Lettings Guide

Whether you’re a professional Landlord with a portfolio of property, just starting out with your first Buy-to-Let, or looking to rent your own home, when you appoint Simpson & Partners, Letting becomes easy. Our dedicated team will run through all you need to know regarding your legal commitments and taking your property to market successfully. With our Full Management service, they will always be on hand to support you but here are a few pointers any Landlord should bear in mind to help Let a property swiftly and achieve long term, financially rewarding tenancies.

First-time Landlords, you need to think like the Tenant your property will appeal to. Is it a professional person/s, whose priority is ready access to their place of work? Is it a young couple just starting out together? Perhaps it’s a family from out of the area, or even abroad? Our Lettings team will guide you, but you should recognise and play to your property’s strengths. This will be determined by many factors including whether it’s furnished or unfurnished, its location, size, amenities and such things as its access to nearby workplaces, towns, schools or local and national communications etc. This will help identify your target tenant so you can maximize on your property’s benefit and appeal when it comes to marketing and viewings. And remember, with Lettings first impressions really do count.

Your Simpson & Partner’s Letting team will have visited and established the details of the marketing literature, so let’s start from the potential Tenant’s arrival.

• If it has off-road parking, ensure the driveway is free for them to park on.
• The frontage is the first thing they will see so make sure it looks its best.If there’s a garden ensure the grass is cut, borders weeded and any unsightly wheely-bins are out of the way. Ensure all evidence of any previous tenants is gone, including taking any uncollected refuse to your local recycling plant. This will not only make the property look more attractive, it sets a precedent that will contractually have to be maintained by the ingoing tenants.
• Have the property ready for viewing. It’s not vital but a vase of fresh flowers will brighten any hallway and help make the right first impression.
• Make sure interiors are as clean as possible, paying particular attention to carpets, windows and paintwork and if the property’s furnished, upholstery and curtains etc. The same goes for the oven, any electrical appliances and the kitchen and bathroom suites. This makes the property appealing and again sets the precedent of the condition it must be handed back in at the end of the rental period. Our Lettings team will ensure a full list of contents alongside photographic reference images are produced and included as part of the tenant’s contractual agreement.
• If your property has one, the same goes for the back garden as the front. Clear
  weeds, cut the grass, tidy up and remove any refuse.
• Draw up a property fact sheet that clearly identifies the location of the fuse box and the electric/gas/water meters and where any internal shut-off switches and valves are. List the basic operating instructions for the boiler/central heating system, emersion heater or secondary heating systems and power shower etc. List the refuse and recycling collection days. Where the gardening tools are kept, along with any other useful information. Leave a copy on the kitchen table, affix another to the inside door of the main kitchen cupboard (along with the keys for the gas and electricity meter cabinets and the garden shed etc.) and if you’re taking up a Full Management Letting contract, ensure our Lettings team has a copy. If you’re opting for Let Only, ensure the list includes your contact telephone number/s alongside the emergency contact numbers for your approved maintenance contractors.

After a viewing our sales team will call you to give any feedback, usually within 24 hours. This will keep you up to date and help you to address any potential areas for refinement.