Property Management from just £14.99 a month

Property Management from just £14.99 a month

12:43 PM, 10th December 2012, About 11 years ago 41

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Full Property Management from an ARLA agentJust suppose you could buy property management from just £14.99 per month, per property in the vast majority of the lettings hotspots in England.

Would it really be worth the hassle of trying to organise everything yourself?

Could you be certain that you would be able to do it for less?

You might be forgiven for thinking that such an offer would be made by an unqualified agent who is cutting corners. However, what if I were to tell you the agent offering this service is fully bonded with ARLA and has client money protection insurance too?

Well I’ve found an ARLA agent offering this service and I think it’s only right that I should share my finding with you.

Here’s what £14.99 + VAT buys you:-

  • Visiting your property, taking particulars and floor plans.
  • Setting up an online account to store your documentation so it can be accessed at any time
  • Advertising your property on the major property portals
  • Referencing tenants and guarantors
  • Inventory and schedule of condition prepared by an AIIC quailified inventory professional
  • Tenancy and Guarantor Agreements
  • Taking meter readings on check in and check out and informing utility companies of tenancy change over
  • Deposit registration (This is an additional cost of £25 + VAT annually)
  • Gas Safety Certificate as required (additionally charged)
  • Rent Collection with payment forwarded to your account by BACS and monthly rental statement
  • Check Out at the end of the tenancy

If you want the letting agents to do viewings, periodic property checks and manage all maintenance issues the monthly fee is £24.99 + VAT. The top end package is priced at just £34.99 + VAT and includes rent guarantee insurance with legal protection insurance. The rental guarantee pays out if the tenants falls more than a month in arrears and thereafter for any further missed payments until vacant possession of the property is recovered. The legal protection insurance covers all costs associated with eviction.

HMO management is also available for £24.99 pcm + VAT for the first room then £10 pcm + VAT for subsequent rooms. Note that this agency does not usually accept tenants in receipt of benefits at the outset of a tenancy. Any tenant is only a P45 or a relationship breakdown away from the potential of financial distress and having to claim benefits, hence this level of cover is highly recommended for landlords who are reliant upon receiving their rental income whilst a tenant is in occupation.

The results of the December 2012 Property118 readers survey, which was completed by 978 people, was that 25% of you employ an agent to fully manage your properties, 23% of you use a letting agent just to find tenants, 45% self manage entirely and 8% mix and match. Will these figures change as a result of this offer I wonder?

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Comments

Jonathan Clarke

15:54 PM, 10th December 2012, About 11 years ago

Ahh It was all looking so good until it got to the.... ` this agency does not usually accept tenants in receipt of benefits at the outset of a tenancy`..... 75% of mine are LHA. The word `usually` though perhaps leaves a possible window of hope open! Are there perhaps any occasions when this agency would accept LHA tenants at the outset?

21:48 PM, 10th December 2012, About 11 years ago

How long has this firm been in existence? It does sound too good to be true. If it is a firm which is registered for VAT it is likely to have at least some overheads. The sum of £14.99 is likely to buy around 20 - 30 minutes of time per month. You can draw your own conclusions. My concern would be if I would ever see the rent they collect for me.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

22:26 PM, 10th December 2012, About 11 years ago

It very much depends on the landlords instructions Jonathan. What I like about them is that they only do what they are good at and they openly admit that the LHA market isn't really their bag. There are plenty of agencies with strong LHA experience, Glenn Ackroyds National Property Group, John Paul's Castledean Group and CXG Property services being three prime examples which spring to mind.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

22:31 PM, 10th December 2012, About 11 years ago

@DS shame on you for not leaving a real email address, as moderator I can see that and also your IP address. I can only conclude that you are a resentful competitor. The every fact that these agents have client money protection and are registered with ARLA is clear evidence that they are serious players in the market. If they were to go bust or do a runner with client money, as occasionally happens with professional firms including law society members and chartered accountants, the client money protection would pay out. I have personally completed my own due diligence prior to using them myself and recommending them personally. By producing this article I am staking my reputation on their abilities and credibility.

9:44 AM, 11th December 2012, About 11 years ago

I'm an agent but in no way am I a competitior to these people. Quite simply it cannot be done. Any fool can be busy fool. I have staff and a family to feed. I'll be here long after these people are gone still giving imparting knowledge and giving as good a service as we possibly can. Its not much different from the corporates putting little girls in their letting office and flying the experience flag. Some will be taken in. The perceptive will see through it.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

9:58 AM, 11th December 2012, About 11 years ago

I think you are wrong Antony, I've done thourough due diligence and I can see how they are making this work. I'm using them personally. When Roger Bannister said he would run a mile in less than 4 minutes Doctors told him that his heart would explode. Just because something hasn't been done before doesn't mean that it's impossible.

12:15 PM, 11th December 2012, About 11 years ago

Hi Mark,
Do I not remember a recent article by you suggesting anyone at this pricing level could not possibly be doing the job properly? I agree with Antony that they wil be busy fools. An inventory takes a few hours minimum to do properly (Forget Inventory Clerks that are only there an hour, it won't be detailed enough to stand up at a ADR assessment, will be full of disclaimers and caveats and will still cost them £100 or so) a check in takes at least an hour if done properly with the inventory assessed by the tenant (You should not let them do it later after you have left) and enough 'Precautions' taken to minimise problems later. And how long can you be on hold to a utility company just to let them know of a change of tenancy and meter read - at the cost of your phone bill and time?! Even simply reconciling an incoming payment, deducting commission and making the payment to the landlord takes valuable time. Yes if they can scale it up they can automate some of these routine processes but the physical things they cannot. They must be relying on sub-contracting the property particulars, floor plans etc, Inventory, Check-In etc and as such will get the level of attention to detail that their inevitablly meagre paymentsto those sub-contractors deserve.

I am sure that in due course they will either cease their service or raise their prices.

David, have you seen the documents they have produced relating to your properties to assess their adequacy?

12:20 PM, 11th December 2012, About 11 years ago

Hi Mark,
The question at the end of my previous post was meant for you - where I got David from I do not know!

Also, can you tell us who they are or is this shrouded in secrecy because they don't really offer it to everyone?

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

12:33 PM, 11th December 2012, About 11 years ago

Hi Ray

There is no secrecy, by completing the enquiry form you will receive an introductory email and further information which should answer most if not all of your questions. However, that may well be a pointless exercise given that you already seem to have made your mind up on this one and in such circumstances it is human nature to look for justification of an existing decision.

I've been looking into a variety of business models for several years and genuinely believe these guys can and will revolutionise the letting industry. Only time will prove which of us is right of course.

Regards

Mark

15:16 PM, 23rd April 2013, About 11 years ago

Can I have the details for this Letting Agent. I have 2 properties to let in Stoke-on-trent.

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