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Demand for rental property seems to be at record highs, with literally dozens of prospective tenants wanting to view and snap up a property within hours of it being marketed. A recent house I listed had over 50 enquiries within 48 hours; but clearly it can only be let once! Processes therefore need to be put in place to avoid wasting the time of both yourself and some of the interested tenants who either won’t be suitable for the property or will find that the property is not suitable for them.
The first port of call is to understand who will be living at the property, as there may be restrictions on the property’s usage from both a legal and/or practical perspective. For example, I recently had two couples and a friend wanting to share a three-bedroom house. Housing five adults would mean more wear and tear on the property than many of the other potential applicants but, even more importantly, it would mean the landlord having to apply for an HMO license from the council (at a cost of £1,098!). Conversely, I had two friends wanting to rent a two-bedroom apartment; not a problem I said, but are you happy with the second bedroom only being a single? They weren’t, and thus checking this saved me and them the bother of viewing a flat that wasn’t appropriate for their needs.
You should also speak to the tenants about their financial situation; doing so now will save conducting a viewing with tenants who might fall in love with a property, only to find they can’t pass the referencing. You should ask whether they have any credit issues that might affect their application, along with understanding their income to ensure it passes the typical affordability criteria set out by referencing agents. If an issue is identified, you could consider whether an alternative solution can be found, such as having a guarantor or for them to pay rent upfront.
Finally, understanding the tenants’ situation is often useful. If the property is vacant and therefore available to rent immediately, it is beneficial to find tenants who can move in as promptly as possible. On the other hand, if the property is not ready to move into for a couple of months, then it’s little good showing it to someone who needs to move within a fortnight! You may also discover that the prospective tenants are only looking to rent for a short period of time, which may not fit with your preference for a long-term tenancy.
All being well, I then send the prospective tenants a video walkthrough of the property, which is recorded from a first-person perspective as if they were viewing the property (including commentary). This shows far more than a description, photographs and floorplan can do alone, and helps to ensure the property is suitable for them. This has greatly cut down the number of viewings whereby the prospective tenants weren’t already chomping at the bit to take the property (saving everyone’s time and helping to keep people safe during the pandemic).
This all means by the time I’m viewing a property with potential tenants it is highly likely that they will want the property (assuming it matches the video) and that I will want to, and be able to (from a referencing point-of-view) rent it to them.
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3 bed house in Tangmere,
£290,000, 5.0% yield
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Summary:
3 bed house in Tangmere
Listed for sale on 20/08/21 @ £290,000
Rent = £1,200pcm
Yield = 5.0%
Last sold for £230,000 in 2019 (+26% in 2 years)
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3 bedroom house in Chichester
(Lloyd Road)
£1,300pcm
- 2 double bedrooms & 1 single
- Excellent condition 'eco-house'
- En-suite, bathroom & cloakroom
- Two allocated parking spaces
- Available mid September
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2 bedroom house in Chichester
(Juxon Close)
£1,100pcm
- Close to city centre
- 2 double bedrooms
- Modern kitchen & decor
- Garage available
- Available early October
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I sympathise with those enquiring for property's to let currently as the competition is fierce. But, unfortunately for them, that's exactly what it is - a competition. I am not going to apologise to the individual who thinks I'm "discriminating" against them because I won't offer them a viewing when they have CCJ's and are subsequently reliant on a guarantor to pass referencing, versus the half-dozen applicants who don't have CCJ's and will pass referencing on their own.
Similarly, many of my properties / landlords are pet-friendly; but if you're trying to rent a property at the moment and you have a couple of pets the reality is your chances of being accepted, when you will come up against other applicants without pets, is slim. Swearing at me down the phone because I'm bold enough to tell you this upfront so as to try and not waste your time only serves to prove you aren't a suitable individual and now, as well as the pets, your attitude rules you out of the running.
Remember, a letting agent works for the landlord. They are the keeper at the gate, whose job it is to find and put forward the best proposition for their landlord. This is especially true since the Tenant Fees Ban legislation came in to force, whereby tenants no longer pay any fees to let a property and can not be charged more than a five-week deposit. So, those with poor credit, a lack of earnings, pets or large families are, I'm afraid, likely to miss out when the competition is often a professional couple with squeaky clean credit history, good references and all their paperwork ready to go.
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| CLIVE JANES |
| Owner |
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01243 624599 |
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Voted 'Best Letting Agent in Chichester 2020'
with a 5/5 average rating from 171 customer reviews |
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