Here at Sewell & Gardner our aim is to be the most consulted property experts in the area. Over 50% of our business comes from recommendations and we believe that is through us striving to give the best service possible at all times and also always giving honest advice that we would give to our own family & friends.
We are finding that November is proving to be a quiet month for lets agreed. Whilst we are getting a fantastic response on the majority of our properties, those without outside space, so no garden or balcony, are remaining on the market. We feel that any landlord who is currently marketing their property and is disappointed by the response from prospective tenants should consider the following;
1. Is your property priced correctly?
Tenants have a lot of choice at the moment. For example, there are currently 9, 2 bedrooms apartments available to let in Rickmansworth Town Centre between £1200 and £1300. With tenants having so much choice you may need to consider making your property more appealing by reducing the price. Whilst this may be hard to do if you have previously let the property at a higher price, you will likely lose more money if the property remains empty for a long period of time.
- Can you be flexible on contract length?
Many tenants may be concerned by all of the uncertainty caused by Covid 19. Due to this they may desire a shorter or longer contract than you would ideally wish for. We would encourage you to give this some thought as again, letting for a period of time that does not suit you perfectly is likely to be a better outcome than the property remaining empty.
- Will you allow pets?
We understand that it may be a worry for you to allow pets in you investment property. During lockdown pet sales increased hugely as those working from home craved company. Including a pet clause in the contract requiring tenants to pay for any damage and to provide a deep clean at the end of the tenancy may help with any worries that you might have.
- Will you consider using a deposit replacement scheme?
With a zero deposit scheme your tenant would not have to find 5 weeks rent to put down as a deposit, instead they can pay one weeks worth of rent (which is non refundable). This is a great way to attract tenants as often when moving between properties there will be a time where the deposit is due on their new home but they don’t yet have the deposit back from their previous home.
As always, we would love to run these ideas by you, or discuss anything else you would like to so please do not hesitate to contact us on 01923 726100 or email jackie@sewellgardner.com.