The annual landlord survey by Property Academy showed that out of nearly 3,000 landlords questioned, only 7% said they would use an online agent.
In comparison, 56% of landlords said they never use an online agent while 37% of landlords said they were unsure.
Online lettings agents fail to find favour with landlords
When questioned about the reasons why online letting agents were not an attractive proposition, landlords said they preferred face-to-face contact, the agent having local knowledge and accessibility.
The survey also revealed that when it came to advertising on social media, only 4% of landlords opted to use Twitter or Facebook and only 10% of landlords claimed they would contact their letting agent via a social media channel.
A huge 90% of respondents said they would not connect with their letting agent via social media at all.
Landlords want information via social media
However, most landlords expressed an interest in receiving guidance and market information from social media.
Perhaps one of the most worrying findings from the survey is that 55% of landlords confessed to not knowing whether their agent was in a professional body.
Around 37% said they were aware that their agent was signed up with the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), 11% of landlords said their agent was a member of RICS and 9% said they knew their agent was signed up to the Property Ombudsman scheme.
Landlords have also revealed that voids are their biggest worry when managing their property portfolio which rated more highly than worries about property damage or arrears.
Crowdfunding platform promises 100% BTL funding
Meanwhile, the lending platform Crowdproperty is offering professionals in the property sector up to 100% in funding for new buy to let and development projects.
The online platform says it will loan around £20 million to investors over the coming 12 months by matching a pool of investors with borrowers pitching their project for funding.
The interest rate for a borrower seeking 100% funding will be between 9% and 11%, though this interest rate falls to between 5% 6% for a loan with 80% loan-to-value.
Crowdproperty founder Simon Zutshi said: “Property professionals are having a tough time raising finance from banks while savers are not happy with the low interest rates.”
He added that more cash needs to be flowing into the property sector to help funded projects get off the ground and the platform enables those willing to finance projects give money to property developers more easily.
