a few of the guys are just irritating oiks. Foxtons were rubbish too. I was talked at for ages by someone who must have been about 15, then he took me to a flat I had already seen and which was more expensive than with the other agent advertising it! We like Haart and Bushells are ok.