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by sdoering 5036 days ago
Something like this would have helped me tremendously, when I came to Hamburg, Germany nearly 4 years ago. I really love the idea and hope, that this will spread.

how do you keep agents out? what if the register as owners? agent-fees are a pain - not only in the UK. So hope someday you will make the internationalization-jump.
1 comments
dazbradbury 5036 days ago
We have a few systems in place to stop agents, and have had to make the decision to delist many properties based on this.

I don't want to elaborate too much and help agents circumvent our systems, but essentially there isn't too much motivation for agents to list.

We advertise as having no agent fees, and as such, it breaks the agents model of charging fees. This disincentivises most agents. Furthermore, tenants don't want to pay fees when they find out they don't have to...

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Datonomics 5036 days ago
Just curious, how do agent fees normally work in London?
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dazbradbury 5036 days ago
For a "tenant find" service, agents normally charge landlords between 5% and 15% of the annual rent. They will then add on charges for deposit handling, contract drafting, referencing, etc... All fixed charges at the £30-£150 mark each.

To tenants, agents will charge similar fees, normally in the region of hundreds of pounds. This will cover referencing and general "admin".

It is these fees we are combating against - and will hopefully be able to eradicate.

Agents will also offer a "fully managed service" for between 5% and 15% of the rent per month, but that is not something we're tackling at the moment...

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sdoering 5032 days ago
Thanks for your elaborate answers. here in Germany the fees are sometimes in the range of 1 - 2 monthly rates. The last one is the maximum allowed value by law. But, as you have to pay a damage deposit to your new landlord as well, this might add up in cost around 5 monthly rents. OK, if everything goes well, the damage deposit returns to your valet, once you move again, but that is a lot of money to have at hand upfront.

So a service like this will help a lot of people - as said before.

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Datonomics 5024 days ago
It's amazing that a system like that has lasted. Good luck to you!
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