Trusting your property, or properties, to an agent is a relationship which is founded not only on achieving the highest possible rent, but also on building a long-term relationship based on trust.
By the very nature of rental agreements, your high value asset is placed in the hands of people who are strangers to you - your new tenants. Therefore, the quality of advice you receive from us including rental level, marketing, presentation and our recommendation of a tenant, is all of paramount importance. Our outcome is always to produce the best possible tenant who will look after your property and pay the highest rent the market will sustain and to retain that tenant for as long a period as possible through both proactive and reactive management.
The Process
After an appraisal of your property, a senior member of the Lettings team will discuss your options. You may need advice on whether to furnish the property, or to leave it empty or you may be concerned about how long a contract to offer to a tenant. These and other issues will all have a bearing on the process. Throughout, we are ever mindful of void periods – an incorrectly priced property lying empty on the market eats into the rental yield very quickly.
The property will be listed on the major internet portals with professional photographs and floor plans, print media advertising will be booked and the team will contact our bank of potential tenants, corporate relocation agents as well as other local agents. Viewings are always accompanied, and regular feedback is given to ensure you are kept fully informed of progress.
The Let
When a suitable tenant has been identified, we negotiate on your behalf to secure the most favourable terms for you including break clauses and rent increases in the case of renewals. All of our tenants are fully referenced. We prepare a tenancy agreement, and before the tenant moves in an Inventory is produced to record the contents and the condition of the property. We also obtain all the necessary Health & Safety compliance documents such as an Energy Performance Certificate and a Gas Safety Certificate before the tenancy commences. A deposit is paid and protected within the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, and at the end of the tenancy a Check-Out Report is prepared to record any damage caused to the property during the tenancy for any dilapidations negotiations.
Rent Collection or Management?
The tenancy is administered on the basis of either Rent Collection or our full Property Management Service. Rent Collection ensures the rent is collected throughout the tenancy and dutifully paid through to you as and when received.
Our Property Management Service offers you considerable peace of mind. The rent will be collected and paid to you as above, but any issues relating to the maintenance of the property, and to the experience of the tenant is, as a matter of course, directed to us rather than you - no more calls at 3am asking “how to fix the boiler or change a light bulb”. We inspect the property periodically throughout the letting and only use approved and fully insured contractors who have demonstrated their ability to make repairs quickly and efficiently.
Most importantly, the management process allows us to work with you on a long term strategy for your property including the renewal of tenancies or even its possible sale, and a program of maintenance and investment that ensures it is kept in a good state of repair to constantly uphold its capital value and to minimise the inevitable costs of redecoration etc.
