This week Monday morning began with a call to the office from a new Landlord:
‘Hello, I am about to complete on a flat in Enfield and I’d like to know what you would charge to manage it?’
Nothing to complain about there and it’s always nice to talk to a new Landlord. We had a brief conversation, I found out more about the property and the Landlord, and he found out more about the services we offer at Belvoir and how we can meet his requirements. We’re due to talk again later this week, so all very positive.
But one thing really struck me about this Landlord, his last question to me was ‘Do you have Client Money Protection?’
He’d heard horror stories about agents using the rents they receive to support their businesses, resulting in Landlords not receiving rents for several months, and in the worst cases the agencies going out of business and that rent never being passed on to the Landlords.
Client Money Protection (CMP) gives peace of mind to Landlords AND tenants by ensuring that your money is safe and isn’t being used inappropriately.
At Belvoir Enfield we’re part of the Propertymark Scheme (Propertymark) and their CMP scheme, however there are other similar schemes such as ARLA and RICS.
I recommend following this Landlords example and asking any agent you talk to whether they have CMP and then looking at that schemes website to check they’re up to date.
