In light of new figures demonstrating that the private rented sector is in fact increasing, Rick Flay from Belvoir Sheffield, the leading letting agent in Sheffield is advising landlords UK-wide to gear up for changes heading their way.

 Expanding by around 50 per-cent in the last nine years, the private rented sector is increasing beyond all recognition, forcing landlords to rethink their tactics and reassess their competition.

 Rick Flay, Director at Belvoir Sheffield, who offer a wide range of property to rent in Sheffield, said, “In the last few years the property market has seen a cultural shift away from home ownership and this increased demand has lead to a lack of rental properties in ‘good’ locations.

 “Due to the desire for flexibility, the lack readily available mortgages and the high deposits required, people holding off purchasing their first home.

 “It is highly likely that to meet such demand, the rentals market will move to a more continental model seen in countries like France and Germany, where leases are offered on a five or ten year basis as opposed to the six and twelve month leases currently offered in the UK.”

 As the population in the UK is expected to increase from 60 to 70 million by 2029, commentators are estimating that the amount of people looking for good rental properties will also increase, leaving a supply and demand imbalance.

 Rick, from the Sheffield letting agents added, “Traditionally the rentals market was aimed at 20-35 year- olds, but we are now finding that the older generations are also looking for rental properties.  It is highly likely that that there will eventually be a housing shortage, which makes it a great time for landlords.

 “Rental properties are very much in demand and will continue to be so.  I would advise any would be landlords to take the plunge as there has never been a better time to invest in the buy-to-let market.”

Belvoir Lettings Sheffield is the One Stop Specialists for Lettings including Property Management, Tenant Find, Investment and Wealth Management Advice, Fit-outs and Renovations, Furniture Packs and Investment Property Insurances.

In light of the Land Registry’s latest price index which showed that house prices were on average 8.4 per cent higher than this time last year, Rick Flay from Belvoir Sheffield, the leading letting agent in Sheffield is advising landlords that future forecasts indicate that house prices will remain level or drop to much lower levels, making it the ideal time to invest in a buy-to-let property.

Rick Flay, Director at Belvoir Sheffield, who offer a wide range of property to rent in Sheffield, said, “The 1988 Housing Act made investment in residential property more attractive, especially when it introduced a new type of tenancy which gave landlords more control over their properties. Since then the market has seen a substantial recovery in the private rented sector and the availability buy-to-let loans has also increased the appeal of owning rental property. 

“The Office of National Statistics has predicted that the population will rise to over 70 million by 2030, and if the majority of these people can not afford to buy a property, their only alternative is to rent. This means that those who can afford to buy properties will benefit from this increased demand. The market has in the past experienced some turbulent times, but those in the industry are now finding that the rentals market is being left with a lack of high quality stock to meet demand.

Even if capital growth remains low, investors will potentially still get better returns than if they put their money in the bank. Although buy-to-let is now an extremely fruitful investment, landlords should air with caution and always seek the advice of a professional letting agent. 

Landlords should follow our five point plan when taking on such an investment:

-When you buy a property to let out, you are effectively running a small business and you have important legal responsibilities.  Make sure that you check what your responsibilities are and seek the advice of a professional letting agent before securing finance.

-Do your research. Make sure that you carefully research the market where you want to buy your property. You can either do this yourself or ask a specialist independent letting agent like Belvoir Sheffield to provide advice on the best area and type of property to rent out, to ensure that you are taking on a sound investment opportunity. Gathering information from estate agents, local papers, existing landlords and even the local authority, about the demand for and supply of, rented housing, will also aid you in the decision making process. Here at Belvoir we offer a consultancy and search service so that you buy the right property at the right price.

-Finding the perfect tenants. Once you have secured finance and researched the market, you will need to consider the types of tenant you are aiming to attract. Bear in mind that single people and families have different requirements.

-Location. Look at how close the property is to local amenities such as shops, transport and schools, and are these the type of amenities that are important to your tenants? If you are looking to let your property out to tenants, check for example how close it is to local schools as this will be a very important factor in the decision to rent for families. Make sure that you always visit the area that you are buying in, do your homework and assess your target market,  amazingly lots of investors buy without checking out the local area.

-Market your property effectively.  Make sure that you market your property effectively to yield maximum results.  Choosing a reputable letting agent can take the strain off this part of the process and will ensure that your property is rented to the ‘right’ sorts of tenants.  Here at Belvoir Sheffield, we are letting stock out in an average of nine days, which is down to our first rate marketing power.”

Belvoir Lettings Sheffield is the One Stop Specialists for Lettings including Property Management, Tenant Find, Investment and Wealth Management Advice, Fit-outs and Renovations, Furniture Packs and Investment Property Insurances.

Morgan Randall has a history of supporting local charities. We think long and hard about how best to give something back to the community whilst also getting the public involved. Morgan Randall have supported various charities, and will continue to do so.    

 We are giving you the opportunity to help us choose our next charity; you can do this by voting online at www.morganrandall.com/charity/index.html

http://www.rentright.co.uk/london/snaresbrook/morgan-randall—wanstead-letting_info.aspx

Its a shame but many properties listed on property portals have already been let, its a way some agents get you to register with them, fortunatly there is a solution, Rentright, The ultimste Rental Property website has tools and features built into that ensures property is not left on the site indefinatly and is hidden from view until it become available again, This does depend a great deal upon the agent and the method by which they upload property to the website but it does mean that the prospective tenant can generally be more effective in searching for a rental property then many of the other websites that list property in order to have a high property count.

Rentright on the other hand cares about service to its customers and will continue to be focused on delivering quality results to its customers.

These are two very different aspects of marketing your letting agency and your portfolio and there are differences in promoting each of them.  Get it wrong on one of these counts and it could result in your letting agency failing or at the very best a reduction in business.  It is very important to engage with your market place and gain distinction between you and your competitors and the only way to do this is to promote your brand and your services and this is entirely independent from your property portfolio.

If you advertise your property in a newspaper or online is this enough to promote your brand? Possibly not, it doesn’t tell the consumer anything about your agency and why it would be better for a tenant to rent a property through you.  OK, it may show your brand (in some instances) and for many this is the mind set, as long as people see the property they will know who and what you do.  If people instantly know your brand and can associate this with quality, great service and other excellent traits then you are more likely to win more clients and have a great retention of landlords and tenants.

It is important to create a budget to both promote your agency and your brand as well as the property in your portfolio, by doing both you are going to win on both counts and gain a competitive edge over your competitors of which for most they are unlikely to be promoting themselves.  By promoting your brand you may well be attracting yourself to potential future renters and this is very important, for anyone who is looking for property for now or the future may associate your brand with that location and ultimately you will benefit.  The internet is a very important advertising mechanism and sites like Rentright allow you to promote your agency via a dedicated profile page and of course your property.  The profile page is a place where the agent can sell their agency branch, what makes you different and why and this is an essential element in promoting your two pronged advertising strategy.

For all your Rental Property needs whether you are a tenant, landlord or letting agent you need to visit rentright.co.uk

Rentright is a Lettings only portal that has chosen to stay with the method of their customers paying a set monthly amount each month for advertising, rather than on a pay per lead basis.

Websites such as Zoopla, who have bought out propertyfinder.com, have chosen the pay per lead basis as has the newer website propertyindex.com. Both sites charge £1 per lead and around £3/£4 per Landlord/Vendor enquiry. It will be interesting to see what happens with the newly acquired propertyfinder.com pricing module. Given that zoopla claim the pay per lead is the way forward, one could assume that propertyfinder.com’s pricing will change. It remains to be seen.

Anyway, which is right and which is wrong? Who are we to judge? However, we at Rentright, have been around Southampton and Portsmouth this week getting the word on the street from both existing and new customers. Very definitely the feedback, all bar one person was that a set monthly amount is much better as it allows an agent to budget their marketing spend annually. Given trying times this seems the most effective option. The one agent who seemed happy with the idea was asked “why do you feel differently to others we have asked” – response being: “I have not had a lead yet, it has cost me nothing, so I can not say”. Interesting stuff?

The main feedback has been as to how you quantify a lead. Is it a specific viewing request, more information required, or a non specific “I’m looking to Rent in Portsmouth, I’m looking to Rent in Southampton?”

Some agents have even suggested that some of the more unscrupulous counterparts would send dodgy emails to the competition. However I have been reassured there are measures in place to contest any discrepancy in charging. All well and good, but here at Rentright we feel that our time money and effort is better spent in genuine customer service, rather than arguing with an agent what is a lead or not a lead. It also helps keep our membership costs at an extremely affordable level.

As we are active in SEO, we have no need for pay per click and neither do we have a need for pay per lead. 

Visit Rentright for all UK rental properties.

The Ombudsman for Estate Agents scheme is changing its name on Friday (May 1) to the Property Ombudsman Service (TPOS).

The new name reflects the growth of the scheme, which is expected to open its doors to commercial property agents, HIP providers, personal search firms and some overseas agents.   The OEA was controversially founded as the Ombudsman for Corporate Estate Agents in 1990, as a marketing device for the corporate.

At first it excluded independents from membership but later accepted them. Many independents believed that it only did so because it needed the extra revenue, and a number of agents boycotted the scheme.   However, membership grew once the NAEA made it a mandatory condition of their own membership Since then, under HIP and consumer redress legislation, it has become mandatory for all sales agents to belong to an approved redress scheme – of which there are only two.

The OEA is far larger than the RICS’s scheme, SOS, and claims around 95% of the market.  OEA numbers have also been boosted by Letting Agents. Both ARLA and NALS make membership mandatory.  For the change of name, there will be a new logo for window displays, in blue with the OFT Approved Codes symbol alongside for sales offices, and in green without the OFT logo for Lettings.  Commercial property sales members will have a black logo when the scheme expands soon to cover some of their activities.

TPOS chief operating officer Bill McClintock said: “Expansion of our scheme will help ensure its healthy future and spread costs over a wider membership base.
“As the principal means of redress for consumers in the property sector, reflected by 95% of UK estate agency offices being covered by our scheme, and our widening fields of activity which will also extend to including HIPs and property search providers, we consider the old name no longer reflected all that we do.”

Membership has increased dramatically in the past few years and at the same time OEA has also expanded to take in Lettings as well as its original remit to cover agents selling residential property. In the near future, we will also be embracing some commercial property activities as well as the UK end of foreign residential property transactions.

“We have submitted our Lettings Code of Practice to the OFT for endorsement under its Consumer Codes Approval Scheme, which we see as vital in current market conditions where Lettings are dominating activity.”

Source www.tpos.co.uk
www.nalscheme.co.uk
www.arla.co.uk
www.rentright.co.uk

This is a common and well known saying which can be adapted for many walks of life.  Looking at the meaning it suggests that if you spread your net out over a large area then you will be bound to get yourself a larger catch, and this is with out a doubt true.  This can also apply to when you are advertising and never has this been more true than in the property market.  If you have properties without tenants in them then you will have a landlord who is not taking in revenue.  So you need to ask yourself one question, why is the property vacant?

It could be there is no demand for the property in the area? or it could be the house is not fit to live in? or it could be your advertising is failing you?  If it is the last reason then reviewing your advertising strategy may be the best option.  What do you need from your advertising strategy:-

• Cost Effective Solution
• Leads to Fill Vacant Rental Property

This is basically what rental property advertising sites need to give you and why pay more than you need to.  So as the title of this article suggests, if you cast your net wide you will catch more tenants.  Check out the Rentright Property Rental Portal to see how we can help get your vacant rental property filled with tenants.

Letting Agents check out Rentright Today – Click Here