Whether you have an apartment, house or portfolio of properties to offer, we can strategically advertise your property to provide optimum exposure and align your property to the ideal kind of tenant for you.
Our diverse range of properties means we attract prospective tenants not only from the North West, but increasingly from other parts of the UK, looking to move due to work commitments or change of circumstance.
We appreciate for some, letting a property can be daunting, and were also aware that for others the need to enlist the right agent to manage their growing portfolio is the hardest choice. We like to set out what we can offer you from the beginning, so you can make an informed choice.
FULL MANAGEMENT or TENANT ONLY FIND?
Tenant Only Find Includes:
- Property assessment and digital photographs taken for advertising
- Advertised on rightmove.co.uk and local press
- Viewings carried out with potential tenants
- Thorough reference check carried out
- Tenancy agreement, inventory & photo inventory prepared
- Standing order set up to be paid directly to landlord
- Check-in completed
- All utility providers and council contacted with new tenants details
After check-in is completed, the landlord manages the property & any maintenance issues
Full Management Includes:
- Property assessment and digital photographs taken for advertising
- Advertise on rightmove.co.uk and local press
- Viewings carried out with potential tenants
- Thorough reference check carried out
- Tenancy agreement, inventory & photo inventory prepared
- Standing order set up to collect rent
- Check-in completed
- All utility providers & council contacted with new tenants details
- Manage all maintenance issues
- Serve any notices/letters
- Pay landlord by electronic bank transfer
- Check-out conducted at end of tenancy
All our tenants sign a 6 month Assured Shorthold Tenancy. This kind of contract is a rolling contract after the initial 6 months. If you require a tenant to sign up for longer than 6 months, we can add an additional clause to their contract stipulating the minimum stay required.
PREPARING YOUR PROPERTY FOR RENT
Proof of ownership
Before we can market your property, we will need to see proof of ownership. This can be in the form of a recent letter from your mortgage company stipulating your monthly contributions or if owned out right then a copy of the deeds/confirmation from the Solicitor.
Gas Safety Certificates
It is a legal requirement that all rental properties must have a Gas Safety Certificate issued every 12 months for all gas appliances within a property. This must be carried out by a fully qualified Gas Safe Registered plumber. If you would like us to arrange for this to be carried out, we work with a qualified & registered plumber on all our other properties. Please note Corgi registered plumbers are no longer qualified to carry out gas safety certificates which came into effect on 1 April 2009.
Energy Performance Certificates
Since October 2008, the Government has introduced the requirement for all rented properties to hold a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The certificate details a properties energy performance and rates the properties efficiency on a scale from A to G; A being the most efficient and G being the least. The certificate will provide recommendations to improve the energy efficiency of the property and they last for ten years. We work with an associate company who are registered and carry out these certificates. If you would like further information regarding this necessary pre-requisite, please contact one of the team to discuss in more detail.
Smoke Alarms
We insist that all the properties which we advertise must have at least one working smoke alarm. This coincides with Health & Safety and your responsibilities as a landlord towards your tenant.
Condition/Contents
In order for us to successfully advertise any property, its condition must be finished to a high standard. We attract a strong caliber of tenants because we always provide high quality properties. This relates to the property being fully cleaned before advertising can commence; all painting to walls & skirting boards to a high standard; any furniture or white goods in good condition & in full working order.
Gardens
This may seem like an unusual point to raise, however for those properties that do have a garden this question often arises. Who will look after the up keep of the garden? For this we suggest the decision be yours. Some landlords prefer to pay a gardener to maintain its condition once a month during a tenancy. Or you may ask that the tenant maintains it, obviously there maybe a risk that the tenant doesnt maintain it to an acceptable standard or even at all.
FINDING THE RIGHT TENANT
Viewings
Unlike many other letting agents, we are more than happy to carry out viewings on weekday evenings and over weekends. Our office hours are 9am to 5pm, however we want to be flexible around those prospective tenants who work during the day and so require those later viewings.
Referencing
When a prospective tenant applies for a property, they must complete and submit a 6 page application form detailing their employment status; current & previous addresses; bank details; and personal information. Along with the application they must provide 3 months bank statements; 3 months wage slips; employment reference; landlord reference if renting; and photocopy of photo ID.
To process the application, we work with a respectable insurance company who we also work with to bring you landlords building insurance. They are extremely thorough and provide recommendations for further information if necessary.
Only if the insurance company carrying out the credit check provides a decision of High or Medium (tenants are scored Low, Medium or High) will we accept the applicant. You will be informed and have the final decision on accepting or declining the applicant.
FINAL STAGES
Inventories
Inventories are carried out on properties to protect both parties involved, the landlord and the tenant. Our inventories are included within our fees and we take pride in being very thorough even down to including how many plug sockets are in each room. We also describe the condition and content of each room. Please note that this inventory is prepared at least 3-4 days before the tenant is due to check-in, therefore the property must be ready for then and not on the check-in date.
Photo evidence is taken to support the descriptive inventory. The content of the photos ranges from proof of existing damage if any, to the condition of flooring and walls in all rooms. If furniture or white goods are included in the let, individual pictures of these items are taken also.
On the day of checking the new tenants in, we will take meter readings and record them on both the tenants and our copy of the inventory. After which we contact the utility companies to inform them of the new tenants details and the last reading.
Maintenance (for full management landlords only)
During a tenancy, if you have chosen the full management option, it is our responsibility to ensure we use reliable and trustworthy tradesmen to carry out any maintenance required on your property during your tenants stay.
We have built up our team of tradesmen over several years whom we can rely and depend upon. Typically, any work that needs carrying out that comes in under £100, we will have done straight away and will be decuted from your next months rental income. If the job will cost more than £100 we have to seek your permission first.
However, if the job is of an extremely urgent nature, such as a boiler, and costs more than £100 to fix but you are not contactable, we will be forced to rectify this immediately due to Health & Safety implications.
Our tradesmen are competitively priced, however if you prefer to use your own tradesmen we would be happy to discuss this with you.
