Just for mortgage brokers & IFAs

All marketing gurus know that it's easier to sell a product to a previous customer than try to win a new one.  So how do you keep in touch with your previous customers?  Are they all following you on social media?  Do you send regular newsletters? Or even emails? No?

Well here's a reason to get in touch with your previous customers who have previous arranged buy-to-let mortgages, with 2 pieces of information that are relevant and useful - and it's the perfect chance for you to reconnect with them.  So feel free to copy & paste the paragraphs below and connect away....

A brand new product has just launched into the UK private rented sector, to establish a national quality rating for residential rental properties.  Do you think your property is head and shoulders above others in your area? But do you feel that you can't differentiate it enough, because of the similar marketing routes all properties are restricted by nowadays?  If you have properties that you want to stand out, achieve higher rent and quicker turnarounds, then maybe you should consider a Rental Rating.  This is a 2 year rating assessment from the surveyors at Real Surv. They review the condition of the property, inside and out, plus the facilities you provide for tenants (eg security, parking etc).  If you want to know how you may score before you commit, have a look at this and other posts on their blog http://realsurv.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/what-are-people-saying-about-rental.html

The landlord's forum Property118.com is campaigning for landlords to support them in their case against West Bromwich Building Society and Bank of Ireland, so they can test the legality of the banks' increasing tracker margins on thousands of buy to let mortgages.  If you or someone you know has been affected, or if you just want to support them, fill in the form here http://www.property118.com/help-us-to-protect-your-tracker-margins/43709/

What are people saying about Rental Ratings?

We've had quite a lot of press coverage in the build up to our launch next week, and here are some recent comments from some different types of supporters:

• From an agent & professional landlord based in Sheffield: I am an agent and landlord, but I am going to comment from being a landlord, and I can tell you my portfolio is bigger than some agents. We all try to stand out, and looking at this and the amount of money we put into keeping our property at its best, why do you think as a landlord I would not want a system to show that?
• From a 'professional' landlord based in Hampshire: I would normally be against such a thing that creates yet more red tape.  However, having seen so much poor quality rental property over the years, the ability for the prospective tenant to narrow the search more efficiently might also raise standards. So I think it’s an excellent idea.
• From a new landlord based in North-East: I could be persuaded to register if a letting agent told me I’d get an extra £25 pcm (~5% increase) & let even faster to the very best tenants if my property got X Stars (of which I was very confident in it achieving).
• From an online agent fighting against scam property adverts: Good job and a great idea. I can see that we are all thinking about raising the bar in private renting.

It's great to read that people can see what we can, about how Rental Ratings can be useful to landlords in trying to make their property stand out in a crowded market.  Launch coming soon 7am on Monday 30th September - register here for latest updates www.real-surv.co.uk

What rating will my property get? - a large Victorian house, HMO

Following our series of blogs and the expected ratings for different types of properties, just so you can judge for yourself what score your properties are likely to achieve, this time we are looking at a large HMO.

  - A Victorian mid-terraced, 5 bed HMO, around 115 sq m with a garden and chargeable on-street parking;
- in slightly less than average location (taken according to crime rates, affluence rating and socio-demographic statistics);
- assuming it's in fairly good condition, slight issues with the pointing on some exterior walls, boundary walls and interior wall coverings in some rooms and grouting in the bathroom all show some minor defects;
 - the landlord doesn't pay for any extra facilities apart from a free-standing washing machine, which he supplies.

Then our scoring, based on our weighted questionnaire, would result in an average score that just meets the 3* level.

In this case, to increase the rating, the landlord could improve the condition plus provide other facilities which would generally appeal to a tenant and make it more marketable (assuming you tell the potential tenants about them!).  For example:

• repairing the pointing, boundary walls and interior walls and tile grouting;
• extra security eg something as simple as installing a door chain on the main entrance door;
• paying for annual services of boilers, installing and maintaining burglar alarms;
• providing more appliances and an eating area in the kitchen - as this kitchen is larger than most, the space is there to upgrade the facilities
• providing extra facilities in the bathrooms/WC - full bath, separate shower cubicle, electrical shaver points or even just a vanity unit;
• ensuring there is an available source of heat in every room;
• ensuring any attic/loft had good access, lighting and insulation;
• providing more electrical points and telecommunication facilities - eg installing a 2nd landline, pre-installing a sky dish or any installation costs for cable etc;

This particular property is slightly restricted by its location, but has the advantage of size, in that the landlord could fit extra facilities/appliances in kitchens & bathrooms because there is the space.  Not possible so much in a small apartment. If all the above ideas were implemented, the score could actually increase from 3* to 5*!

More property types will be discussed on later blog posts.

What rating will my property get? eg a new build apartment

When we have been established longer, we will issue the full questionnaire we use when conducting our surveys.  But in the meantime, I thought I'd share with you a sneak preview of something we will be putting on our website - the expected ratings for different types of properties, just so you can judge for yourself what score your properties are likely to achieve.

Here's our first example:
- A typical fairly new, ground floor 1 bed apartment, size around 55 sq m
- in slightly less than average location (taken according to crime rates, affluence rating and socio-demographic statistics);
- assuming it's in perfect structural condition inside and out
- the landlord doesn't pay for any extra facilities

Then our scoring, based on our weighted questionnaire, would result in an average score that just meets the 3* level.

In this case, as the condition is already perfect, if the landlord wanted to increase the rating to 4* or 5*, he/she could provide other facilities which would generally appeal to a tenant and make it more marketable (assuming you tell the potential tenants about them!).  For example:

• extra security eg something as simple as installing a door chain on the main entrance door;
• paying for annual services of boilers, burglar alarms or lifts (assuming it was an upper floor apartment with lift access);
• providing appliances in kitchens - integrated or free standing;
• providing extra facilities in a bathroom - electrical shaver points or even just a vanity unit;
• providing more electrical points and telecommunication facilities - eg pre-installing a sky dish or any installation costs for cable etc;

This particular property is restricted by its size, lack of outside space and location (none of which can be easily remedied) but if all the above ideas were implemented, the score could increase to 4*.

More property types will be discussed on later blog posts.

Watchdog Rogue Traders - Agents! Don't tarnish yourself with the same brush!

I know there seems to be bad landlord-bashing and claims of rogue agents in the PRS every week, but the Watchdog Rogue Traders investigation into Grattan Estates this week was another embarrassing moment for the sector.  Sorry, because I've been so busy this week, I'm a bit behind and I've only today caught up with it on iplayer, but then I've just looked on the ARLA website to check out their response, and I was disappointed to see that they haven't even mentioned it!

Given that typically 4.5m viewers will have seen this programme, I would like to have seen a more vociferous industry response, because I KNOW all lettings agents aren't like this - but I'm in the industry now.  If you'd asked me 12 months ago, and, despite being a well-educated intelligent member of the community, who's been both a tenant and a landlord in her time, I'd have probably been just as disgusted about lettings agents as the rest of the nation.  Along with the recent so-called Foxtons 'whistleblowing' fiasco, what on earth is the industry doing?

Why is it letting (no pun intended) this bad news to go unrecognised, and instead are focusing their news items just on research findings & the political agenda.  You can't ignore it, you need to look inwards and face up to what it happening out there.  Not just in London. Not just in major cities. But I know there is bad practice across the whole country.  I also know there is extremely good practice too!

So, when the regulatory bodies won't do enough to support the industry, what can the good lettings agents do to support themselves?  How can an individual, independent, law-abiding, best-practice-performing letting/estate agent ever stand up & be recognised?  It takes an awful lot of hard work!

But don't you realise?  We've just created something that can help you stand out! And show that you are about letting good quality properties, to decent tenants, with landlords that care, oh...and properties that actually exist!  Rental Ratings is a quality assessment for rented properties - see previous blog posts for more information.

So, my call to the PRS is this - look on this as a major opportunity to help yourself. Don't be typical of your industry and immediately pass judgment on something that's new.  Just look again, and see what it can do for you.  Registration for our Premier Introducer packages closes on 11th October, but the best deals for landlords start from 30th September.  So get in quick!  See what this product can truly do for you and your sector. Or don't you care?

Introducing our "Savvi" Letting Agent!

We thought you would be interested to hear about some of the people that have helped us create Rental Ratings, and the first person, who was key to the testing of the product, is Chris Bryan of Savvi Lettings & Property Management, in Sheffield.

Chris was a brilliant person for Kirsty (our CEO) to meet at the ANUK national conference (for accreditation networks) because he ticked so many boxes for us. 

• he supports improving standards, but knows that a lot of schemes don't work - he was actually a speaker at the conference, explaining why his local accreditation scheme in Sheffield had recently been shut down because it hadn't worked;
• he is a professional landlord himself;
• he is a letting agent;
• he is the local representative for National Landlords' Association and a member of the Sheffield & District Landlords' Association and attends the Housing Committee meetings of the city council

When we explained we needed some trial properties to test out our Rating system, he volunteered.  And the rest they say is history...

Here's what Chris said about the idea of Rental Ratings after we'd carried out 2 Rating surveys for him:

“As a landlord I’ve found it a useful process to highlight where I could improve the quality of our properties other than the typical focus of local authorities (HHSRS).  It gives me an indication of what standard other properties are at.

As an investor buying tenanted properties, it would give me an indication at what level the property is at & if it would make a good investment for me.

It will give good quality properties in poorer locations a marketing advantage, to highlight the benefits of the property, despite the location.

It allows me to compare my portfolio and to help me choose whether to dispose or improve the weaker properties.”

“As an agent I like it because it gives the opportunity for the landlords to be recognised for the quality of their properties and for them to understand that they have a quality property – which will increase their self-confidence when working in the rental sector.   It gives good landlords credit for their investment and their effort.  It will separate the better landlords from the poorer landlords who don’t care.

It makes letting a property easier, as tenants will know what they are getting & saves wasting time on viewings if it’s clearly the wrong level for the tenant.

It allows me as an agent to give some added value advice and help the landlord identify where he could improve his investment & his return.  And so by offering this service to my landlords, it also separates me from the poorer agents.”

"Premier Introducer" package for agents or other businesses serving the PRS

The list of Referrer Codes has now been generated!  Agents or other suppliers to the PRS can apply for a unique code for their landlord customers, which will provide a discount on our Rental Ratings surveys and track introductions for commission - 20% is available for all Premier Introducer registrations until 11th October.

Get in quick! Or your landlords will miss the best deals when we open our booking lines at 7am on 30th September.  We have just 30 surveys to give away at £25, thereafter the price starts increasing.  And there's no VAT on the surveys until 1st November.

Who will get the bargains?