Here’s where we begin to get down to the nuts and bolts of being ‘an independent’. Contact with customers needs to be made, once a property has been bought and set up. Rental valuations should have already been made as part of the purchase process (see Lesson 2: Mock advertising) and so – unless a significant time lag has arisen–it’s time to get the ball rolling.

The best rent you’ll get is one that’s sustainable over a year. Set viable rent levels to maximise interest.

Don’t overprice. Overpriced units stay empty and cost more than 100 per cent revenue every day. New landlords are often tempted to believe their unit’s worth more than market rate. It’s human nature to imagine that our precious unit is special. And a mistake. But pricing is not a precise science and needs careful reviewing because market conditions change all the time.

First task

We need viewers and plenty of them because that gives us choice in who we let to. Advertising is the first point where differences between using agents and operating independently starts to work in the independent’s favour. Our advertising can perfectly match each unit to appropriate tenants. And it’s so simple it’s hard to imagine the necessity of paying people a fortune to do it.

Second task – finding a venue to advertise in

Advertise in either the best local paper or the internet – or possibly both. A local set of abbreviations is likely to be in play, so read the adverts you’ve found and familiarise yourself with how things are done locally. Remember that there’s a historic relationship between tenants and local newspaper advertising that the internet hasn’t broken down yet, so don’t rely exclusively on anything but print. The newspaper remains the main arena where tenants always look. In some areas you’ll have to pay for advertising. In others, freebies have the widest readership. If you do have to pay, get a receipt or keep your credit/ debit statement as these costs are tax deductible.

Effective advertising is the key to effective letting

Advertising is most effective when either extensive or accurately focused. Independent landlords must always concentrate on accuracy to avoid unnecessary costs. Leave the agents to pay for glossies and stick to the classifieds.

Effective advertising keeps voids to a minimum

Independent landlords need to keep their units filled because empty units lose real cash. Agents rely on volume, but you don’t. Tenants can and do find just what they want in the classifieds and this is where to show them specifically what’s on offer.

Tenants are consumers and as such, they’re often discerning. This means you need to tell them what they need to know before someone else does. Landlords who aren’t specific enough have their adverts ignored as tenants aren’t certain what’s on offer and – in a crowded market – they skip incomplete adverts. Which, for example, do you think would generate the best response?

Ford, 2 door, £1,000
or
Ford Escort. 4 years old. Low mileage. MOT. Taxed. £1,000

Applying the same principle to your property and that:

2-bedroom flat, Clapham

could be a dream home – or a nightmare. Could be in budget – or not. May be furnished – or empty. Tenants can’t possibly know.

Detail matters

Don’t waste weeks of lost rent to cut £10 off advertising costs. Conversely, going overboard is a waste of money. The knack is to avoid ‘vague’ while steering clear of ‘wasteful’.

A word on advert wording

When using newspapers, work out your wording clearly and well in advance of making a call to the local paper to place it. Never advertise without including the costs. You’d be amazed how many people do so and it throws up two different problems.

• 1.The right tenant may not bother to call at all and move on down the column.
• 2.You’ll get dozens of pointless calls and tie up the phone as many callers will be looking for something more … or less expensive.

Many newspapers use voicemail. You’ll need to know exactly what you want to say to a machine and in what order or risk getting into a terrible muddle and forgetting some important detail, so write it out carefully beforehand. You might also want to try relocation agencies which don’t always charge landlords. Or local employers like hospitals can be worth approaching direct. Safe properties can get themselves registered on accredited lists from local authorities, attracting tenants across the board.

What to say

Use local and recognised abbreviations, otherwise tenants won’t understand what you mean. ‘C/H’ is centrally heated. ‘S/C’ is self-contained – an essential insertion for cheaper property, which often has shared facilities. ‘Furn’ for furnished, etc (‘F/F’ means down to the teaspoons and is a nightmare to control).

Clarity and succinctness are key. Always advertise the weekly rent for reasons explained earlier.

Take a look at the following examples.

Example 1.

2 bed-room flat, Clapham. Furnished and centrally heated. References/deposit required. Suit professionals. Ring 0208 900 1000

Example 2.

2 bed-room S/C Furn. C/H period flat, nr Clapham Common. No children/pets/unemployed or under 25 yrs. Refs. reqd. £275 pw. 4 wk. dep req. Suit 2 0208 900 1000

Example 1 indicates size and general area only. Too much unnecessary detail, which could have been abbreviated means this advert gives no clear idea of the kind of tenants required, yet simultaneously rejects 95 per cent of the population who aren’t professionals. It gives no idea of the rent, nor any indication of the deposit.

Example 2 is much more to the point. Size matters in rentals. You’ve shown that the property is two bedroomed and near the common, rather than less expensive areas of Clapham. ‘Furn’ means basic furniture is provided. (‘P/F’ usually means that the basics, such as cooker, refrigerator carpets and curtains are included but this will need further clarification when potential tenants telephone. ‘U/F’ means unfurnished – but rental units will always require some white goods and should include carpets because no one will carpet your property on a six month lease.)

Example 2 explains that the unit is centrally heated (ie modern(ish). ‘Suit 2’ broadens the appeal beyond professionals. ‘Over 25’ removes the student sharers (unless you’re happy to accept them).

Potential callers now have a much more specific idea of what’s on offer, to whom and on what terms for broadly the same advertising cost. Explaining what you don’t want cuts down the number of pointless calls. Adding the two words ‘fire safety’ and any other particularly useful issues like ‘parking’ and you get:

2 bedroom S/C Furn. C/H period flat, nr Clapham Common. S/C,F/F,C/H period flat (+fire safety+ off street parking) No children/pets/unemployed or under 25 yrs. Refs. reqd. £275 pw. 4 wk. dep req. Suit 2 No agents please 0208 900 1000

This separates your unit in three short syllables from the numerous rogue landlords out there (provided of course that you’ve spent the £30-£40 and installed smoke alarms, extinguisher and fire blanket, which you should – to protect both your tenants and your investment). Don’t abbreviate details of fire safety, it’s good copy, though most tenants won’t pay extra for the privilege of somewhere safe. In large cities always include parking if it’s available, as this is a considerable selling point for car conscious tenants.

And, unless you want to attract them, always add ‘No agents’ or half your calls will be from them – and it’s tenants you’re after.

Now, tailor this to suit your unit and place your advertisement.

Be available on the first day the advertisement appears

Answerphones are no substitute for a landlord’s voice, and your children or the broken English of the au pair will often make tenants move onto the next advert.

Some landlords only provide mobile phone numbers. However, some tenants are extremely wary of the ‘mobile’ landlord – that entity who disappears the moment the boiler breaks down. If you want to use a mobile always combine it with a landline, so that tenants feel that you have a base somewhere and will be contactable in the future. I cannot emphasise strongly enough how important it is to give out the right ‘vibes’ to tenants at this initial stage. With virtually no security of tenure, high rents and a notoriously unregulated industry, tenants can bolt like startled deer if they get the slightest sense of even more potential problems ahead. A landlord you can’t track down is the last thing someone paying out a thousand pounds a month wants.

Good psychology in tenant dealings is vital

All this may sound daft to that confident young businessman building up a portfolio of property but believe me, these aspects of management psychology matter. Trust is a rare commodity in our industry – the more of it you can make your tenants feel, the less likely you are to have problems.

Tenants can move on very quickly for something they want. With a list of a dozen potentials, they’ll often keep calling numbers till they hear a voice they can ask for details. They call from work during the day and often call well into the evening when they get home. They rarely leave call back numbers. If you’re not willing to take calls past 8 pm, take the phone off the hook rather than become irritable. People will often call back on an engaged tone – it’s a sign that other people are also interested – a positive vibe.

But what do I say to them, when they call?

Be polite, informative and businesslike – a few pleasantries can oil the wheels of any deal. Ask what they want to know about the property. Explain a few details and then, if they’re still interested, ask a few questions yourself. Novices should have a pen and paper by the phone with a list of questions. Scribble the caller’s name on it and start asking. Ticks for positive answers, crosses for negative replies. If the call produces more negative than positive responses, don’t arrange a viewing.

This first phone call can, for an experienced landlord, be as far as it goes.

Here are a few question suggestions.

• Where do people work?
• How long have they worked there?
• Where do they live now?
• Whether or not they’ve rented before. (Simply because rental virgins can sometimes make quite challenging tenants, so you need to talk them through the process very thoroughly if you take them.)
• When do they need accommodation from.
• If you’re willing to accept young people, explain you’ll want a guarantor for owed rent, damage and outstanding bills.
• Ask whom they’ll be using.
• Always ask if callers have referees and if they will have any objections to a paying for a credit check.
• The above also applies to a Tenant Application Form.
• Make sure to ask if they have the funds for a deposit and the advance rent – a surprising number don’t, so check before you waste time on a viewing.
• Explain that, if they like the unit, you won’t be able to hold it for them without a week’s rent on account. This is called a holding deposit.
• Get a phone number for security and so you can contact them if you’ve already let the unit to save unnecessary viewings.

Don’t make appointments with people you don’t like the sound of, or who are unwilling to talk to you. These are not intrusive questions, they’re an essential part of the deal and you don’t need a taciturn tenant.

If you get a chance, explain that you’re not an agent and that you won’t be making them pay out for a long list of additional charges, but simply taking reasonable precautionary steps on issues like credit checks and bank references which have low genuine costs.

Reasonable people understand reasonable behaviour and the one thing you’re trying to find in a tenant is reasonableness.

Find out how quickly a tenant wants to move in

Know exactly when callers want to move. Some tenants have no real intention of moving unless they find something better than they have so would need weeks to serve notice on their old place.

Others will need something this week, or will be moving into the area that weekend, or are currently living in a B&B. It’s an important issue to tease out. Don’t go rushing out for people who can’t move in for weeks: show them the unit when you’re already making a trip, say just before or just after a serious viewing.

A tip to avoid time-wasters

For some unknown reason, around a third of people who make appointments simply don’t turn up. Try insisting that viewers telephone you one hour before their appointment to confirm they’re still coming. And make it clear that without that confirmation, you won’t be driving over. That does help cut out the time-wasters.

For landlords re-advertising on an existing tenant’s notice

This entire process should be started as soon as your tenant advises you they’ll be leaving. That way you should have someone signed up well before you have an empty unit on your hands – and this gives those tenants who’ll need to give notice in their existing unit a genuine shot – thereby increasing your potential customers.

Notifying existing tenants about viewings

Give your existing tenant a letter outlining dates and times that you’ll be entering for viewings. Make it something reasonable like Thursday and Friday evenings, between 6 pm and 8 pm. This gives fair notice and isn’t too disruptive – don’t forget, your existing tenant still lives here and pays rent. So make short windows that suit your own timescale then advise your tenants.

Note: Don’t hold property for someone who claims to be interested but won’t sign a Tenant Application Form or hand over a holding deposit. Tenants can say anything – it’s what they do that matters.

Independents take their background checks seriously. That’s why we don’t do 30 viewings like ARLA claims to be doing. Don’t waste time and petrol driving back and forth to open doors for people you’re going to reject anyway – ask first. Demand for units can be incredibly variable. Sometimes the phone will ring off the hook. Others, you’ll be doing well to take a call a day. If your rent level is right, you should be able to generate a minimum of five or six interested callers per advert.

Holding deposits

These are a simple concept. If you decide that you like a tenant and they like your property, don’t take it off the market without having some financial cover. Without an interim payment you shouldn’t turn down a single other tenant or viewing – let alone stop advertising. This is a holding deposit and it needs to be sufficiently big to cover your costs if the tenant changes their mind. A minimum of one week’s rent is advised. There are three things you then need to remember.

• 1.Always give the tenant a receipt for their holding deposit that states that this fee is non returnable if the tenant changes their mind or if references and/or credit checks are unsatisfactory.
• 2.That it is refundable if the landlord changes their mind for no good reason.
• 3.That your new tenant understands that this holding deposit will be deducted from the full deposit when the transaction is complete, leases signed and monies exchanged. In other words, if a tenant provides a £250 holding deposit on a unit with a £1,000 damages deposit, the deposit balance due will thus be £750 when the deal is finally done.

Once money has changed hands you can be reasonably certain that the tenant has made a financial commitment to the property. Some landlords continue viewings to establish the fallback position of a second very interested potential tenant. However, it is highly unreasonable and may in some circumstances even be illegal to take holding deposits from more than one party at a time. Be up-front, and when you’ve given your word – always keep it. You may be scrutinising tenants – but trust me, they’re returning the compliment and trust matters a great deal with assets this size held on a few weeks’ rent.

Mutual respect makes tenancies run more smoothly

Again and again I stress that a position of mutual respect works best. Nervous tenants can quickly become irritable – even hostile and that’s the worst position for a landlord to find themselves in. Don’t trade short-term profits for long-term reputations. It’s commercial suicide.

Think safety first

Ask everyone who has made an appointment for a contact phone number and try to insist on a landline somewhere. It may sound a little neurotic but, as a female landlord often conducting viewings in empty buildings, I do prefer to spend the couple of minutes it takes to suggest calling them back at work or maybe confirming our arrangements later on in the evening on a landline wherever possible (for a few more safety tips, see Lesson 8: Viewings).

Once I’ve asked these questions, what next?

The next step is to agree appointments. Many tenants prefer to see units in the early evening or at weekends. This can be a significant advantage for independents as we’re open when agents are often closed. Make your appointments for as soon as is practicable for both parties – tenants can get fixed up quite quickly so don’t miss the boat. If you’re lucky enough to get several appointments on the same day – make them half an hour apart.

Supply side gluts

For the first time anyone in the business can recall, some areas are experiencing genuine supply side gluts. If you’re unlucky enough to be in this situation, the only advice that makes sense is to adjust (drop) rent levels. However, you may still experience difficulty at a lower rent – especially in that interim period where you’re having to re-advertise time and time again to establish a viable rent. In these circumstances, experienced landlords change the format of their advertising at least every two weeks to avoid the unit becoming stale. The last advertisement you need is the same one week after week that tenants see hanging about. So, change the wording slightly in some way. Let’s take a look at our original unit:

2 bedroom S/C Furn C/H period flat, (+ fire safety) nr Clapham Common. No children/pets/unemployed or under 25 yrs. Refs. reqd. £275 pw. 4 wk. dep req. Suit 2. No agents Please 0208 900 1000

After a couple of weeks, try making changes without losing the essence of the information – for example:

Victorian apartment, nr Clapham Common. Well presented Furn & C/H & smoke alarms. £275 per week. Over 25s only with deposit (4 wks) and refs. Sorry – no unemployed, pets, children, agents. 08473 624 952 or 0208 900 1000

The same basic information, plus a few changes and most people won’t notice the repeat.

And never tell anyone who calls that the unit is taken until you have at the very least a holding deposit and some references that stack up. If you think you’ve found the right person, you can always explain and ask additional callers for their number and say you’ll call back if the deal doesn’t go through.

Whys and wherefores

This lesson is one of the easiest. It shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes reading time. I’m sorry to say but I know of no other guide that goes into this much detail for you to double-check this information. You will, however, need to spend some time and energy getting hold of appropriate papers to help you to frame your advertisement. Drawing up an advertisement itself is easy. Include what tenants need to know and exclude what you don’t want.

CHECKLIST/SUMMARY

• Always use the most suitable venue for your advertising. Don’t cut costs and end up with no interested parties.
• Landlords who have just been served notice of their existing tenant’s intention to leave should begin advertising immediately.
• Make sure your advertisement contains enough detail to filter out callers who won’t interest you. Always double-check important details (say employment status) on the phone.
• Be specific about what the unit offers, moving in costs and security checks.
• Always include the weekly rental costs–(it’s broadly the same psychology as offering something for £1.99–rather than £2).
• Write out your advertisement clearly in case you’re speaking to the newspaper’s automated service and keep a copy by the phone.
• Request receipts from advertisers – They’re tax deductible.
• If repeat advertising becomes necessary, change the format of your advertising.
• Try to be available, especially when the advertisement is new.
• Try to give a landline – tenants don’t like mobiles much.
• Be friendly but businesslike. Make a list of, then ask the questions you need to and establish the ground rules for the checks you’ll be making before arranging a pointless viewing. You’ll need a separate sheet for each caller which we’ll use later.
• Try not to overwhelm tenants on the phone; it’s not a personality contest to be won by landlords.
• Make appointments for as soon as possible . . . like today/tomorrow to avoid tenants finding something else in the meantime.
• Independent landlords can make evening appointments which can be a distinct advantage in a tight or fast-moving market – use your advantages.