How A Letting Agent Can Help Landlords Find The Best Tenants

15 June 2015 6680 Views

A letting agency can charge between 10% and 15% of the total rental income that you receive from a property, but while this may seem steep, they can also help ensure that you have reliable and long-term tenants, suffer fewer vacant periods, and even charge a higher rental. Using an agent also means that you don’t need to dedicate as much time to managing the property, freeing you to search for additional property with companies like House Network. What’s more, they will help you to meet the legal requirements that are necessary when renting property out.

Quicker Letting

Letting agents spend all day everyday matching tenants with properties, and matching landlords with tenants. Their experience not only means that they are better able to spot good tenants, but it often means that they have a list of tenants looking for specific types of property, and will certainly have access to online property search sites as well as their own website and a local high street shop front. You could save weeks, or potentially even months, of having your property sitting vacant while you miss out on rental income.

Better Rental Rates

Not only do letting agents help prepare a property to ensure that it is an appropriate standard to attract better rental rates, but they may also have close contacts with relocation agents and other companies that may only be willing to deal with letting agencies, and are willing to pay a premium for the reliability and professionalism that an agent offers. It is in the interest of a letting agent working on commission to earn as much rental for your property as possible, so it makes sense that they offer the benefit of higher rental income.

Tenant Checking

Tenant checking means checking references and running credit checks, securing deposits, and ensuring that a tenant is a good fit for a property. If you only have one rental property, then it may be achievable to manage this yourself, but if you have no experience in the checking process then using an agent can greatly cut the time it takes, minimise errors and omissions, and help ensure that you get reliable and long-term tenants in your property.

Property Preparation

Whether you are marketing a family home or a student bedsit, you need to know your target market, and you need to prepare the property in such a way to attract the right market. Your letting agent’s experience means that he or she will be able to assist in the preparation of the property, and also extol the benefits of your home to any potential tenants. With a larger pool of potential tenants, it means that you can enjoy the pick of the bunch and potentially benefit from greater rental income too.