We have been working for a while on a project to highlight to Landlords that renting to Tenants with pets is not a nightmare as the industry sometimes perceives.   We have frequently rented to tenants with pets and no scare stories reported.  Just as I was about to hit the button with my finished article I came across an even better one on Pet Lettings written by Tessa Shepperson with excellent advice so all credit goes to Tessa and www.landlordlaw.co.uk and her kind permission to use her article.

A special mention also the Dogs Trust   www.dogstrust.org.uk with whom Steadfast have also been in touch with for a while now and are really campaining hard to educate landlords in accepting tenants with pets.  Of course not every Landlord is in agreement and we respect the wishes of the landlord – its your property and your choice, however with the right advice and education it will widen your market significantly as there are naturally a huge number of responsible pet owners out there often happy to pay the full rent, a larger deposit and generally very happy with any supplementary clauses in the Tenancy agreement.

The link to the article is here;

http://www.landlordlaw.co.uk/pagedetail.ihtml?id=8356&page=non

We have for a while worked very closely with a truly excellent local company Animals at Home Gloucester Ltd www.glosanimalsathome.co.uk who will visit the prospective tenant and carry out an informal interview to assess the suitablity of the pet for the property, generally look at how the pet owners deal with their pet and provide recommendations.  It is run by Wendy and Jean  whom I have known personally for many years and whom our tenants have used also for general pet sitting, dog walking and other services.  Highly recommended!

In July 2007 when Gloucestershire and other counties were affected by the severe flooding there were large numbers of flood victims desperate to rent temporary property but who could not findhouses to rent that accepted pets.  This caused a major problem at the time to people desperate to leave their flooded homes and settle into a temporary home until theirs was repaired.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or require further information on aspects of renting a home to pet owners.

May as mentioned before was a record month for us.  Homelet who do all our referencing reported that we were in their top 15% nationally for the number of references they carried out for us in the month of May.  (and looking at the invoice that has just come in I can well believe it!) Considering how many businessess far far larger than us we know use Homelet this is an excellent result.

There has been a drop in enquiries seen for the start of June, however talking to other agents too, there seems to be a lack of valuations and landlord instructions at the moment. We have let virtually all our houses and not much new seems to be coming onto the market.

Houses by the nature of the tenants they attract make much more longer term tenancies than flats do, which have a far higher turnover of tenants.  Houses in the school catchment areas and close to good road links/town centre also do well.  We have a pretty healthy managed portfolio of properties still with the original tenants in these houses so one can assume that houses make longer term homes for people and this perhaps explains the lack of houses on the market presently.  The current economic climate and general uncertainty could also be making people stay longer where they are until there is some stability out there again.

We recently had a number of high-end houses to let at above £1300pcm and all of these flew out of the door very quickly and we are still getting enquiries for these. There are, it seems, still a lot of people out there with really good budgets looking for quality family homes which are not coming onto the market!  Certainly the viewers looking at our top end houses reported that there was very little on the market locally.

I can only speak for Cheltenham/Gloucestershire market but currently there seems to be a big tenant demand for houses and reasonable demand for flats.  Certain properties in this town will always do well by their very nature and location especially the period properties (which is essentially part of the Cheltenham "charm").

We really could do with a lot more houses coming onto the market

Recent weeks have seen a phenomenal increase in lets!

Is it just us? Is it an improvement in the market?  We are now running low on properties, which to be honest is not a bad thing! An empty property does not earn you a living - we are in the business of renting after all.  Naturally our Landlords are pleased we have rented them and our new Tenants hopefully will be very happy in their new homes.

In the current economic climate we are being pummelled by the media in doom and gloom.  Lately is MP's expenses, the recent gloomy budget, job losses, you name it.  I often complain that there isn't enough good news.  There are plenty of people still well employed, businesses still doing well, the high street looks busy.  Im frustrated that the media doesn't highligh this. Yes of course there are redundancies, there are a lot of worried business owners out there, a lot of worried families and individuals.  Even the local paper wasn't interested in a particular success story we had to share. 

I offerred my services to the BBC who I found out were looking to produce a programme in May about property and further offerred to appear on the programme with the Letting Agents perspective.  I may be wrong but can only assume it is the current BBC2 programme Property Watch as I was approached in February and told it would be aired in May.  I spent probably an hour on the phone to the BBC Researcher at the time and was so frustrated that the direction of her questions were all geared towards the negative and the bad.

Did I know tenants who had been evicted? Did I know of any Landlords having their properties reposessed? Did we have any serious rent arrears? Did we have problem tenants? Were landlords pocketing the rent and not paying their mortgages.........Could I put them in touch with these people currently "suffering"?

Hold on! I daresay bad news, sensational news makes better viewing figures, but what about educating people? Giving them the benefit of your experience? Advising them? Helping them?  The BBC researcher was just not interested.  I offerred to speak on achieving maximum rental return, preparing your property, how to deal with falling property prices as a Landlord, what to do if you've bought a property on a development with a high number of rental properties, how to assist tenants looking for property, advice to Landlords on the new Local Housing Allowance which replaced Housing Benefit, Deposit regulations, companies like Inside Track (thankfully gone) who convinced people of untold riches by buying off plan properties at home and abroad, how Landlords can widen their market - the list went on, but none of it was of interest.

Its only my opinion that these are relevant topics but hopefully such a programme will be aired in the future.

Its 3am and Ive been working on various bits with the dog asleep at my feet since I got in from the office.  But i was just marvelling at the wonders of modern technology and what a wonderful age we live in.

Im 40 and old enough to remember learning to type on golf ball typewriters, then the sinclair computers, BBC Basic, the Amstrad 1512, Brother Thermal Typewriters etc etc.  I thought we were pretty tech'd up then but lookin at what Ive been doing this evening with various things online is another league altogether. 

Forget the problems of modern living, modern society etc for a second and just reflect on the amazing technology and what we can do. I'm no techy and dont understand a vast amount but I'm watching something on BTVision that was on on Wednesday (ok, ok its Waterloo Road - dont take the piss) and marvelling at just being able to recall a programme at my leisure to name and thinking back to the telly we had in our living room as a child without a remote control and then a new Remote Control telly, with the remote connected to the telly with a lead! hehe

Without a doubt I think the most amazing bit of kit has got to be the iphone.  I cant remember if my first mobile was the handset on the brick charger or a sony phone with a red amber and green light instead of a display and a contract with BTCellnet (remember them?).  The iphone is just amazing and the apps available on it enhance it brilliantly.  Those who have not got one, you dont know what you're missing!  And dont start on the old no MMS or video or decent camera rubbish - who cares?

One down side to writing this particular piece is that I've suddently realised how old I bloody well sound.............

This blog is intended as a personal kind of thing rather than promoting our business but on this ocassion but I wanted to mention something relevant in these current economic times to prove that good service counts - even when  good service in question is ours!

We put our prices up by 1% to all our landlords who's properties we manage.  It's the first price increase since we commenced trading and naturally in the current climate we were nervous about putting prices up, no-one likes putting prices up but we felt we were justified in doing so as like any business we have had increased costs oursleves.

So with some trepidation I started to compose a price increase letter.  I was used to doing these in my former industry when our aluminium suppliers and glass manufacturers would without fail put their prices up to us every year.  That was an easy letter as most of our customers also dealt with glass and aluminium suppliers so were used to it. 

As I typed and erased sentences and then typed and erased some more trying to make putting prices up sound like a positive thing, I thought....hold on! It is a positive thing.  Hold on a second you landlords.  The vast majority of you since we started working with you have never had a void period, have got excellent tenants, get your rent paid on time and in short dont have to worry.  Then I got to thinking that what we charge is what we charge and no more.  No hidden extras, no supplementary charges, other than routine maintenance etc.

Then Mike and I talked about the investment we have made.  Our lettings software is probably the best in the business, the mutts nutts as some would say. This and other things made me realise that you have to have confidence in what you do and if you believe something is right, then fight your corner.

So out went the letter with new management agreements.  In the post, first class.  Slowly slowly the signed agreements start coming back to us in the post.................its been three weeks since they went out and you know what?

Not one single customer has complained about the price increase! 

Despite introducing a year’s delay to the community infrastructure levy, pledging to look at tax increment financing and some technical changes on REITS, as well as some help for the housing industry, the government failed to make the sorts of wholesale change that the industry was hoping for on REITs, empty rates, regeneration and the private rented sector.

Francis Salway, British Property Federation president and chief executive of Land Securities, said: ‘The chancellor made a declaration to be fair and to support long term investment but the government's refusal to reinstate empty rate relief wholly undermines this statement, particularly at a time when occupiers and developers are being equally hit by the downturn.

‘The statement of the government's intention to explore new funding mechanisms with local authorities is a welcome recognition of the BPF's work to promote interests in tax increment financing which has been so widely used in the USA.’

Liz Peace, British Property Federation chief executive, said: 'It defies logic that during the worst recession for a generation the government should ignore some very simple practical solutions laid on a plate in front of it that would cost practically nothing and would have helped the property industry to recover more quickly from the effects of the recession and get back to doing what it does best for society namely building and managing the places we need for business, shopping and leisure.'

‘We suggested a number of ways of temporarily modifying the REITs regime which would have had virtually no cost for the Exchequer and these have been ignored. We had also pressed for one very simple change that would have encouraged institutional levels of investment in an alternative stream of housing provision through renting, namely the disaggregation of stamp duty on bulk purchases, but this has also been ignored. There is no empty rates relief, despite the traumatic decline of the high street.’

‘The measures designed to support housing sound impressive but it is not wholly clear how much new money is really on offer and how easy it will be for developers to access these funds – a large part of which must be spent this year.’

Ian Coull, chief executive of Segro, said: ‘It is disappointing that the Government has not announced any new plans to abolish empty rates. Empty rates will continue to see buildings demolished and occupiers who need a helping hand will continue to struggle.The real disappointment is the lack of any real changes on REITs which is where the real opportunities for turning around development existed.’

Peter Cosmetatos, director for finance and investment at the BPF, said: ‘This was a very disappointing Budget for the property industry. This Government, which has been willing to throw countless billions at a pointless cut in the VAT rate and at the financial sector, has refused to listen to a small number of sensible, targeted industry representations which would have entailed little (and in some cases no) cost to the Exchequer and which would have given valuable support to businesses in the current environment.’

mydeposits yet again prove that the rules of their own making are there for their own breaking.

Firstly. how on earth can they allow a tenant to lodge a dispute 6 months (yes, 6 months) after moving out?
They can, because they can.
Another stupid dispute which you spend time and in this case your own money, only to lose again.

Scenario
Two nice tenants rented a flat. They serve notice and get a pre-checkout inspection done. The pre-checkout report which they signed, states the fridge and the oven needs cleaning.
On the day of checkout everything is in order except in our view the fridge and the oven was still dirty so we make a not unreasonable deduction for the cleaning of £45.

The mother of the tenants complains saying she cleaned it. Well, sorry to appear rude, but just because mummy cleaned it, doesnt mean it was clean does it?

Six months backwards and forwards over the £45. Some would say just give the thing over, its cost more in our time taking phonecalls and dealing with it, but sometimes you have to say no, you believe in what you believe.

Again, it is rare we make deductions without just cause, and on this occassion, we felt justified.

mydeposits (now affectionately referred to as mydumbmuppets) breach their own rules in enabling the tenant to lodge a dispute so long after they move out.

We had to therefore pay over the disputed amount out of our own funds as we had already paid the cleaning contractor.

Amongs the ridiculous reasons for favouring with mummy, was this:

"that following research on the internet Steadfast Property Management and their cleaning contractor were linked and therefore had a conflict of interest".

Oh my god! How stupid and inept are these people? Our cleaning contractor is a subcontractor who we regularly use LIKE MOST LETTING AGENTS to carry out their cleaning. Our contractor chooses under the "useful links" section of their website to have our own website listed. Where is the conflict of interest here?

Those who have been to our shop will have seen our wall display which states
Steadfast Property Management
Steadfast Doors and Windows
Steadfast (wait for it...)Cleaning Services!

Yes, we do cleaning but due to being ethical and reasonable we do not use Steadfast Cleaning Services in situations of tenant disputes for precisely the reason that we do not wish to be accused of conflict of interest. We use a tried and tested and trusted local cleaning company.

mydeposits, in future I will track down a cleaning company at least 150 miles away or perhaps in another country just so you do not think there is a conflict of interest. What kind of dumb decision is this? Your "research on the internet" clearly is wrong, you make stupid assumptions and just one phone call had you been bothered would have clarified matters.

As I say in an earlier blog, you live and learn by experiences.

Yet again, I want to stress that the occassions where we deduct from deposits are rare and we are reasonable and sensible but that fridge and oven was dirty mummy dearest but you win this one due to an incompetent adjudicator at my deposits. Well done x

We started the business already aware that Cheltenham was a little "top heavy" with letting agents but our growth as a relatively new business has shown that you can do it even with a lot of competition. Last year I counted 28 or so competitors, now we are in the upper forties.

Estate agents who previously had no interest in lettings have now become letting agents owing to the current state of the property selling market and I daresay our market share has had a knock.

Now, I run a business and in lean times you have to do what you have to do. I dont really have anything against the owner/directors of these estate agents clearly taking the initiative in keeping their business going by diversifying and going into lettings but we all know as soon as the sales market picks up again (as it invariably will) lettings will be the last thing they will want to do. This may be a bit of a long "get it off my chest" session so please bear with me........

Letting agents make nowhere near the kind of money in letting properties that estate agents do in selling them. Simple example.
250K house at 1% plus VAT to sell it is £2500 fee to an estate agent.
That same house, assuming an average 4 bed at £995pcm to rent.
I cant speak for the national market but tenant finder services locally are between 50% and 80% of the first months rent and managed tenancy services are 10% of the monthly rent plus a set up fee of £150 upwards.
You do the sums and you will see you need to let a fair number of similar properties to make the kind of money you do selling them. The sums are less the lower the rent of course.

My issue is this:
I challenge all you estate agents now doing lettings to tell me how you can honestly look at your landlords in the eyes and tell them you are dedicated and COMMITTED to lettings. I believe you are not and you have to do a lot to convince me otherwise. Sorry, but that's the way it is. You are doing lettings because you cant sell houses. If you are dedicated to lettings, why have you not done it all these years? Why? See the example above on our beloved £250K property. BECAUSE YOU MADE MORE MONEY SELLING THEM!

Furthermore, Letting and Property Management is not easy. There is a hell of a lot to this business and unless you're in it you dont know just how much. For those who think its a doddle, it isnt!

We have already been approached by a local agent who wants to sell up. Only this week an estate agent now also a letting agent has shut up shop and offerred us their managed portfolio. After a year or so of doing lettings want to know how many managed properties they had? 9! 9 properties after a year being a letting agent. Not easy is it?

Lettings is hard work, yes there are rewards once you have a good managed portfolio under your belt but its getting the properties under that belt which requires hard work and effort! Its not easy to get landlord instructions and all these "become a letting agent from the comfort of your own home"packages widely available on the internet mislead people into thinking it is. (I will do a separate blog/rant on this topic).

Our rightmove rep told us not to worry about the estate agents doing lettings. She said they are only trying to help their sellers by renting out properties they cant sell. Maybe that's true but when i read the competition's website launching their new letting service I just feel uneasy that its something they are not really doing out of passion and a love of the job like we do, it just a reactive need to a very difficult economic climate and property market.

Every day I hear complaints and stories about our competition. I have said in my profile/intro that I will never criticise the competition and I never will but I cannot deny feeling like I want to do even better when a landlord phones up and wants to use us because they are dissatisfied with their letting agent. We dont get it right all the time but we are dedicated to what we do and we try and do the best we can. One motivational factor for me is having seen our business grow from something we started in a spare room and that gives you a sense of achievement, pride and it really is like watching something grow and be nurtured. Its a good feeling.

Now, we can't do anything about these estate agents doing lettings but what I do say to our prospective tenants is to be very careful who they are letting from. Even if you dont take what we have shown you, make sure you rent from a dedicated letting agent. Dedicated letting agents will more than likely have long term investment property on their books not stuff they cant sell. I warn tenants to do their checks as the last thing they want is to be served notice and a for sale board put up the second the property market recovers.

To landlords I will not criticise anyone but I will tell them the truth as I see it, and I'm pleased to say it is rare that we do not get instructed when I go see a landlord so clearly being honest is what its all about.

To you estate agents out there here is my solution......
Cheltenham is full of dedicated letting agents. Why are you not approaching us to work with you? Why are you not looking at partnerships with the letting agents or even better getting paid to refer your landlords to us? You will get paid for doing nothing leaving your landlord to work with a committed dedicated agent who knows what their doing, who are in it for the long haul, who will look after your customers leaving you and us looking good and everyone is happy.

On the plus side, hopefully we may be in a position to buy up these unwanted lettings portfolios when the sales market picks up and estate agents decide to start making "easy" money again.