LANDLORD INFORMATION

Here’s an overview of the service I offer and my fees.

Marketing

Getting the property ready for advertising.

Tenants want a property that is clean, tidy, bright and well-looked after. When handling a change of tenants, I will visit the property prior to marketing and work with the outgoing tenants to ensure the property presents well on viewings. I will ask them, for example, to remove clutter, maybe pay some extra attention to cleaning in certain areas and ask them to open windows and go out prior to viewings. Potential tenants are more comfortable looking around a property when the occupiers aren’t present and, of course, the more people there are in a space, the smaller it feels!

How long will it take to find tenants?

Securing tenants for a property can take anything from a few hours to several weeks. If the asking rent is realistic, the property presents well and is in a good area and the letting market is not depressed, then it should take less than a week. Whilst avoiding any empty period is a high priority for me when finding tenants for you, a greater priority is choosing the right tenants – those that are financially stable and have a good track record of reliability and responsibility.

Furnished or Unfurnished?

As it makes no difference to the achievable rent, whether to offer your property furnished or unfurnished comes down to supply and demand. As a general rule of thumb, the smaller the property, the more likely your prospective tenants will be looking for furnished properties. So, for most investment properties, studios and 1 bed flats, furnished is probably the easiest to let. Having said that, unfurnished is undoubtedly the more straightforward option as there is then no obligation to maintain or replace items.

Advertising and viewings.

I will advise you on the current market value of your property based on my experience, recently let properties and market research. Once we have agreed a price, I will list the property on the major property portals, most importantly Rightmove and Zoopla which currently have over 90% market share of people looking to buy or rent. Once the enquiries come in, I respond to each checking the suitability of the applicant and then arrange a viewing.

Securing a new tenant

Offer – Following viewings, if an applicant is interested in renting the property, I will give them an offer form to complete which details their occupations, length of time they’ve worked for their current company, their rental offer, preferred length of contract, move in date, any requests/stipulations etc. I will then present that to you, along with my opinion on the strength of the offer and detailing any other potential interest.

Referencing – Once the offer is agreed, I will take a holding deposit from the potential tenant/s and commence referencing. I outsource this to a professional referencing company who will perform a credit check as well as contacting employment and landlord referees. They also do a basic ID check and I can use the information contained within the report to carry out a right to rent check with the UK government.

Tenancy agreement – Once I am happy with the references, I will confirm with you and then issue the tenancy agreement for digital signature by all parties and collect the move in monies (first month’s rent plus security deposit equivalent to 5 weeks rent).

Inventory – I will then book an independent inventory clerk to draw up/update the inventory at a check in appointment with the new tenant/s on the move in date.

Statement – Shortly afterwards, I will send you your first statement and payment which will be an accounting of the first month’s rent minus my fees and any outsourced costs (e.g. inventory, referencing, cleaning, handyman, decorating, key cutting)

During the tenancy

Rent collection.

I will collect the rent from the tenants monthly and account to you any expenses for the month in your monthly statement.

Periodic inspections

I will carry out or arrange four inspections of the property during the first year of a tenancy. In subsequent years, I will inspect the property at least once a year but more often if either I feel the property and/or tenants require closer monitoring or if you request it.

Maintenance

I encourage all tenants to inform me of any maintenance issues or potential maintenance issues and arrange for one of my trusted, insured and competitive contractors to attend if necessary. If the issue is small, routine or urgent, I will ask the contractor to take care of it immediately and inform you at the monthly accounting. For larger and less urgent jobs, I will consult you first. I choose my contractors primarily for their trustworthiness, efficiency and quality of work so it is not always cost effective for me to get multiple quotes for jobs, especially small ones. I do however routinely vet my contractors to ensure they are not only providing a good service but doing so competitively.

Ending a tenancy

Receiving notice from tenants

As I mentioned at the beginning of this section, once I receive notice from tenants, I will visit the property to assess it for re-let and work with the outgoing tenants to ensure viewings go smoothly and a new tenant is found well in advance of the old one moving out.

I will then book the outgoing tenant’s check out inventory appointment and, following receipt of that report, negotiate any deposit deductions between you and them and then process the deposit.

I’ll manage the changeover of the utilities and council tax and key handover.

If you want to sell

If you wish to sell your property, I can help with that too and there’s no-one better positioned to make sure your sale goes through smoothly! As I will already have a close and trusted relationship with your tenants, I can manage them during the marketing and viewing period ensuring they don’t get inconvenienced or panicked and move out immediately leaving you with costly empty months. Also, since I have detailed knowledge of the property including documents on file and contacts with freeholders and leaseholders, I can expedite much of the sales progression.

My fees

Tenant Find Only ~ 4% of the annual rent (no renewal fees), paid upon move in

Property Management ~ 10% of the monthly rent, paid monthly

Tenant Find + Property Management ~ 14% of the monthly rent, paid monthly

Currently, I am not required to be VAT registered so no VAT is payable.

There are other costs associated with letting your property which you will need to consider.

Inventory, check in and check out reports – prices vary depending on the size of the property and whether it is furnished or unfurnished. I can instruct an independent inventory company on your behalf. Prices typically start from about £75.00.

Gas safety certificate as required by law – I can arrange a Gas Safe registered engineer to carry out a landlords gas safety certificate on your behalf (if required), usually combined with an annual service. Prices typically start from £140.00.

Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) – checks the safety of all the electrical installations within the property and need to be carried out at least every 5 years. I can arrange an EICR with a qualified electrician and prices typically start from £159.

Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) – covers any appliances that plug into a socket e.g. washing machine, microwave, electric oven etc. I have a couple of qualified electricians on my books who can carry out PATs with prices starting at £69.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) – measure a property’s energy-efficiency and give practical advice on how to reduce a property’s carbon footprint must be given to any prospective tenants during marketing and to new tenants upon occupation. I can arrange an EPC for you and prices are typically around £70.