The majority of Letting Agents offering a fully managed service will include the provision of mid-term Property Visits as part of their management package. Most Landlords who enjoy a fully managed service will consider this to be one of the most important functions that their Letting Agent performs for them. Kate Maddison, Key Accounts Manager for the Live Letting Exchange, provides her opinion as to why all Lettings professionals should seriously consider outsourcing these Visits:
‘Generally, the reason why Property Visits (sometimes referred to as Property Inspections) are considered so important by Landlords is that they act as a gauge as to how their Tenants are treating their investment. Comprehensive Property Visit Reports provide an early warning for Landlords who can then look to take the appropriate action, e.g. deciding whether they are happy to renew the tenancy again going forward. The visit itself also provides a good opportunity to speak to Tenants to find out if they are having any issues and most will happily provide information about whether they intend to stay on at the property, or whether they will be looking for a new home, which is valuable information to both Agent and Landlord and allows forward planning.
Whilst it is clear that Property Visits are essential for maintaining good relationships with Landlords and for showing a proactive management style, the true cost of Letting Agents undertaking these themselves is often overlooked.
Property Visits are, by their very nature, fairly labour intensive; firstly an appointment needs to be made with the Tenant and anyone who has ever been involved in the booking process will know that this can more often than not take more than one phone call to arrange. Secondly, once the Visit has been arranged there is no guarantee that the Tenant will actually be at the property at the agreed time, so further phone calls are likely to be necessary and the staff member will therefore be out of the office for a longer period of time than expected. Once the Visit has been conducted, a formal Report will need to be written up to be sent to the Landlord. I have experienced first-hand Lettings staff struggling to find the time to type up Reports, which has lead to disgruntled telephone calls from Landlords who have been waiting for the documentation to arrive. The process of conducting Property Visits in-house can therefore take up a considerable amount of time and prevent Agency staff from focusing on gaining new instructions, letting properties and providing affective property management.
The time of year can also has an enormous impact on conducting Property Visits in-house - the summer months within the Lettings Industry are historically the busiest time of year for Agents. During these months, the demand for rental properties increases and it is also a popular time for staff to take time off for holidays. Increased demand for viewings and tenancy sign-ups, coupled with a shortage of staff, puts most offices under increased pressure, and more often than not, Property Visits diarised during this period may unfortunately be put on the ‘backburner’.
In order for Property Visits to be undertaken in a timely manner and to allow Lettings professionals to focus on the day-to-day running of their businesses, an increasing number of Lettings businesses are outsourcing Visits to Inventory companies. Agents considering outsourcing their Property Visits should be mindful to instruct an Inventory provider who has the capability to deal with the whole process from start to finish and should take up references or go on recommendation.
Over the past five years, Live Letting Exchange has seen a steady increase in the number of Letting Agents entrusting us to provide mid-term Property Visits. We have worked with Agents to develop a product that is easy to order through our online portal, is produced quickly to strict SLAs and is keenly priced so that Agents benefit from our economies of scale. A professional Report, including internal and external photographs at no additional cost (particularly vital when staff are not visiting the properties themselves and are much favoured by Landlords who can see first-hand exactly how their properties being treated) is provided in PDF format for Agents to simply forward to the Landlord. A copy of the report is held securely on our systems allowing Agents to access historical reports 24/7 without the need to keep hard copies in their own file.
When you take into consideration the cost of a Negotiator or experienced Property Manager having to take time to organise and conduct Visits, it is likely that utilising an Inventory Clerk actually works out cheaper’.
The Live Letting Exchange is a nationwide Inventory provider. To find out how your business could benefit from their services, please contact Kate Maddison, Key Accounts Manager, 07736517459 or kate.maddison@live-lx.com
Comments
I agree with euanmc, this is just an advert. I have worked for companies which outsource their Property Visits and I have also carried them out myself. As a property manager it is vital to know the property and tenants when speaking to landlords. Too many times I have spoken to landlords about a property I have not seen and this is an impossible task and it becomes obvious to the landlord that you dont know the property.
This article should have the words ADVERTORIAL across the top. I thought it was going to be a balanced piece but instead it is just an advert dressed up as editorial. Improve standards please!