Last month it was reported on EAT and LAT that properties coming on to the rental market are continuing to increase, whilst sales listings are in the majority of cases are declining. With all the signs pointing to a long and healthy future for the rental market, Dave Hunt, Business Development Director of ARPM believes that it is vital for ‘Let Only’ lettings businesses to increase their footprint in their local market place to ensure that their businesses will continue to grow in what is bound to become an increasingly competitive arena.
“If you are an agent who offers purely ‘Let Only’ services, then I truly believe that now would be a good time to consider offering the full suite of products, e.g. ‘Let Only’, ‘Rent Collection’ and ‘Full Management’ before your local marketplace becomes flooded with letting agents capitalising on the ‘rental boom’. I was speaking to a good friend of mine the other day, who advise me that in her town alone there is now over 50 lettings business operating, whereas just 12 months ago there was less than 30. With more agents to choose from, landlords will tend to look to instruct agents which offer a variety of services to suit their ever changing requirements.
The value of a property management portfolio should not be underestimated. Fully managed business can last 10-15 years, whereas Let Only fees can often only become available once every 3-5 years. A managed portfolio is not just about guaranteed fees incomes to your business every day before your office doors open - it will also help to add value to your business overall. In a positive market, a good managed portfolio will help increase the value of a lettings business and if the owners of the business can embrace these additional services and promote them with the same time and resources as they do their Let Only service, they will reap the long term benefits.
ARPM Property Management is the ideal solution for Let Only agents to offer the full suite of products. In simple terms, the Let Only agent would undertake their normal activities but at the same time promote the fact that they also offer a rent collection and full management service. At the point of a new let being agreed, or at the point of move in if an agent would prefer to do their own pre-tenancy administration (e.g. referencing and producing tenancy agreements), the ‘file’ is transferred to ARPM to deal with the rent collection and property management. Our services can even be white-labelled in the agents own brand so landlords and tenants are not aware that an outsourced provider is undertaking the work. The agent dictates their own fees for these services, so if they want to charge 10% for a full managed service, then there would certainly be scope from this amount to not only pay for our services but to also generate a good income stream into their own businesses too. It really is a ‘win, win’ situation with no hidden fees or catches!’
If you would like to find out how your business can benefit from partnering with ARPM, contact them today for a without obligation consultation. Tel: 01923 775705 or email info@arpm.co.uk
or visit our website
Comments