Hi there, my name is Shannon and I’m the Senior Valuations Manager here at LettingaProperty.com and just like you, I am a landlord. Last month, only a week before I was due to go on on my summer holiday, my tenant served notice! Not exactly what I needed to deal with right before jetting off to Spain with my friends for a few days.
Effective property advertising tips
Although I help hundreds of landlords find tenants every month, there is always a feeling of anxiety when it comes to letting my own property. Questions that pop into my mind such as: will I be able to find good tenants? Will there be a void period? What if the property doesn’t let? Do I need to redecorate etc etc…
The first action I took after my holidays was listing the property on LettingaProperty.com who in turn advertised my property on Rightmove and Zoopla within a couple of hours. This time, I set the rent a little lower than market value to speed up the process and hey ho, it worked! In just one week, I received 11 tenant enquiries.
Being such an ‘active’ person (we’re encouraged not to use the word ‘busy’ here in the office), I find it a little difficult to show tenants around myself, so my aunt conducted the viewings and asked for feedback on my behalf. I think she secretly enjoys playing the role of a letting agent 🙂
Come Monday morning; I had three offers from prospective tenants, and more tenants asking to view it.
My advice to landlords is to start advertising as soon as you can to decrease your void period. The longer you leave it before getting your advert out there, the longer the void period may be. Depending on the time of year, ideally you should look to market the property around 6 weeks before the property is available. This is because most tenants need to serve a month’s notice to their current landlords.
Related article: What Tenants Want: Top 11 Features Tenants Look For In A Property 2021
Referencing your tenants
It goes without saying that checking tenant references is vitally important. In particular, you want to be able to see that the tenant has a clear credit history (no County Court Judgements), has a positive landlord reference and can afford the property. As a rule of thumb, the tenant should have an income of at least 30 times the monthly rent. So, if the rent is £1000 pm, the tenant should earn a gross annual income of £30,000.
I started the referencing process with a nice couple who were quick to respond to my queries and gave appropriate responses. My lovely colleague Charlotte, who works upstairs in the referencing team, took care of all the legal paperwork, and within an hour, the tenants had paid their holding deposit and application forms were sent over to the tenants and completed on the same day.
Always double-check
Having worked in lettings for just over 5 and a half years, I’m lucky to know as much as I do about the lettings industry. I still however get a little nervous about new tenancies. I always double-check I’m meeting my legal obligations as a landlord as there is so much to remember. Thank goodness I don’t have to spend time chasing rent arrears and legal fees.
Thinking of letting a property?
If you are looking for a bit of help in advertising your property and finding tenants, please feel free to get in touch with me.
An excellent place to start is making sure you have pitched the property at the right rental price – if you would like a hand with that, just fill out this form and Ill do a little research for you:
Secondly, to give your advert a boost, I would recommend professional photography – and if you arrange these with me between now and the 31st of August you’ll save 20%!
Also, until the end of August, any adverts published through our rent collection plans to Rightmove and Zoopla will be upgraded to a premium listing on both sites. On average, this boosts enquiries by 35% and makes the advert stand out more. To get started, click here or give me a call on 0333 577 8888.
Thanks for reading and I look forward to talking with you!
