Tenants - get the property you want. 10 top tips!

Tenants - get the property you want!

House hunting for rental properties can be very frustrating; demand is high and often houses are not on the market for very long. We often hear tenants saying they've been "looking for ages", or that the property they like won't accept pets or that agents are useless and never respond to queries etc. Well... some agents are useless actually but for the purposes of this article we'll concentrate on what you, the prospective tenant, can do. Finding your perfect home is a bit like finding your perfect job - in the same way that you need to get noticed by a potential employer then tenants need to get noticed by the agent. Follow these steps to give you the best possible chance of securing that perfect home.  

1) Keep watching the market - login every day and keep an eye on new listings. Use the well known portals such as OnTheMarket.com and Zoopla

 2) Be pro-active - target the properties you want and phone the agent direct - simply sending an email to an agent with some vague requirements will probably not work 

 3) Make sure the property is right for you before viewing! Ask plenty of questions over the phone - and be prepared to answer queries from the agent - the agent should want to know a little bit about you and who will be living in the property.

4) Don't view properties that are outside of your budget!! Understand the market you're  in and make sure you have a reasonable idea of the going rate for the type of property you're after. Also see point 10 below.

 5) Be friendly and easy going! Moving is a stressful situation and a good agent will understand this - furthermore, landlords can also find the prospect of new tenants stressful. A calm, measured, friendly and understanding approach will allow everyone to think clearly and negotiate the various requirements they each have. 

Don't delay - view as soon as you can!

6) View the property as soon as you can - the rental market place is fast-moving and waiting several days to view might mean you miss out. If you do have to wait then ask the agent if there is a deadline; often agents like to take several viewings and present several prospective tenants to the landlord and tenancies might not be offered on a first-come-first-served basis. 

7) At the viewing give feedback to the agent - if you like, love or hate the property then tell the agent, and if you like it, then ensure you know the next steps to take to start securing the property for you.
The best dog on the world.
8) Pets: if you have pets then tell the agent early on! Most landlords would prefer tenants without pets... and most tenants have pets! Every tenant thinks their pet is really well behaved and house-trained; the agent will have heard this a thousand times before! Instead, say that you are prepared to mitigate the risk through paying increased rent or a pet fee or signing a pet agreement etc. Perhaps offer to make professional cleaning of carpets or flea treatment etc a condition of the tenancy. You could also offer to restrict parts of the house (eg upstairs) to your pet.

Know the costs.
9) Money - know what the agent's fees are upfront and make sure they're reasonable. Be prepared to under go a credit check and if you have CCJs or adverse credit then this could seriously affect your chances; again, mitigate your risk - tell the agent early and perhaps offer a guarantor or 6 month's rent up front. 

10) The rental asking price: there is absolutely nothing wrong with making an offer below the listing price. However a good agent should have valued the property accurately relative to other comparable, local properties. Any offers significantly below the asking price are likely to be dismissed by the landlord - remember, there are a queue of tenants lining up to view the best properties! You may even want to offer more than the asking price if you are really keen! However, that is rare and not expected. 

Good Luck! Proudhouse Property Management are always happy to offer free advice to tenants as well as landlords. Feel free to call us 01935 388456.  

By Chris Chambers. Chris is the owner of Proudhouse Property Management and is based in Yeovil, Somerset, UK. 

Finding Tenants

By Chris Chambers

This article augments information provided at www.proudhouseproperty.co.uk

This article aims to provide information for our landlords, tenants and potential clients. All opinions are our own and do not constitute formal advice; none of the content is intended to form a contract or promise of services outside of our Service Agreement. Please feel free to browse these articles and use as an informative resource for lettings and property management. We would be delighted to discuss your needs in more detail; for Lettings in Yeovil, Sherborne, Somerset and Dorset please contact us on 01935 388456

Finding Tenants

At Proudhouse Property Management we believe that tenants are our greatest assets. Without them, there would be no landlords, letting agents, rental properties or Buy-To-Let mortgages. Yet we are amazed at how poorly some tenants are treated within the industry. Our policy is to get our landlords the best tenants, in a home where the tenants want to be. A tenant who is not in the right home for them will end up leaving or possibly not respecting where they live. Similarly, a poorly sourced tenant who ultimately fails the landlords expectations also represents a failed letting process - if the landlord asked for no pets and this requirement has not been met then the happy love-triangle of agent-tenant-landlord is going to fall apart!

Vetting: We vet tenants - by this, we mean short-listing tenants to those who are suitable for the property and who meet the landlords reasonable requirements. We do not however, discriminate - we will not work for landlords who wish to select tenants based on sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, disabilities or age. However, tenants who smoke, have pets or have other activities which may have an adverse affect on the property can be deselected if the landlord wishes.

Referencing and Credit-Checking: We use specialist and comprehensive credit checking and referencing services to ensure that tenants are able to afford the rent; we also check the tenant has no history of arrears, disputes or poor tenancy with previous landlords or agents. Sometimes a great tenant may fail the initial round of checks - we'll continue to try and find a solution, eg; could a guarantor help the tenant with the rent? Can we find alternative references etc? Sometimes however, a tenant is simply not suitable in which case we'll politely but truthfully manage everyone's expectations and then continue the search.

ID: We take photocopies of tenants' passports and take reasonable steps to ensure applicants are who they say they are. There is a new requirement this year for landlords to comply with the Immigration Act and check tenant's rights to be in the country and taking up residence. We undertake these checks as part of our letting process.

Financial Considerations: Not all tenants can pass a credit check - but that does not necessarily mean they are bad tenants. We will always help a tenant if we can - perhaps rent can be paid upfront in a lump sum, or perhaps a guarantor is needed. We will help and provide guidance with this when we can.

Proudhouse Property Management strive to provide excellent service. We are an ARLA licensed firm and members of The Property Ombudsman Scheme. For a letting agent in Yeovil, Sherborne, Somerset or Dorset then please call us - we would be delighted to help you.