1) Where do you advertise my property?
This is an important question to ask – because websites such as Rightmove and Zoopla and On the market are very expensive to advertise on and this is an area where many agents reduce their costs but you as a landlord need to know that the agent is doing all they can to ensure your property is being seen by the right people, using all the necessary avenues!
We advertise our properties on;
Signboards – leading edge design from a well-known brand, ensures your property stands out.
Website marketing – We advertise our properties so that they have exposure on Rightmove zoopla, on the market, prime location, find a property and a host of others as well as our own website
Google – Tenants can easily find us at the top of Google when searching for property and can be confident they are dealing with a professional letting agency when looking at our fantastic reviews.
Location – Belvoir is situated in the city centre in a high footfall location on Market Street which maximises exposure for anyone doing searches on foot.
Database Marketing – Unlike most agents we have an active database of tenants who are pre-qualified and ready to move but also work with key companies in the city that require properties for staff relocation.
We also advise that you should find out if the agent’s office is open at weekends. Renters, like most people, will be at work between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday so you need an agent that can get them through your door at weekends.
Our offices are open on weekends so that we can be available for renters to enquire about a property rental at a time that suits them.
Check our opening hours on our website to see what hours we are open at weekends!
2. How often do you carry out property checks?
In short, Landlords need to know that their property is being kept well and looked after. Property checks are the most effective way of ensuring standards are being met.
Ask your agent how often they carry out checks. Do they take this kind of responsibility seriously?
Belvoir take the responsibility of checks very seriously, firstly we try our best to stop any causes for concern from ever happening in the first place, by sourcing the tenants that we think are a perfect match to your property but we carry out our property inspections on a quarterly basis to ensure we have an active role within your tenancy and property management.
To offer peace of mind to landlords, we carry out quarterly property checks – which is more than many other agents, but not so much that it isn’t fair on the tenants. When we carry out our property checks, we make sure we are completely thorough and record all of our findings photograph reports and date and time stamped imagery
Should there be any issues, these are communicated with you immediately and resolved.
3. What is your process for rent chasing?
The question that is at the forefront of a lot of landlord’s minds – if their tenants miss a payment, what is the agent’s process of chasing up and how do they get their rightful money?
As a landlord, you want to feel like this would be an absolute priority to agents.
We are happy to reassure our Landlords that we offer a ‘rent guarantee’ service and that even if a tenant can’t/won’t pay – the Landlord will still get their payment but the process of obtaining overdue rent is very much about understanding the reasons why a tenant ran into arrears in the first place, if this is due to things largely outside of their control such as redundancy then it is usually possible to arrange a short term payment plan between a landlord and tenant that’s acceptable to both parties. There is of course some occasions where other situations are involved and a suitable resolution may need to be adopted.
4. Which official trade bodies do you belong to?
We advise to work with agents that belong to official trade bodies, no Landlord wants to be landed with a rogue agent!
We are a member of the Safeagent Scheme (Safeagent), assures you of the best service. We offer a free, no obligation appraisal on your property and are happy to give advice on purchases and improvements to make sure you get the best out of your investment. As well as Safe Agent, The Property ombudsman
5. Do you provide inventories? If so, what type?
Our inventories are professionally prepared by an independent inventory clerk and our Pro-active property inspections mean we know both our tenants and your property extremely well in order to provide you with peace of mind. We can provide DVD inventories for a comprehensive analysis of the condition of the property.
Client money protection is a must and became a legal requirements for agents earlier this year. However Belvoir have had client money protection for over 10 years as part of their commitments to good practice
If you are interested in letting your property with us, please call our office to arrange an appointment time convenient for you and receive your free Landlord Pack.
