One thing tenants and landlords have in common is that many of them are tired of traditional estate agents and sometimes choose to self-manage. Many landlords are now turning to online letting agents and property management companies.
There’s often a fair amount of confusion about the difference between estate agents and specialist letting agents & property management companies. While there is some overlap, management companies and online letting agents provide a much more comprehensive service than conventional lettings agents.
They take care of everything from screening tenants to managing the property and even pursuing evictions if need be. Their experience can help you maximise your rental income, improve occupancy rates and free you up to get on with the rest of your life.
A good company will offer a host of benefits, but here are the top five for starters:
It’s cheaper
In most cases, it will be cheaper and costs will be more transparent. An online lettings app uses digital technology to keep costs down. They don’t need to splash out on infrastructure such as branches; instead, everything is managed online. This means the savings get passed on to you. Using a set management fee, rather than a percentage of the rent, makes it easier to see how much you are spending. This will remain the same, even if the rent increases.
Quicker and easy maintenance
Renting property may be great for your investment portfolio, in that it brings a steady income every month, but it also involves a lot of landlord obligations, work and administration – especially when it comes to keeping the property well maintained. Management companies can handle all emergency and routine maintenance. They will be able to find a contractor for you or, if you’d prefer, work with someone of your choosing.
Ensuring ongoing revenue
Expert property managers and online letting agents can help you maximise the return from your property in a number of ways. Using their expertise and market knowledge, they can follow trends and ensure you’re charging the optimum amount of rent.
At the same time, they can put in place a seamless process to manage the transition from one tenant to another. By working ahead of time, they can help you improve occupancy rates and avoid those difficult periods in which the property is left empty and failing to earn any revenue.
Getting better tenants
A bad tenant can be a nightmare for any landlord. People might look honest and trustworthy when you meet them, but first impressions can be deceptive.
A property management company can check all references and perform a full credit check. They can tell you if these tenants have a good track record of paying on time and looking after their properties. If things do go wrong, they can provide legal assistance. Some of the leading providers will also cover some of the costs of evicting a tenant. Since these can run into the thousands, this kind of help could be a godsend.
Looking after legal obligations
Legal problems with your property can cause all sorts of problems. New rules, for example, force landlords to serve as quasi-immigration inspectors and check their tenants have the right to live in the UK. If you don’t perform these checks, you could be liable to a substantial fine. A management company can ensure you’re complying with all of your obligations.
Into the future
In our fast-paced digital world, property management companies and online letting agents are evolving quickly. They are changing the ways in which they work and opening up a range of new features for both landlords and tenants. Apps like Howsy, for example, are quick, easy and offer a host of features you will not find with conventional lettings agents. Visit their website see how they can help make like as a landlord a whole lot easier.
Ready to market? Great! Use the Howsy App now to get started or call our team on 0330 123 9999 for a friendly chat to see if we can help.