Estate Agencies!
Read more to understand how may be able to collaborate.
Our view of you
Estate Agents conduct arguably one of the most seminal aspects of the real estate industry as a whole. Property is people, as we know; and real estate agencies are continuously developing and maintaining relationships with both landlords and tenants alike, assisting them in bringing order to a volatile and active industry. People and their living spaces certainly aren’t among the easier things to have to manage!
Finding reliable businesses to work with is getting increasingly difficult the more accessible property becomes, and it separating wheat from chaff becomes a chore for agencies. We find three primary concerns that agents have when choosing to work with someone:
1. Are they legitimate and compliant?
2. Will they cost me money or damage my reputation and rapport with landlords due to negligence and incompetence?
3. Are they able to financially sustain their business model?
These are valid concerns, and since we cannot speak for everyone, we’ll answer them from our perspective in the following section.
Answering your questions
Compliance
On top of being a registered company (14557528), we are PRS and ICO compliant and are proud members of NRLA. We protect our deposits with DPS and have stringent vetting systems that pass through the relevant authoritative bodies before housing anybody. We typically have assorted insurances to protect our business in terms of liability and content, and itemise our documents and inventories per tenant with full traceability.
Reputation
We believe the proof is in the pudding, and nobody will be more convincing than the tenants and landlords we have already worked with, are are continuing to work with. We would be more than happy to share contacts for referencing on request, for the purposes of background checking. We are confident that having us in the pipeline will only add value to your business, as we will not even initiate a conversation unless we are fully convinced that we can!
Sustainability
We receive over £100k in investment funds annually from private investors including the people who are directly involved with the business, as well as regular working people. We operate on a 24-month reserve for every one of our properties. This typically suffices any need to worry, as 24-months covers all of our break clauses, which we have never had to invoke, to date! We are selective about the type and quantity of deals we take on, and do our best to not bite off more than we can chew.
A team you can comfortably rely on.
Excellent transparency and communication
Stringent pre- and post-tenancy background checks
When you win, we win; and when you lose, we lose! Our business philosophy is based on this.
We are both resourceful and competent in our field of work, and we like for our agents to feel rest assured in that confidence.
We ensure full legal compliance in property management and data-handling.
and the best part is...
You don't pay an extra dime for any of it.
Our profits come from our partners and our own margins.
In fact, we incentivise you for finding us great opportunities!
What's the catch?
- The deals we take on must fit our criteria, which we will discern long before we agree to sign on anything
How does it work?...
Below is a simplified storyboard or walkthrough of what our collaboration with agents looks like.
1. We initially meet
We introduce ourselves and have a casual friendly chat.
2. We talk all things portfolios
We discuss what we’re managing currently, what our goal is, and a bit about what you currently have in the pipeline. Often, this progresses into our first deal together!
3. Paperwork!
Following background checks, such as credit and ID checks, we receive a list or spreadsheet of off-market properties.
4. We view the property, and sign on it
After a viewing and receiving internal approval, we complete the necessary documentation and arrange rental payment, either through you or directly to the landlord, based on our agreement.
5. We do our thing!
We then work our magic and begin the renovation, marketing and tenancy acquisition processes simultaneously.
6. Staying in touch
We maintain regular contact for additional deals, and possible collaborations on future projects and exciting ideas related to real estate such as CRM tools and automation with technology.
Questions
Below are some of the common questions we get from landlords.
We are part of a network of companies servicing landlords all over UK, with a collective portfolio of over 100+ rooms managed and maintained by us, with increasing portfolios in Leicester, London, Manchester, Cambridge and Birmingham. Birmingham being the most contemporary of the lot, currently has around 20+ rooms, and is one of the fastest growing ones. Talk about demand!
We have internal access to a pipeline of corporate professionals looking for premium shared accommodations. We utilise this network, in combination with proper online marketing, to find prospective and committed tenants.
This is one of the biggest nightmares for landlords when it goes wrong, and it’s probably the single most valuable part of an an agreement like this, as we almost completely insulate our landlords from having to deal with this. Realistically, we try to eliminate this sort of issue in the vetting and referencing process. However, should life’s unpredictable waves hit, we have a procedure of cooperating with the tenant within reason, whilst simultaneously keeping the landlord happy and paid. Naturally, consistent non-payment on the tenants behalf would ultimately result in a notice being issued.
Any non-structural damage done to the inside of the rooms we manage will be ours to expense. As we predominantly purchase the furniture anyway, it makes sense to do this.
However, damage to amenities or communal areas is something we may contribute to, up to an agreed amount. The more rooms we manage in a household, the more of a percentage of this we tend to cover, subject to the damage dealt being at the hands of one of our tenants.
Our tenants are also made aware that the deposit they initially pay is secured by DPS and can potentially be used to repair any unwarranted damage, irresponsibility, and negligence.
Tenants receive warnings prior to a notice being issues. Failure to comply unfortunately would lead to a 2 months notice followed by eviction.
Once again, these are common issues in the traditional renting space which much of our vetting process eliminates. However, if complaints from neighbours or incompatibility among tenants ensues, we’ll initially try to remedy the situation via correspondence, intervention, and mediation. We have not yet had a case where conflict got out of hand and could not be rectified.
Using an internal system, we’ll have alerts set up for compliance. This includes Licencing, Fire Safety, Gas Safety, Electrical Safety, Energy Performance (EPC), Right To Rent, Deposits Protection (DPS), Insurance, Planning Permission (where necessary).
We’ll set up alerts according to your preferences. Some landlords prefer a more hands-off, auto-pilot level of involvement. Others find comfort in weekly or monthly status reports. We’ll cooperatively facilitate something that works for you.
We secure all tenant deposits using DPS.
Should any damage occur within the rooms we’re managing, we’ll be responsible for their maintenance, with the exception of structural damage i.e. big hole in the wall, window broken from outside etc.
If our tenants damage any amenities or communal facilities, we’ll happily contribute to the reparation of such damages.
As promised, there are no fees to pay, and no bills or long-standing invoices you can expect from us. Our humble profits lie in the value we add to the room upon making it into premium quality.
We will not stop paying you. In the case that something like this happens, either due to a genuine lack of demand, or a drastic change in economy, legislation or otherwise, we’ll either ask you for an extension, or submit our notice to hand the rooms back to you.