Landlords - How You Can Get the Most Out Of Your Property Portfolio
Over recent years there have been many changes to the rental industry. Many of this has involved new, and often quite onerous, legislation placed on Landlords making it more difficult than ever to run a property or portfolio themselves. With increasing legislation and regulation expected in coming years it is now, more than ever, vital that you find an experienced, competent, professional and regulated agency to assist you with the letting and management of your properties to ensure you meet all your legal requirements whilst maximising your return.
Please take the time to explore our website where you will find information on: lettings & management services, how we operate with our tenants, how you can increase both the rental and capital value of your property, receive new investment opportunities, find great new finance solutions and more.
To find out how great our service is, don’t just take our word for it, visit our feedback page!
Letting Service Breakdown
- Free Property Appraisal- we can offer approximate property appraisals over the phone or detailed appraisals by attending the property. A detailed appraisal will encompass recommended marketing price, expected rental price and demand assessment.
- Marketing your Property to Millions- our aim is to upload your property to all internet advertising within 24 hours of being instructed. Properties can go live instantly on our website and will take up to 48 hours to go live on the other portals. To view a list of where we advertise, visit the bottom of the page. Many of our local properties will also feature in our window display from time to time.
- Applicant Notification via Email and SMS- using our estate agency software, Jupix branch, we are able to notify all applicants of any and all new instructions almost immediately. Once the property has been ‘pushed live’ on the base website we are then able to automatically notify all suitable applicants via email and SMS (text message). This ensures no time is lost in promoting your property no matter where the potential tenants may be at that time.
- Accompanied Viewings- all property viewings will be accompanied by a member of base who will be there to answer any and all questions regarding the property, surrounding area. All viewings are then chased up within 24 hours to ensure feedback is obtained.
- Regular Feedback- you will be regularly contacted by a member of base. This can be via phone, email or post (as you prefer) and will update you as to current interest in the property, feedback from applicants and viewings and advice on how best to proceed.
- Offers- we understand that renting your property is more than just achieving the most rent. That is why, when we present an offer to you, we will detail the number of applicants involved and what they do, desired start date, rent offered, length and type of contract and any requests they may have made. This enables you, the Landlord, to fully assess an offer in detail immediately without any ‘nasty surprises’ later.
- Applicant Referencing- all of our rental applicants are fully referenced before they are allowed to take up tenancy at any property. We use a company called FCC Paragon, who have specialised in this area for years. Applications are typically turned around in 2-4 working days and they are mainly assessed on employment income and security, current & previous Landlord references and credit history.
- Protecting You- some applicants do not fit the FCC Paragon criteria as they have recently graduated, arrived from overseas, are a student or they live off family finances (such as trust funds, etc). In these instances we still like to ensure that you and your property are protected and you are kept informed of any and all decisions. Our first step is to find out if the applicant(s) in question can provide a UK Guarantor. A Guarantor is a person that will be contractually obligated to guarantee the persons rent and is held financially liable if they cannot pay. Our typical criteria is that (if possible) they are a family member, they own a UK property and are in full time employment- before being accepted as a Guarantor, they must also pass the FCC Paragon Guarantor Reference Check which passes them based on similar criteria to tenants. Where this is not possible, or a suitable Guarantor cannot be found, another option is for the tenant to either pay a higher Security Deposit (above the standard 6 weeks rent) or to pay a portion of the rent in advance. Regardless, you will be consulted in advance to see how and if you wish to proceed, and will be kept informed of any and all progress.
- Rental & Legal Insurance- for those of you who like to be extra protected it is usually possible to obtain this through FCC Paragon. Providing all the Applicants or Guarantors have passed their referencing process and are
- Tenancy Agreements- once all applicants have been approved for a tenancy base will prepare all applicable paperwork. Our standard tenancy agreements is an AST (Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement) which is the industry standard type of contract for tenancies of 6 or more months. All of our documents are provided to ensure that a fair contract is entered in to and that you and your property are suitably protected. Our contracts are regularly verified by solicitors and we attend legislative and legal training courses to ensure they are kept up to date. Should you wish to read through a blank version of our tenancy agreement please register with our lettings department.
- Check In Procedure- unlike many of London’s Letting Agents we physically check our tenants into their new home. Once we have secured full and cleared funds and all paperwork has been completed and signed we will introduce the tenant(s) to their new home. This will include showing them where fuse boxes, stopcocks, gas taps are located for their general knowledge should something go wrong during their tenancy. We will also show them where the heating controls, etc are as well as where to put rubbish, etc. All of this helps to ensure that they feel at home instantly and you are not bothered with minor enquiries right from the start. A record will also be made as to what and how many keys are handed over at the start of the tenancy to ensure at least this amount is returned at the end. It is highly recommended by base that the property is professionally cleaned before an inventory is carried out or before the tenants are allowed to occupy the property. This then ensures that you can always demand that the property is returned in the same condition avoiding future hassle and expense when switching between tenancies and helps ensure that your property is cared for as best as possible.
- Utility Handover- during the check-in process we will also make every effort to obtain meter readings for any and all utilities such as Water, Gas and Electricity (in order to do so meters must be easy to find, accessible and clearly designated). These will be noted on a form which the tenants will sign agreeing with the readings taken and accepting liability from that point on. Providing we are able to obtain meter numbers, we will then be able to obtain the details of suppliers and notify them of the new tenants, the start reading and that they need to close the current account and send out a final bill. The companies are usually notified by either fax or email. It must be noted, however, that once notified it is the tenants’ responsibility to ensure the accounts are set up correctly and that the bills are paid on time.
- Tenancy Deposit Registration- as you are no doubt already aware, since 6th April 2007, it is now a legal requirement to register applicable tenancy security deposits with 1 of 3 national schemes within 14 days of receipt of funds. As members of both the NAEA and OEA base has joined the TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme) and can look after this for you at no extra cost. The only criteria is that the deposit must stay with base, in our designated deposit account (as dictated by the terms of TDS), until such time as it is to be returned to the tenants. Upon registration, base will receive certificates which will be sent out to Landlord and Tenants alike in due course. It is strongly recommended by both base and the TDS that you obtain a professional inventory before the start of any tenancy. This ensures a detailed and impartial record is in place to list the condition and contents of a property which will be used at the end of the tenancy to assess whether or not any deductions are required from the Security Deposit. Without this, any claims may be contested and the ICE (Independent Case Examiner) may rule in favour of the tenants. base can highly recommend Spectrum Inventories and can easily arrange quotes, access, etc. Of course you are welcome to instruct any other professional inventory clerk you choose or can, although not advised, choose not to have one done at all.
- Distribution of Tenancy Documentation- once the tenancy has commenced and all applicable funds and invoices have been paid in full original documentation including the AST, Section 21, Prescribed Information and TDS certificate (if registered with base) will be sent out by post. Copies of all of these documents will also be sent to the tenants. If requested to organise an inventory, this will usually go out at the same time as any inventory must be verified by the tenants, or they must be allowed at least 7 days to do so.
- Notice, Termination & Renewal- all base tenancies require both Landlord and Tenant to provide at least 2 months notice before terminating a tenancy. It is therefore standard practise that, approximately 2 & ½ months before the end of a fixed term, a base representative will firstly liaise with the Landlord to assess what they want to do with the property and whether or not they wish to keep the current tenants. base will then contact the tenants and will either serve notice on the Landlord’s behalf or will start negotiating contract renewal terms. Once terms have been agreed, base will post out all applicable paperwork to the tenants to ensure contracts are all signed well in advance of the start of the tenancy. Should the Landlord decide to serve notice to the tenants and re-market the property, base can handle all of this and will market the property approximately 6 weeks prior to availability. This will help to ensure that new tenants can be found to occupy the property as soon as possible, minimising lost rent and maximising return.
- Check Out- on or before the last day of the tenancy a base representative will attend the property in order to perform a ‘check out’. It is recommended that the tenants have at least 1 representative present although this is not mandatory. During the check out final meter readings will be taken and a general inspection of the property will be conducted and, if not already returned to the base office, any and all keys relating to the property will be collected. To ensure a detailed inspection of the property, its contents and condition is carried out you are advised to have obtained a professional inventory for which the inventory clerk will carry a check out at the expense of the outgoing tenants (this is often paid in advance by the tenants at the start of the tenancy). No tenant will be permitted access to the property once a check out has been conducted to ensure the property remains secure and unchanged. This process will highlight any issues and/or works that need carrying out as a result of fair wear & tear or abuse and will enable you, the Landlord, to act on this swiftly.
