Zest Sales and Lettings stands out in the Bath region for its customer service, as demonstrated through the various awards that it's won. However, it's recognition from its landlords that leads to recommendations in the long term, to help it continue attracting customers, even during uncertain times.
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.
Julie Ford founded a property network to help new landlords become great ones - but she still believes that all landlords should use a letting agent.
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.
What’s the best way for an agent to understand the concerns of a landlord? This agent has inside knowledge of the obstacles and opportunities that landlords face in the lettings industry, having first built his own property portfolio.
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.
"Bath is a really desirable place to live and there's been an influx of people moving from the city to the South West," says Beth Perry, Operations Director at Zest Sales and Lettings. "We would love to have double the amount of properties available because we feel like there are enough tenants registered with us. Properties are letting within hours instead of days."
Topics: Customer experience
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
“Networking events for landlords used to be very much about building your profile, building your wealth, growing your portfolio," says Julie Ford. “But once those landlords actually got the keys in their hands, there was no support for how to be a good landlord."
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
“Being landlords ourselves gives us an edge over some other agents who don’t have experience with their own property stock,” says Neil Bharakhda, Regional Manager at Leicester-based property management company, Set To Let. “We were landlords before we became letting agents. That helps us understand the service that landlords expect.”
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
