Landlord's Guide

Introduction

Our aim is to find you quality tenants, at the best possible rent, as quickly as possible. But more than that, we want to make the experience an enjoyable one, one that you will want to repeat with Property World time and again. We have an experienced, friendly team, all of whom have been with us for many years. Both Directors Richard and Dan are residents of Sydenham, completely hands on, and will be your main points of contact from day one.

We are proud of the fact in a recent survey over 98% of our customers said they would recommend us to their friends, and over 60% of all our new business comes from recommendations (Source: internal research). Whether you are letting your property for the first time or you are an experienced investor landlord, we would love to help.

What is the demand locally for rental properties?

In a word, strong. All the elements that tenants look for in a place to live are here. They want excellent transport links, wide choice of quality properties whether its one bedroom flats or large period family houses, good schools and a broad choice of amenities, bars, restaurants and shops, and recreational and cultural facilities such as parks, gyms, museums and galleries.

Preparing your property for let

Well presented properties attract better quality tenants, achieve higher rents and are let quicker. A little effort before you let your property will pay huge dividends.

Ensure your property is sparkling clean and tidy
Redecorate if the décor is looking a little tired with light, neutral colours
De-clutter and put away any personal items
Fix any repair jobs such as leaking taps and loose door handles
Keep the property well ventilated
If there is a garden ensure the grass is cut and it is generally well presented
Check your front door, pathway, drive – first impressions count!
Ensure all light bulbs are working and there is sufficient electricity if there is a key meter
If the property is furnished ensure it is in good condition and in keeping with the style of the property. If in doubt, leave it out!

The property can be let fully furnished, partly furnished or unfurnished but should always have:

Carpets or suitable flooring such as stripped or laminate wooden flooring or tiles
Window blinds and or curtains
Basic kitchen white goods including oven and hob, fridge/freezer and washing machine wherever possible.

There is very little difference in the rental prices achieved between furnished and unfurnished properties. Our advice is to be as flexible as possible and be prepared to buy the odd bit of furniture, or remove it, if required. That way you can appeal to the broadest potential market.

Our service to you

We offer a comprehensive range of services designed to enable you to let your property quickly, to the right tenants at the best price. Choose between our full management, rent collection or let only service. Whichever package suits you best, you will be assured of the same attention to detail and quality of service.

Marketing

Professional, distinctive marketing is critical to successful letting. We believe we offer the most dynamic and extensive marketing package of any local agent.

Each property placed with us is immediately advertised through our two high street offices close to Sydenham train station, which enjoy the highest footfall of any local agent, on our web site www.propertyworlduknet, and on the most extensive range of property web sites of any local agent. We use 25 property sites including all the main property portals including rightmove, findaproperty, zoopla, hotproperty, homesandproperty and globrix.com, together with the property sections of a large number of associated internet sites including google, upmystreet, yahoo, MSN, Sky, Virgin, AOL, Tiscali, The Times, Telegraph and Daily Mail.

Our striking 'To Let' boards placed at the property help to alert further potential tenants to the availability of your property.

But it's not just about where you advertise. It's how. Our objective is to ensure your property stands out from the crowd. We believe care and attention at the start pays huge dividends in the long run. We take up to nine high quality photographs, room dimensions, detailed property and location descriptions, include location maps and on many occasions floor plans. Most importantly, our property details are designed to be informative but interesting and fun too. They sound like a real person has written them rather than a robot trained in 'estate agency' speak!

The reference process

Once a suitable tenant has been found, we conduct a series of extensive referencing checks, in house, with the assistance of Homelet, the country's biggest and best professional, referencing agency. Landlords will be provided with the tenant's referencing report. We insist all applicants earn at least two and a half times the monthly rent to be acceptable without requiring a guarantor.

The checks include:-

Employment reference (previous employer if appropriate)
Previous landlord's reference (if applicable)
Comprehensive financial credit check and score
Verification of identity and home address
County Court Judgement searches
Bankruptcy/Sequestration searches

We also ask for:

Three month's bank statements and/or wage slips
Three years audited accounts by a qualified accountant or Inland Revenue if a prospective tenant is self employed.
Current passport or driving license with photo identification
Students will be asked to provide details of suitable guarantors (usually parents or guardians)

When all checks and paperwork are complete and references have been accepted, we will arrange for all parties to sign the tenancy agreement and collect the balance of funds from the tenant. This equates to one month's rent and the equivalent of 5 weeks rent as a security deposit.

Our Property Management Services

1. Full Management Service

Property management can be time consuming and stressful. Our full management service is designed to take care of everything and give you complete peace of mind. From finding the right tenants and completing all checks and documentation, to regular inspections and dealing with all maintenance queries, our experienced management team will take care of everything.

Your property will be managed completely in house in our Sydenham office. We believe trust and confidence comes from building strong relationship with our customers. You will meet and get to know our team from day one, and they will be the same people managing your property throughout.

We are available weekdays during office hours until 7pm and until 4pm on Saturdays. Outside working hours we have a dedicated telephone line for emergencies which landlords and tenants can reach us on. We work with a carefully selected team of professional trades people, which have been working with us for many years to ensure all queries and problems are handled quickly and efficiently. Costs are kept to a minimum.

2. Letting and Rent Collection Service

This service is geared to landlords who live locally to their property where a fully managed service may not be required. We follow our normal thorough procedures in selecting a suitable tenant and collect rent monthly on behalf of the landlord. Tenants will contact you directly for all maintenance and general queries.

3. Let only Service

This service is geared to those landlords that want to benefit from Property World's letting experience whilst retaining responsibility for ongoing management of their property.