The ‘self service’ letting agent Upad has pulled off another huge media deal, this time with the Telegraph.
In June, it was instrumental in the Evening Standard’s launch of London Private Rentals, a free listings service for landlords and tenants cutting out agents.
Upad exclusively operates the property search facility for the London Evening Standard, its property website Homesandproperty, and the Independent newspaper.
While the listing service is free, landlords can choose to buy products such as inventories and floor plans at cut prices.
Now Upad has announced a partnership with the Telegraph Media Group (TMG) in the launch of Telegraph Private Lettings.
The new service substantially undercuts lettings, offering landlords a complete lettings service for a flat fee of only £299 plus VAT.
For the fee, landlords get professional photography and a floor plan, a ‘To Let’ board erected outside the property and advertising across all major UK lettings sites – including Rightmove – as well as comprehensive tenant referencing, drawing up of the tenancy agreement, deposit registration and rent collection.
In addition, Telegraph readers who register with the new lettings will receive a £40 gift card redeemable against their next property listing.
James Davis, CEO and founder of Upad, said: “We are very proud to announce the launch of Telegraph Private Lettings.
“We have for some years now believed in a better way of letting properties, putting landlords and tenants directly in touch with each other, and it’s brilliant to have such a respected media brand as TMG support our way of doing things.
“I have no doubt that Telegraph Private Lettings will be hugely popular with today’s landlords across the UK.”
Nigel Leigh, head of digital atTMG, said: “We have seen a marked increase in interest in lettings from our readers in recent times, and with the current state of the housing market it’s only going to rise further; it is for this reason that we believe the time is right to launch Telegraph Private Lettings.
“As ever, we strive to offer the very best services to our readers, and that is why we have chosen to partner with Upad whose solid track record, numerous industry awards and five-star customer reviews make this a brand you can trust to deliver.”
Yesterday, a spokesperson for Davis said of the earlier deal with the Evening Standard: “We’ve had a very encouraging start, with a good take-up from the rapid growth of landlords that are self-managing.”
However, the Standard’s decision to launch a direct-only property portal upset some of its regular property advertisers, the agents who pay to go in the Evening Standard’s Home & Property supplement.
The Telegraph’s decision to launch a private lettings service may also upset the advertisers who use its weekend property section.
http://telegraph.upad.co.uk
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Comments
UPAD's Service is £299 +£60 a month for the full lettings service.
LAT - maybe you should add that in otherwise its miss-leading.
regards
Dan
The media would cut off the hand that feeds them if they could. They have lived off the agents fees for years now are trying to cut them out.
Rightmove are now doing the same, they have even gone into direct competition with Commercial Property Agents who advertise on Rightmove and have set up their own Commercial Property Office directed at Landlords cutting out agents!
All very well and good and of course all these cheap `direct' sites will have success - but most of my BTL investor colleagues wouldn't want to start meeting and showing tenants round their properties even if they lived close enough to do so or had the time. My advice is work with one, local, but good high street agent if you can - you will be able to structure a decent deal and the service should always be better. I know the local guys I work with advertise in the Telegraph so I wouldn't be at all surprised if they pulled their lettings advertising from that paper. As a supplier you have to accept the consequences of all the decisions you make.
How Upad can say they are cutting out Estate Agents when they are acting as and Agent themselves is daft.
Not all Estate Agents are the same!
It can take up to 15 viewings and a thorough credit check to get the right tenant .
The private landlord is more likely to accept the wrong tenant.
Not such a great deal!
We are putting a nearly identical product together for around a third less than that!
In my opinion they are not cheap!
I suppose the only difference is paying £299 rather than estate agents who charge more like £1000 + 8% to 12% a month as well and they put bad tenants in. Seems like a cracking idea.
We offer a 'let only' service for £350 + VAT which provides local and national advertising including on our own web site, referencing, tenancy agreement, inventory and handover and hand back of the property. However the fee is only payable once the tenancy has been set up and not upfront - so no tenant no fee.
How many landlords will pay out £360 to uPad with the possibility that there will be no let.
It sounds to me that Upad are also a Landlords Agent and charge £299.00 + VAT upfront for the privilege. Estate Agents are also a Landlords Agent and charge a fee to the Landlord when they have found a tenant, not upfront.
Not much difference then?!