Last week I raised the issue of the lack of good quality rental property in Dunstable and Houghton Regis and had a few calls from landlords either asking how long they should expect to wait for a new tenant to be found or questioning my observation on the lack of good quality properties.
To answer the question regarding the number of properties, a quick look on Rightmove will show 91 available in Dunstable today, 3 of which belong to us that we have let in the last 5 days and the applicants are undergoing referencing. These will still show as available until they pass referencing and this will be true of other agents.
In the last 14 days 27 properties have been added meaning that there are 64 properties that have been on the market for longer than 14 days. These 64 properties that are still available should only be there if the agent hasn’t updated the status and it has been let already. If one of these properties is yours you really do need a fresh pair of eyes to give you a second opinion on the presentation of the property, the marketing and the rental figure.
So we have 27 new properties in the last 14 days. Of the 3 we placed on the market in the last 5 days, a 2 bed apartment in The Mall had 5 enquiries straight away and the first viewer took it. The 1 bed apartment in The Parklands had 9 enquiries and was taken by the first viewer who missed out on the 2 bed apartment and a 2 bed house had 14 enquiries and the second viewer has taken it. These were all let the day after being placed on the market.
I think this proves that there is a very high demand for rental property. These 3 properties were all well-presented and marketed at the correct rental price to attract the right attention from applicants who are right in being choosy about the property they are going to rent.
Not every property will let within a day or two, but right now if you have not had many viewings or any feedback from your agent after 1 week then you should be asking yourself why and also asking the agent. If it is still available after 2 weeks this property is now costing you money and anyone who might have been interested has already dismissed it.
As I said the last time, ask someone to give you an unbiased opinion. A new set of eyes will point out the flaws that can often be easily fixed and you might be oblivious to them. A potential tenant will see them, but might be too polite to say anything.
Ask the staff at Belvoir Dunstable to visit and advise on any work that might be required and also for a true rental valuation.
