The Broker vs. the Letting Agent

We're New Yorkers. We know how hard it is to find a good apartment in Manhattan. You can rarely ever find a place rented by the owner, so you are forced to go through a money-grubbing, blood-sucking, idiot of a broker. He'll show you crap. He'll never be able to get the right keys. He'll show you things out of our price-range or places with a fee when you ask for no-fee only. We've come to expect that.

In London, however, we have no idea what to expect. Is our very kind letting agent trying to rip us off? Does he offer us tea every time we meet just to soften us up? Is his polite and refined demeanor just an act? Is he a New York broker?

One major difference we've found is that in London you have to bid on a flat, like when you buy a place in the States. The owner of the property (and perhaps the letting agent) come up with what seems like an arbitrary number for rent. Then, if you like the place, you negotiate the fee. You can ask for the rent to be lower than the asking price. You can ask for a contract of any length. We've even found you can ask for more or less furniture in a furnished apartment. It's an evil, manipulative, stressful game - especially when you have no idea who is on your side.

Right now, we've put a bid on a flat. We underbid, since our letting agent said we could probably still get it and the place was on the higher end of our budget. We asked for furniture, since we left all of ours behind. When our offer was placed, there were no other offers on the table. We were confident. We began to research the neighborhood, getting excited by all of the interesting shops and markets. We discussed how we would arrange the furniture. Life was good, but then we got the call from our agent. The owner had received another bid. This one was at the asking price and they wanted a longer contract. So, reluctantly, the gamblers in us took over and we bid slightly higher. Then we waited - but we didn't hear back from our agent. Yes, it was Saturday night, but he had said he'll call us back. So we called him and were informed that we had the higher bid, but our rivals had asked for less furniture and a longer lease. So now we wait for the owner to decide who gets the place. And we wait...