One cost which all too often reduces overall yield is the amount charged by high street letting agencies to find and place tenants. At present, despite calls from a wide variety of organisations, there is no regulation of letting agents or the fees they charge. Of course some do act responsibly and charge fair rates but all too often landlords are forced to pay extortionate fees equivalent to one or even two month´s rent to secure tenants.

Times are changing however and continuing on their quest to revolutionise the UK lettings industry Upad are offering a more cost-effective alternative. On average a Upad landlord saves £614 by switching to the 5* online lettings service from a traditional high street agent (Jan 2013).

James Davis, Upad CEO and hands-on landlord for 14 years, explains,

“As a landlord myself I think of each of my properties as a micro-business. Detailing in black and white the costs each property accrues against the income it generates gives me a good idea of the annual yield I can expect. From experience, high agency fees can destroy yields so I always look to reduce these as much as possible with self-management and online tenant finding services such as Upad.”

With nearly half of all UK landlords already self-managing and subscribing to the Upad model of meeting tenants face to face rather than via a third party lettings agency and indeed paying through the nose for the privilege, the tide is turning and for the better.

As one Upad landlord, Vito Cilenti from Leeds comments,

“After using Upad six times in the last 6 months with fantastic results every time, I would never consider using a high street agent again. Upad offer very good value for money, a website that´s easy to use and if your property is displayed properly with good photos, Upad will find you a tenant quickly and efficiently.”

In total, Upad landlords saved £1,890,938 last year by switching from traditional agents and if every UK landlord currently using a letting agent switched to Upad they would save a staggering £700,347,600.

James concludes,

“In comparison with high street letting agents who, as a group, received over 4,000 complaints to the Office of Fair Trading last year, the benefits of being a Upad landlord are significant. Our rates are transparent and one-off, we don´t drip-feed additional charges throughout a tenancy and by operating an online model, our exposure is vast yet overheads are low enabling us to offer fair pricing without comprising on customer service. The fact that 57% of Upad landlords surveyed in January 2013 switched from high street letting agents to our service speaks for itself!”

For further detailed information on being a Upad landlord and price plans which start from £299 + VAT which includes professional photography and a floor plan, a ´To Let´ board erected outside the property and advertising across all major UK lettings sites as well as comprehensive tenant referencing, drawing up of the tenancy agreement, deposit registration and crucially, rent collection call 0333 240 1220 or visit www.upad.co.uk .