The following is feedback from one of our Landlords, we thought it would be useful to share as a Blog:
I have a portfolio of three investment properties that I have owned for just over two years. Initially I managed the properties myself, but after a number of experiences I decided to use a specialist letting agent to manage them for me. Here’s why:
Legislation
There has been more and more recent legislation regarding residential lettings and I was concerned about keeping up with my legal responsibilities as a landlord. Recent developments such as Right to Rent and Legionella Risk Assessments concerned me and of course, the best things to do if my tenants defaulted on their rent. I also wanted to make sure my tenants and properties were safe and that I was following the correct procedures when it came to smoke and CO alarms, electrical testing etc.
Repairs and Maintenance
One of my properties flooded after a storm one evening and this was a nightmare to resolve. My tenants had a small child and it was cold and dark. My husband went to try and sort it out but it was really problematic – my husband, together with the tenants and one of their friends, spent hours bailing out the water until it had subsided. I wanted to make sure that were this to happen again, my properties would be well cared for in an emergency by qualified tradespeople.
I also had difficulty finding reliable tradesmen for a range of other jobs: mostly general repairs and maintenance jobs. I hadn’t taken into account how busy tradesmen are, so jobs couldn’t always be dealt with immediately. Also, some tradesmen didn’t turn up on time, (or at all!) which inconvenienced the tenants and meant in some cases I had to start all over again. I found these issues were an enormous drain on my time.
Reliable Tenants
I had advertised for tenants in places like Gumtree, social media, local shop windows and word of mouth. Although I interviewed people, I didn’t undertake any formal checks apart from asking for previous Landlord references.
This seemed to work well at first until one of my tenants started to default on his rent. Initially I spent time negotiating how they could each pay in installments, but this lead to more problems in the renting getting too far behind. Yet more and more of my time was being taken up with negotiations and research on what I should do next. It was at this point I contacted Phillips George Sales & Lettings.
Now my properties are managed by Phillips George and here’s the difference:
All potential tenants are screened and then thoroughly credit checked to ensure they were of the best quality and could afford the rent. As my properties are advertised on Rightmove, Zoopla and other national property portals, my properties and let faster, meaning shorter empty periods and ultimately, more rent.
The staff at Phillips George are qualified with the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) and are members of the property Ombudsman, so I can rely on them to carry out all the appropriate Right to Rent checks as well as ensure all safety certificates are kept up to date and the best advice.
Now any repairs and maintenance issues are sorted by Phillips George team of industry qualified, fully insured tradesmen and the tenants have an out of hours emergency service if they need it. Most importantly, my rent is paid on time directly into my bank account with an emailed statement – so I know exactly what’s what financially.
The knowledge and experience of the staff at Phillips George has saved me countless hours of work outside my day to day working hours. Now the hard work has been taken out of renting which leaves me with the peace of mind to get on with other things!
If you are a Landlord looking for a tenant or simply want some advice contact Phillips George Sales & Lettings on 0116 216 8178 or [email protected]
