Guide to Letting Property

If you’re considering buying your first buy-to-let property or want to grow/realign your portfolio, we are here to help. Our Directors and Office Managers are experts on this and can suggest properties on the market for sale which may be a suitable investment. We will provide rental yield information to help inform your decisions. We will use our local knowledge to give you our honest and impartial advice.

If you’re considering letting your property or currently have a let property and need help, then please contact us to book a no-obligation lettings consultation. One of our experts will meet you at the property and provide you with an accurate rental valuation to ensure you achieve the best possible return on your investment. In an evolving industry where local authorities and courts are increasingly issuing fines to non-compliant landlords, we’ll also advise you on what you need to do to get the property ready for letting to ensure you are compliant.

We offer different levels of service to accommodate all types of Landlord. Managing a property is time consuming and our let only service is aimed at Landlords that have time to educate themselves on the law and want the responsibility of keeping up-to-date with changes in legislation. In most cases, we recommend our managed service which takes away the stress and helps ensure you are always compliant. When choosing our managed service, you’ll also be introduced to one of our knowledgeable Property Managers who will get to know your property in detail and will become your trusted and dedicated point of contact.

Before marketing the property, you’ll need to contact your mortgage lender and insurance company to advise them you are planning to let the property and gain the appropriate permission. You’ll also need to sign our Property Letting Agreement before we can start marketing the property. We’ll also check that the property has a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) and arrange for one to be completed where necessary.

When the property is ready, we will visit to take photographs. First impressions count, so to prepare, we recommend that you spend time making sure the property is clean, presentable and clutter free. You’ll want to get the property in as good condition as possible prior to letting, as this will increase the likelihood that you’ll attract a high quality tenant who will look after your property to the same standard.

One of our team will take high quality photographs, shoot a marketing video and prepare a marketing brochure as standard. Once we’re happy with everything, we’ll then start the process of finding the most suitable tenant and go live with marketing. Your property will be displayed on our website which has specifically been crafted to showcase your property to its greatest potential. The property will also be marketed on a variety of the well known property portals. We’ll also post your property on our social channels and finally we’ll search our extensive database of people who are looking to rent and contact individuals who we think will be interested.

We’ll be present at all viewings and use this opportunity to start referencing. You cannot beat meeting someone in person and that is why we are reluctant to agree to a let without a physical viewing (except in certain circumstances). If we have multiple people who wish to move into the property, we’ll help advise you on who we think would be the best tenant. We’ll then proceed to carry out in-depth referencing checks using our partner, Vouch. They’ll carry out a credit check, affordability check, employer/accountant check and current landlord check where applicable. Once this is complete, we will then review all of the referencing documents and if we have any concerns, we will inform you of the situation and will turn the application down if required.

Once the thorough referencing checks have been completed and we’ve approved the tenant’s application, we will agree on a date when the tenancy will start. At this stage, we will require all safety certificates for the property including the gas safety record, electrical installation condition report, chimney sweep certificate and portable appliance testing certificate. Please note, we will advise you on which certificates you require and we can arrange these to be carried out on your behalf if required.

We’ll also draft a suitable tenancy agreement (updated regularly by our legal advisors) in preparation for signature. Shortly before the start of the tenancy, as part of our managed service we’ll prepare a detailed Inventory & Schedule of Condition with photographic evidence (this is an optional extra on our let only service). An accurate inventory is a vitally important document which is required at the end of the tenancy if the tenant disputes any deposit deductions. We’ll also take meter readings and notify the relevant utility companies and council tax department of the new tenancy once the tenant has collected the keys.

On move in day, we’ll send you a copy of the tenancy agreement and make sure your tenant is given all the relevant information about the property. They’ll also be told who to contact with any issues. This will depend on the level of service you have chosen. If you’ve chosen our let only service, the tenant will be given your contact details and told to contact you with any issues. If you’ve chosen our managed service, your tenant will be introduced to their Property Manager who will be their (and your) dedicated point of contact.

We believe in forming long-lasting relationships with tenants so that they respect your property and communicate any issues to us. Whilst we are your agent and will act on your instructions, we will always be fair to tenants as we treat everyone with respect. We believe tenants should be welcomed to make your property their home providing they fulfil their obligations in the tenancy agreement. This promotes long term tenancies that will result in fewer void periods (meaning less time you won’t be receiving rent). From years of experience, we know that happy tenants equal happy landlords and vice versa.

If you have chosen our managed service, we will be your tenant’s day to day point of contact. We’ll report any maintenance issues to you and you’ll have access to our contact book of reliable, local tradespeople who will carry out repairs to a high standard and at a competitive price. As part of the management service, we will carry out regular property inspections and send you an inspection report with photographs. The inspections are important as the property visit gives us an opportunity to speak to the tenant and ensure your property remains compliant. We take a proactive approach to property maintenance. We’ll advise you on any works which we think may be required in the coming months so you can plan works and budget accordingly.

Once the tenant has paid their rent, we’ll send you a fully itemised statement of account detailing the rent paid and any deductions including our management fee and contractor invoices (and copies of invoices). To make life even easier for you, we can send a copy of each statement to your accountant which makes things simple when they are dealing with your tax affairs.

Please note, unlike some agents, we do not charge any additional or hidden commission on top of contractor invoices. Arranging standard maintenance works is included as standard in our managed service.

When the tenants give notice of their intention to end the tenancy, we will notify you and ask if you would like us to re-let the property. Once the tenant has handed in keys to the property and vacated, the property will need to be inspected and checked against the Inventory & Schedule whilst allowing for fair wear and tear. If using our managed service, we will carry out a full move-out inspection and negotiate deposit deductions with the tenant where required. If the tenant has been in the property for several years it is likely that some work will be required and we’ll advise you on what needs to be done to get the property ready for a new tenant. And the process starts again!

Whilst we carry out in-depth referencing checks using the latest technology, there are occasions where even good tenants do not pay the rent on time (usually for genuine reasons). Whilst this is rare, if you will be relying on the monthly rental income or want to ensure you are paid on time, we offer an optional ‘no arrears guarantee’.

This is a company backed guarantee which means we will pay the rent to you on time even if the tenant fails to pay. We will continue paying you the rent until the tenant vacates the property. We will of course be chasing the tenant to pay the outstanding rent and will start possession proceedings where there is a clear indication that the tenant will not be able to make future payments. Please note, this guarantee only covers the period of the tenancy where a tenant is in situ and does not cover periods when the property is vacant.

This is not an insurance policy that many agents offer. Whilst these policies provide adequate levels of cover, it can often take weeks for payments to be made to Landlords. We therefore feel our guarantee provides excellent value to Landlords that require financial certainty.

If you have a property that requires refurbishment prior to letting, we can help manage the project on your behalf. Firstly, we’ll assign you a Project Manager who will provide a list of works that they recommend you need to do prior to letting. We’ll then obtain quotes from our trusted, local tradespeople. Once you have approved quotes, we’ll then schedule the works with the contractors and keep you updated every step of the way. To finish the project, we’ll arrange for the property to be cleaned and we’ll provide you with photographs. The property will then be ready to let and we’ll be best placed to find you a good tenant.