Why landlords use a letting agent
Our Senior Property Investment and Market Advisor, Rhys Owen, highlights some of the reasons landlords in Cardiff choose to use the property management services of a reputable local letting agent.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes.
A great deal of commitment is required for a landlord to successfully operate a letting business - even if that landlord has just the one property to let.
Whether it’s a full-time seasoned landlord with multiple properties, a landlord who lets out a property or two alongside their regular job, or an accidental landlord who didn’t initially intend to get into property letting, there is so much to think about and to be aware of.
With so many important responsibilities within an ever-changing industry, it’s easy to see the value a professional letting agent can offer a landlord.
Whether you’re a landlord who wants an entirely hands-off approach or a landlord who simply wants help with sourcing ideal tenants and the occasional assistance with contracts, inventories and checking-in or checking-out processes, most letting agents will offer you a range of property management services to suit your needs.
What does a letting agent do to help landlords?
The most important asset of a letting agent is their teams knowledge and expertise of not only the local property market, but also their knowledge of all current property market rules and regulations. A letting agent can take control of any aspect of managing a buy to let property that a landlord may feel is too tricky or time consuming to control themselves.
A letting agent will package up all of this offered expertise and assistance into different property management services so that a landlord can pay for just the help they need.
Read: Advantages to using property management services
The management packages that most letting agents will offer to a landlord include:
Fully managed service
A fully managed service is the most comprehensive service a landlord can choose. This service will see the letting agent take full control of the property, from marketing the property and finding suitable tenants through to property check-ups, organising of property repairs and dealing with tenant queries and complaints. The landlord will be consistently kept up to date with the latest information related to their property and will be made aware of all repair costs that are carried out. The fully managed service is naturally the most expensive and tends to be a set percentage of the monthly rent, but it takes all of the stress of property management away from the landlord.
Rent collection service
A rent collection service involves the letting agent collecting and handling all legal requirements over the protecting of the deposit and collection of the rent payments from the tenant. If the tenant runs into rent arrears, the letting agent will take responsibility of chasing them up, serving necessary notices and offering advise to the landlord should the tenants continually fail to pay the rent. Some letting agents also offer a rent guarantee insurance that will protect rental income in the event of rent arrears.
Tenant-find service
A tenant-find service is when a letting agent markets the property, attracts potential tenants, conducts viewings, screens tenants who show interest, and checks their references. The letting agent will also usually prepare the tenancy agreement as per the landlords requirements unless told otherwise, and will manage the entire process up until the point the tenancy is set up and the tenant has moved in.
If you’re a landlord in Cardiff who’s keen to learn more about our property management services, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our expert lettings team here at CPS Homes so that we can discuss things in more detail and find out what may be best for you and your lifestyle. You can contact us by calling 02920 668585, e-mailing enquiries@cpshomes.co.uk or by popping into one of our three Cardiff based branches.
