Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Who is your market audience?


When considering renting out your property it is all too easy to forget the most obvious factor which will determine the whole process to follow; who is going to be living in my property?
This consideration brings to light two key factors. What market are you aiming for, and how can you best adapt and promote your property to appeal to that market?

At Scott-Bates and Coles we like to simplify things for landlords as much as we can. We therefore offer straight forward and cost effective ideas on how best to prepare your home to appeal to the most tenants, at the optimum rental price. We do this by asking three key questions;

Is the property versatile and ‘neutral? Your property needs to be able to adapt to whatever style your potential tenant may have. You need to cater for all, from the ‘beige people’ to the ‘bright pink people’. So get out the magnolia paint and make your home a clean and fresh canvas for the taste and style of whoever is to live there. We also need to make sure that rooms appear ‘versatile’, i.e. a downstairs study could be an additional bedroom. In this case, a de-clutter will most property be required!

The aim is to show off the space and possibilities that the room can offer.
Is it safe? The most important question of all.
How does your property rate against the competition? This will affect your rental price and timescales of being able to let your property.

With a little work, and very few pennies it is possible to increase not only the rental price but ‘lettability’ of your property.

If you need any advice, please email us!

Friday, June 21, 2013

Devon based agency happy to earn an honest wage. Should this really be a refreshing change to the norm?

Last week there was much media focus on the cost of moving house faced by tenants. This focus was targeting often unfair and unregulated administration fees charged by letting agents.

The homelessness charity ‘Shelter’ surveyed almost 60 letting agents across the UK finding the average administration fee to be £350. (This was on top of any deposit and rent in advance). These monies were also often non refundable even if the tenancy failed to proceed due to no fault of the tenant.
The industry therefore continues to be let down by agents happy to charge unfair rates for poor service, and sometimes no service at all.

Fierce competition for rental property leaves tenants with little choice but accept the agent (and their terms) that come with the property in which they wish to live. Affordable, decent places to live are in short supply, so are often snapped up very quickly. Tenants find themselves with little choice but to accept unexpected fees or an unacceptably bad service. What makes this situation even more unfair is that landlords are usually totally unaware about the fees charged by their lettings agent. Landlords are still failing to ask about what their tenant will face during the referencing process, and indeed tenancy to come. Some landlords will be losing good tenants due to unacceptable agency fees and/or service.
The long term answer will undoubtedly come with the government stepping in and forcing all agents to become part of a regulated scheme, however in the meantime, it is up to landlords to confirm with their agent the exact fee structure their tenant will face. This includes the duration of the tenancy with some agents charging up to £100 to renew a tenancy agreement, and up to £120 to "check out" the property at the end of the tenancy.

At Scott-Bates & Coles Lettings & Estates, we operate a totally transparent pricing system. Quite simply; there are no hidden or unexpected costs. Tenants only pay for the referencing process required to ensure they are suitable quality tenants for our landlords. We do not take ‘holding fees’, and we pride ourselves on providing both landlords and tenants with quality service at the best price possible. Part of our success criteria is to have happy landlords and tenants, enabling all to enjoy longer tenancies. We do not even charge to renew contracts should our fully managed landlords and tenants wish to secure their property for another 6 months. We are more than happy to renew such contracts every 6 months with no charge to landlord or tenant. We view this as part of our managed service giving all parties the peace of mind often neglected within the lettings industry, but which we view as paramount.

This approach puts us in a stronger position to negotiate the best rental returns for our landlords, helping, we feel, to restore a healthy competition to the Devon property market and providing quality property and services to all involved in our residential lettings process.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Exeter - The buy-to-let property hotspot of the South West?

Recently revealed at number 3 in The Daily Telegraph's Top 10 Places to buy in the UK, it's not hard to see why Exeter's popularity is steadily increasing, making the cities buy-to-let market especially buoyant.

Here at Scott-Bates & Coles Lettings & Estates we have long espoused Exeter for its excellent transport links, top University and vibrant nightlife, but recent developments around the city have elevated its desirability to new levels. The steady development of Exeter International Airport has significantly increased the destinations available, while the new Flybe Training Centre, Hampton by Hilton Hotel, Science Park and of course the now well established Princesshay Shopping Centre, have only added further credence to the view that Exeter is one of the most desirable small cities in which to live and indeed invest.

Since SBC Lettings launched into the property lettings market in Devon & Somerset nearly 3 years ago, we have retained a number of buy-to-let investors, keen to establish long term and substantial property portfolios in Exeter. Since the start of 2013, we have been assisting these clients in the acquisition of further investment properties in and around the city centre. It did not take long to notice that despite the travails of the UK economy, prices, and therefore competition for the type of residential property offering the significant rental yields we aim to achieve for our clients, have remained extremely strong.

It seems we are not alone in recognising the many advantages of Exeter for buy-to-let investment, and are happy to guide any would-be investors looking to buy into one of the regions foremost property hotspots.