Guide to Leicester property management agents
A property management service is ideal for landlords who want rental income but don’t want the hassle of dealing with rental portfolios and tenant issues. A property management service takes the stress out of letting out your property. The agents can deal with any maintenance issues, regular tenant and house inspections to collecting rent and managing the day-to-day running of the property to addressing the legal aspects of the let on your behalf.
So, what can a property management agent offer you and what should you look for when choosing the right agent?
Guide to Leicester property management agents: When to use a management agent?
A typical property lettings agent will typically offer a “let-only” service, where they will find, interview and vet tenants, do the paperwork and take the deposit and first month’s rent. However, this does not cover any further management cover and the landlords are left to sort everything else out themselves. A property management plan is often an ideal situation when you either don’t have the time to manage your property letting or you’d rather let someone else handle it.
A complete property management service will continue to collect rent and deal with the day-to-day running of the property depending on the needs of the landlord. Typically there are different packages available to suit your needs, including things such as:
- Rent collection
- Property inspections
- Renewals
- Arranging quotes and managing repairs
- Being the first point of call for tenants
- Lease administration
- Advising on current landlord responsibilities and legislation
Sometimes you may not have enough time to handle the logistics of property letting but want to reap the benefits. Whatever your circumstances, a property manager can provide you with a wide range of services designed to make the process easy and relatively painless for you as a ‘sleeping landlord’.
Guide to Leicester property management agents: What services does a management agent offer?
An excellent management agent will provide the full range of management services for your properties. Sometimes the property owner will only hand over certain tasks to a management agency and choose to handle some aspects themselves, but if you choose, you can pass full responsibility to the agent. So, what services does a typical management agent offer?
A management agent will act as the key player between the owner of the property and the tenants who are renting it and are often responsible for:
- Advertising your property to potential tenants
- Sourcing suitable and reliable tenants for the property and host viewings
- Obtaining references and conducting credit checks on potential tenants
- Providing you with information on the latest safety regulations
- Preparing the tenancy agreement and deposit
- Preparing and assessing the inventory and conducting a state of repair assessment on the property
- Collecting the rent from the tenant and handling process to landlord
- Managing and arranging any necessary repairs
- Inspecting the property periodically and feeding back any comments to you
- Providing tenants with notice at the end of the tenancy
- Dealing with legal aspects of the tenancy and property, including evictions, non-payment, harassment or problems with squatters
The list goes on! A property manager can take care of as much or as little as you need them to. You simply have to work out an efficient plan between you and your property manager.
Guide to Leicester property management agents: What should I look for in a management agent?
A good recommendation can go a long way. Check with friends or acquaintances that also employ a property management service to understand what their experience has been with their agent. Using a recommendation from a person you trust is a great starting place, but be sure to get your own opinion of the agent before deciding to use them.
Most property letting agents will offer both letting and full management services, but talk to several and understand what they offer before deciding which to agent to instruct. It is important to have a property manager that understands exactly what you want to achieve and can realistically help you to achieve it.
Guide to Leicester property management agents: Benefits of a property management agent?
A property management agent can save you time, money and hassle in the long run. From avoiding legal problems, financial pitfalls, reducing rent loss, increasing your property value and most importantly reducing your stress. A property manager allows you to enjoy being a landlord without providing you with the hassle.
Talk to one of our property managers today to find out how Open House Leicester can work with you when letting out your home. Call 0116 243 7938 or email info@openhouseleicester.co.uk
