Press Releases

CHOOSING LANDLORDS - June 2010

Landlords come in many shapes and sizes: from the very experienced 'old school' landlord, to corporate entities, recent 'reluctant' landlords and a new breed of armchair investors.

Some letting agents, especially those just starting out, try to find or attract any person or company who owns a property, no matter what their status or history, something that in many ways is understandable. With the number of agents in the market continually growing, and many of those unfamiliar with the long-term financial implications of low fees, competition is rife and the challenge of expanding the portfolio is an ongoing challenge.

However, each type of landlord brings with them a different set of standards, circumstances, expectations and potential liabilities for the unsuspecting or inexperienced letting agent and ultimately more time than necessary may be expended on managing the landlord as well as the property.

This breed of landlord are often described as 'Rackmanesque', who sometimes treat tenants as 'ten-a-penny', who own properties full of issues and who will spend very little money on them. They can be a member of any of the groups mentioned above and in the first meeting, can be difficult to pin point.

Governments have tightened legislation over the years, but many of the experienced landlords who want to avoid their obligations work out ways to hide from the legislation.

Some new breed landlords can be as difficult, taking on unseen properties, performing little due-diligence because they are below market value ('bargains'), having goals of building massive portfolios in limited time, sometimes ending up with the third-rate properties that should be demolished.

These are potentially dangerous for agents to take on, because often the agent will do lots of work checking the properties, getting quotes, making calls, etc, only to find the landlord demanding for it to be let without having the required work done, or pulling the plug on the agent after a considerable amount of time and effort has been spent.

Armchair property investors often buy properties with low yields and so to be asked to spend money to bring the property up to a 'lettable' standard is sometimes a shock and met with objection, especially when they haven't actually seen the property and are therefore relying on the agent's word of the condition.

Agents who are willing to take on anyone usually find that they end up spending lots of unnecessary time dealing with tenant complaints, maintenance issues and also energy on trying to cajole their clients into acting responsibly.

Finding many good landlords is sometimes difficult when an agent is hungry for business and risks have to be taken. First of all, the initial state of the property is a major key. Asking how long the landlord has owned it can give a couple of first impressions: if the answer is 'years' and the property is less than good, there is a very big chance the landlord is going to be difficult, thus creating a drain on the agency. Obviously, if the first impression of the property is good and the landlord has experience, then it's likely the landlord will be a good client.

If the answer is that the property is a recent acquisition and it's not good, the next questions to ask are how quickly the landlord will spend money to refurbish the property and whether or not they're willing to pay for the works up front. If the answers are positive, then it's possible the person will be a responsible and pro-active landlord. However, any reluctance or hesitance should be seen as a warning signal.

For further information, please contact:

Wende Heaton, Manager
Sales and Training Department, C.A.R.L. Communications Ltd
Tel: 0845 345 5591
Email: wende.heaton@carlcomms.co.uk