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

17:07 PM, 7th November 2013, About 11 years ago

Hi, this is my first post and an opportunity to give my perspective on a very interesting exchange of views.

I operate a letting service for PRS landlords in Scotland. It’s a new business and, therefore, will face the normal start-up challenge, for any business, of building a customer base and raising awareness of the service value.

The service that we offer is targeted and does not offer the full agency package that the traditional agency model offers.

There will always be demand for the traditional High Street letting agency and there are, clearly, some very good providers. I will take this opportunity to highlight Simply Let, Inverness (http://simplylet.biz) and, in my view, a model provider in the North of Scotland.

In my experience, however, there are landlords seeking an alternative model, that fits better with their return on investment needs and without compromise on value or service.

Our fees, as with those of LettingSupermarket, are lower in comparison with the traditional letting agency model. In part that reflects our lower operating costs (no High Street premises etc) and, in part, they are a necessary balance between business sustainability and attracting new custom.

In the posts, there is a suggestion, by some members, that a lower fee equates, simply, to a reduction in the quality of service and/or, potentially, an unsustainable business model (my interpretation).

My observation, and experience, is that the modern consumer may well cite price as a driver for the “buying” decisions that they make. However, in reality, the customer experience and the value added play’s a greater role. (If it were price alone, we would all drive the same cars and shop at the same supermarket etc.)

On that basis, any business, including my business, is doomed to failure if it fails to provide value and customer experience…. and simply trades on price. We are trading… and we don’t plan to fail.

I will end my first post by wishing Tony and LettingSupermarket well, in their continued business development and growth.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

18:06 PM, 7th November 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Andy Loveday" at "07/11/2013 - 17:07":

Welcome to Property118 Andy.

I am certain that Tony and Chris at Letting Supermarket will be delighted to hear from you. There may even be opportunities for you to work together.
.

M Popadopulous

11:48 AM, 11th November 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Mark Alexander" at "10/12/2012 - 22:31":

Mark,

Are you able to share the agents details? or have i missed them somewhere?

Thanks

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

12:24 PM, 11th November 2013, About 11 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "M Popadopulous" at "11/11/2013 - 11:48":

The agent is Letting Supermarket, if you complete the enquiry form above you will be sent further details.
.

Charles Orlebar

20:56 PM, 27th November 2013, About 11 years ago

Hi Mark

As another ARLA member I am intrigued to see how the model pans out - it will be built on significant volume to make money. With a volume of portfolio comes a volume of problems. As any experienced agent ARLA or not will vouch, the test comes when the tenancy experience becomes problematic - it takes time, experience and skill to resolve. Thats is when the landlord appreciates the agent and will appreciate what he gets for his money.

It will be interesting to see if they as an agent will pass this test within the published charging model.

Time will tell

user_ 2239

23:25 PM, 5th February 2014, About 10 years ago

Obfuscated Data

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

8:05 AM, 6th February 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Nathan Nock" at "05/02/2014 - 23:25":

Hi Nathan

Please let me look into this, it could be that our systems failed and didn't send the message through. I will contact their directors today.

I have checked our systems this end and can see one enquiry from you dated 30th January 2013 but can't find the other.

Thank you for letting me know there could be an issue.

In the meantime please take a look at this testimonial >> http://www.property118.com/online-property-management-testimonial-by-suzanne-edgecombe/40007/
.

Tony Sheldon

8:21 AM, 6th February 2014, About 10 years ago

Hi Nathan,

I spoke to Mark Alexander about this as I had not received an email from you. It appears that Property118 is currently upgrading it's security settings and in doing so suffered a slight "glitch" in the system. This has now been resolved and I have received a number of notifications which I will respond to today. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Tony

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

8:21 AM, 6th February 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Nathan Nock" at "05/02/2014 - 23:25":

Nathan

I'm really sorry about this.

Tony Sheldon from LettingSupermarket.com has just this second called me to let me know that your enquiry had not been received. I checked a few others with him too and there are a dozen or so he seems to be missing so I have re-sent the notification emails. Tony is going to call you now and will endeavour to contact everybody else today/tomorrow.

One again I can only apologise.
.

Mark Alexander - Founder of Property118

8:24 AM, 6th February 2014, About 10 years ago

Reply to the comment left by "Tony Sheldon" at "06/02/2014 - 08:21":

Hi Tony

Clearly we were posting at the same time.

Thanks for picking up on this so quickly and for your forbearance.
.

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