A recent survey of over 500 residential landlords reports that they are overwhelmingly satisfied with the service they receive from their letting agent and find them an invaluable resource. Some 92% of landlords reported a positive experience with their letting agent.
The market for lettings is of course relatively buoyant at the moment and agents must be vigilant not to allow standards to slip. Whilst there are many prospective tenants for each property it is usually quality that is the issue, not quantity. The survey reported that whilst speed of finding a tenant was important, the vast majority (93%) of landlords said that one of their main priorities is ensuring that the tenant is reliable. This usually means someone who will look after the property and pay their rent on time.
The survey confirms the importance landlords place on agents going that extra mile to service clients by finding good-quality tenants and filling properties quickly, while providing a consummately professional and personal offering.
This is nothing new to us of course as even when properties were harder to let, we were always fastidious about ensuring that tenants were well-referenced. We even check tenants’ employment status and seek out previous landlord references and go as far as to credit check all prospective tenants. Some tenants will also offer a guarantor, this can provide a false sense of security as anyone can guarantee someone else’s rent, but if they themselves are not good for the money then such a guarantee is not only a waste of paper, but also provide the landlord with problems at a later date in trying to retrieve the rent arrears from the guarantor.
Fortunately, at Livermores, these instances are extremely rare and we pride ourselves on the quality of our tenants with whom we generally enjoy an excellent relationship on behalf of our landlord clients.