As a typical mad Monday begins I find myself being thankful for spending a weekend in a luxury hotel spa, a very rare occurrence as I usually work on a Saturday! I have returned to a busy office as the team tied up a number of properties over the weekend and now the pressure is on to find new properties to replenish the rental stock for an increasing number of clients looking to rent in the area.
There is currently high demand for letting properties and a shortage of properties available and all indications are that this situation is going to continue, so I truly have my work cut out to keep our rental portfolio full of a variety of properties in all price ranges.
I think the question most people ask is “What is an ideal property to let?” My standard response is “a clean, neutrally decorated property in good repair” but I must state that every applicant will need or want something different from the next. Some people want to be close to a station or a major road link, but many also want rural and quiet, or a modern estate with leisure facilities or a balcony with a nice view!
Traditionally, the 1 and 2 bedroom flat market is the most popular for tenants, for instance, we have just marketed 4 brand new apartments in Turpin Court, West Watford and these have been extremely well received because they are bright and spacious with nice fitted kitchens and contemporary bathroom suites. The Turpin Court development is made up of 1 & 2 bed apartments and the monthly rents range from £750 (for the 1 beds) to £925 (for the 2 beds).
However, with the internet being so important as a marketing tool these days, it is possible to attract all sorts of tenants to every different kind of property available. Last week I put a unique 3 bedroom semi detached cottage in Chorleywood onto the internet AND within hours we had have a number of viewings and one resulted in the landlord accepting an offer!! All within 23 hours!!! The magic of the web.
I have worked for Sewell & Gardner as Lettings Valuer for over 3 years now and I have been in the lettings industry for over 15 years, working both in London & Hertfordshire. I have seen various types of properties from town centre studio apartments to luxury 16th century manor houses and the secret of getting a fabulous tenant is always to ensure the property is on the market at the right price…..
Of course, that price is exceptionally volatile and dependent upon supply and demand, hence why the rentals are higher at the moment. But you can never be greedy! Everything has a top value and it is pointless thinking that because demand is high, you can just add £100pcm – all that does is ensure the property sits on the market or, someone will agree to take it and then find something cheaper and pull out! Everybody these days is money conscious and that includes tenants, so be sensible with the pricing and ASK MY OPINION…I will never over-value to gain an instruction, and I will always get the highest price possible, because that is quite simply my job.
If you are interested in letting a property….call our office and speak with me so that I can make an appointment to come round and view your property, provide details of the services that we offer & my expected rental yield. Call the lettings office on 01923 721900.