By
Stuart Hamilton
Whether you are an inexperienced first time landlord or a go it alone landlord who is fed up with the hassle of dealing with incessant maintenance calls, employing a quality Letting agency to deal with the management of your property and your tenants can be the wise solution. Here are just a few great reasons why it just makes good sense.
1. Professional Tenant screening
First impressions are fine but most definitely an inadequate way to pick your tenants. Phoenix will always take the screening of potential tenants very seriously. Employment references, past Landlord/Letting agent references and credit checks are carried out to make sure the chances of taking on responsible, reliable good quality tenants is as high as possible. After all, a tenant who pays their rent in good time and looks after your property is not only good for you, but is also a lot less problematic for us too.
2.Ensuring legal safety requirements are met
There are a number of regulations that need to be adhered to before a property can be legally let out e.g. An annual gas safety cert, an EICR cert for electrical safety, an EPC energy proficiency cert, Adequate smokes alarms and heat sensor and a Legionella risk assessment is required. Phoenix will happily give you advice on all current safety regulations and can arrange for all the necessary checks to be carried out to ensure that your property is fully compliant.
3. Vastly reduced vacant periods
It is the job of a Letting agent to help you achieve the best financial return on your property and to ensure it’s vacant as infrequently as possible. To do this we need to ensure that your property has quality vetted tenants, paying rent, as quickly as possible. This means we will work hard to help you get your property ready for the rental market. We will ensure that it meets all legal requirements and is presented to its best advantage. We will then advertise it on a number of popular letting portals so that it is seen by as many potential tenants as possible and we start the marketing process immediately when notice to vacate has been received from your current tenant. At the end of a tenancy we also have a set of processes in place to check tenants out of a property quickly and efficiently, ensuring that it is left in tip top condition, or if required, brought back up to standard quickly, ready for the next tenants to move in.
4. Maximum rental income achieved
As professional Letting agents we understand and monitor market conditions and property demands in your local area. We will quickly be able to establish the maximum rental value of your property. We will also offer advice on the best ways to maximise your rental income e.g. freshening up the rooms with a coat of paint or replacing/cleaning worn out carpets or flooring. We can even arrange tradesmen to carry out this work for you.
5. Improved maintenance of your property
When there is a problem in your property e.g. the heating breaks down or a leak develops, action is required quickly. We appreciate for you this can be difficult if you are working, on holiday or just generally to busy and it can also be difficult finding the right person to deal with a specific problem. As your Letting agent we will have access to a network of fully qualified tradesmen we can get in touch with to fix the problem. We will also take on the task of liaising with the tenants to agree a suitable time when the property can be accessed in order to carry out the repairs, saving you a whole lot of time and hassle. We will also carry out periodic inspections to check that the general standard of your property is being maintained throughout the length of the tenancy. Simply drop us an email requesting a property inspection report at any time.
6.Not having to interact with tenants
Employing a quality Letting agent as the point of contact for tenants will undoubtedly take away a lot of the stress of being a landlord. All tenant interactions will be dealt with professionally by our fully qualified staff without you having to worry about uncomfortable or confrontational conversations about late rent payments, evictions or issues with your property.
7. Dealing with deposit deductions
This is a very important factor as to why employing a Letting agent will greatly benefit Landlords. Things have changed dramatically in how deposits and deductions are dealt with. All deposits are now held and protected by One of the Three Tenancy deposit schemes available in Scotland. On the rare occasion that we are required to deduct funds from the deposit for cleaning, missing items or any damage to the property it is up to us as your agents to prove to the deposit scheme that there is good reason for the deduction. At Phoenix we will prepare detailed inventories and photographic evidence confirming the condition of your property at the start and at the end of each tenancy making the negotiations with the deposit scheme far more straight forward and less stressful for Landlords.
8.Providing a fully compliant tenancy agreement
A tenancy agreement or lease is the contract between you and your tenants and is required by law. It protects your property, sets out your obligations and that of your tenants and prevents potential disputes happening in the future. As your letting agent Phoenix will help you draw up a tenancy agreement for your property. It will contain standard items e.g. the start date of the tenancy, when the rent is due, how mush the rent is, the notice period etc. but it can also contain items pertinent to your particular property e.g. whether pets are permitted. New tenants will not be allowed the keys to your property until the contract has been signed.
Choosing a Letting agent is a big decision and may not be for everyone. But if you do decide that this is for you, then it is important to remember that not every company will offer the same level of service. With our vast experience in the rental market at Phoenix we are confident that you will not be disappointed and perhaps will even think why did I not employ a Letting agent sooner.
Phoenix Property Group is a small independent Letting agency in the Southside of Glasgow. We are fully qualified and have specialised in letting and managing property throughout the city for over 30 years. Please feel free to contact us for more information about our landlord services.
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