Tenant housing priorities have shifted as a result of Covid-19 - though demand is still high - which means that letting agents who rethink the way they position their properties could help their landlords find and retain the best tenants in the current market.
Legislation is now one of the key drivers for landlords choosing to take up a letting agent's services. Showing how much you can do for landlords in this area could be the difference between bringing them on as let-only or fully managed, say agents in an extract from Goodlord's e-book "How to win new landlords in a challenging environment".
Christopher Watkin shares why letting agents should use newsletters, blogs, videos, and social media to win more landlords by providing information about their local property market.
This agency took an understanding and flexible approach to tenants struggling to pay rent during the pandemic - and has since been rewarded with a nil eviction rate and strong demand.
Letting your tenants know what to expect from the pre-tenancy tenancy process will help them move through it faster. Here are three areas you can advise them on plus a downloadable flyer for your tenants, outlining the referencing steps.
With the growth in pet ownership since the start of the pandemic, and the revised Model Tenancy Agreement making it easier for tenants to rent with pets, now is the time for your landlords to examine the benefits of allowing pets in their property, to appeal to this growing tenant base.
Rent guarantee cover has been under scrutiny for its performance during the pandemic. Agents offering this service to their landlords may risk losing the trust of their customers with the wrong policy, so here are four things to consider when making the choice.
Customers needs and expectations will likely be altered forever by the pandemic. Here are a few ways agencies could rethink their service offering to make sure they're meeting the needs of their landlords and tenants in the post-lockdown period.
Legislation and tax, property repairs and damage, and managing void periods are among the top concerns of landlords for the year ahead, in addition to the impact of the pandemic on rent payments.
Invest time now in creating useful resources that will help your community navigate the coronavirus pandemic and you'll develop long-lasting relationships.
Demand in lettings is still high, but tenant priorities have shifted. More than half of the tenants surveyed in Goodlord's State of the Industry Report 2020, Vol II think they’ll still be renting in the next five years - and nearly a third considered moving home due to the pandemic. So how can you show potential and current landlords how you will capture this market by positioning their properties in the best possible light?
Topics: Customer experience
Helping landlords navigate new and changing lettings legislation is still one of the most important ways letting agents can support landlords. This year is again going to bring with it myriad legislation changes and will be a key lever letting agencies can pull to win more landlords in a challenging environment. Most of the Covid-19 legislation changes and initiatives are set to end in the first half of the year, including six-month notice periods and changes to the possession process - better known as the furlough scheme - and the stamp duty holiday.
Topics: Customer experience
What's your plan for winning new landlords in 2021? Christopher Watkin talked to Goodlord's Oli Sherlock in a recent webinar about his advice for agents on their approaches to getting new landlords on their books, with actions that will show you how to give your lettings business an uplift using tried and tested techniques.
🎬 Watch the whole conversation
🎧 Listen to the whole conversation
Topics: Customer experience
E Property Agent has been actively listening to its tenants’ needs during the pandemic, to understand their situations and find the best solutions to suit all parties involved, which has helped them avoid tenant evictions in most cases.
Topics: Customer experience
Renting a property is a two-way street. You should be able to answer all your tenant’s questions and prepare them for the tenancy process before you send the offer letter. When you show your expertise and willingness to help, they’ll have more confidence in you, which will help them decide on the property more quickly and cut down on your landlord’s void period.
Topics: Customer experience
On 28 January 2021, the government updated the Model Tenancy Agreement, to help tenants with "well-behaved pets" to be able to rent a property more easily. The new contracts will allow pets as standard, and landlords will have to object in writing to pet requests from tenants, within 28 days, giving "good reason" for the objection. With the boom in pets during the pandemic, due to people working from home - leading to a puppy shortage and searches for homes allowing pets rising by 109% during lockdown - this opens doors for your landlords to appeal to a new profile of tenant.
Topics: Customer experience
Rent Protection Insurance is designed to bring landlords and letting agents peace of mind, covering a loss of income if a tenant’s unable to pay rent. This peace of mind was shaken by the pandemic, and so-called "eviction bans".
Topics: Customer experience
Agencies that succeed in the post-lockdown world will need to adapt their service offering to meet a completely different set of needs and expectations. “Consumer research by Nielsen asserts that, after the crisis, people’s daily routines will be altered by a new cautiousness about health, suggesting that some shifts in behaviour could be long-term,” notes Deloitte.
Topics: Customer experience
What are landlords' top concerns in the coming year? Managing missed rent payments will now, unquestionably, be first and foremost on landlords’ minds. But, with the Government introducing measures to help those who are struggling financially, letting agents can still focus on helping landlords manage their other key concerns and challenges for the year ahead. Legislation and tax challenges topped these concerns, found the Landlord Maintenance Survey London estate agents Portico, along with property repairs and damage, and managing void periods. Now that lettings activity has resumed, it’s time to leverage these findings to your advantage.
Topics: Customer experience
“People will remember the way you made them feel,” says Christopher Watkin, who thinks the coronavirus pandemic is an opportunity for letting agents to build strong relationships in their local communities that will put them in a better position when business returns to normal. “We need to be caring and compassionate and go out there and give great advice that’s educational and interesting, which people will remember. They'll start to trust you, and people do business with people they trust."
Topics: Customer experience
