Posts by ARPM
ARPM LAUNCHES 12-STEP PLAN TO BEAT THE TENANT FEE BAN
Professional supplier to the lettings industry, ARPM, has created a 12-step plan to help estate and letting agents beat the Tenant Fee Ban. In the run up to 1st June, when the ban on charging tenant fees will come into force, the outsourced property management and lettings administration provider is recommending lettings businesses prepare. They…
Read MoreHow to maintain property maintenance
Let’s discuss property repairs. Push aside the image of tenants trashing a property rock star-style because that level of behavior, thankfully, hardly every happens. Instead, we’re focusing on the mundane maintenance tasks that need attention every day in property management. If a tenant contacts you with a problem, we can probably pre-empt what it might…
Read MoreCan the 80/20 rule save your business?
We’ve written before about the immense time pressure letting agents and property managers are under. Who couldn’t do with an extra pair of hands, more hours in the day or even an eight day week? Let’s stop there. You may feel under resourced and overwhelmed by lettings compliance, management tasks and administration when the reality…
Read MoreCommon outsourcing myths busted!
Outsourcing. Everyone has an opinion when it comes to sharing the workload with a third party. If you’re relying on hearsay, second-hand information or Chinese whispers to form your opinion, you’re probably falling into the trap of believing myths. We’d like to put the record straight, so here are the four most common outsourcing myths…
Read MoreShort-term lettings storm at the seaside
The south’s seaside resorts are stealing the headlines for all the wrong reasons and at the heart of the troublesome issue is the lack of professional property management. You may have read about an Airbnb property in Brighton where the balcony collapsed, injuring four people. The news coverage that followed included an interview with a…
Read MoreMake 2017 the year you actually increase letting fee income
It’s about now when property experts start looking into their crystal ball to predict what might happen in the coming year. While speculation makes for entertaining reading, it’s planning – not star gazing – that should form the last few weeks of 2016 and into 2017. It’s possible that the proposed ban on letting agent…
Read MoreA very merry Christmas. Weeks of staff sickies ahead
For some estate and lettings agents, Christmas is just a bit too merry and new research shows that the next few weeks, as we count down until Christmas Day, will be full of employees calling in with the infamous _dodgy tummy_. To give you an illustration of what lies ahead, tech start-up company The Attest…
Read MoreDo you ignore the noise when opportunity knocks?
I couldn’t help but notice two recent news stories relating to the prime Central London lettings market, published on the same day. Both pointed to brisk post-BREXIT business at the upper end of the capital’s rental market Knight Frank’s latest report showed that the number of tenancies agreed in August 2016 was actually the highest…
Read MoreToo busy to keep up with compliance?
How good are you at keeping up with lettings and property management compliance? If you’re heading up a small lettings agency or slim-line team of property managers, it’s easy for new laws and legislations to get overlooked. Don’t just take my word for it. The Fixflo Report 2016, which surveyed over 300 letting agents, found…
Read MoreThe real cost of expanding or diversifying your agency
The motto ‘speculate to accumulate’ is true – growing or diversifying to capitalise on market conditions is a great way of increasing profits and building a more secure business model. The whole idea of growth, however, is to increase profitability and not see any new income wiped out by set up costs and bigger overheads.…
Read MoreHave you got the time to keep in touch with tenants?
There’s a great article doing the rounds in lettings circles, offering property managers advice for keeping in touch with tenants. Forging a good relationship with people that live in the properties you manage is vital for the smooth running of the let. It will also please landlords, who are paying you to protect their asset…
Read MoreNot sure about lettings? Vote remain and gain!
Partnerships do come to an end, it’s only natural. Britain and the EU. Roy Hodgson and England. Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris (anyone?). But if you are thinking of ‘consciously uncoupling’ from lettings, think again. Many agents mulling over the idea of selling or closing their lettings division have gone on to reverse the thought…
Read MoreAgents beware: the need for speed could derail your rent
While a home mover would once be looking for an indoors toilet, central heating and perhaps double glazing as ‘must-haves’ on the moving list, today’s requirements are a little different. A swift commute and a quick broadband connection are two of today’s essentials but the speed at which both of these are executed are increasingly…
Read MorePost BREXIT blues and what next?
Never in my lifetime have I seen so much enthusiasm and passion for politics. BREXIT awoke the sleeping dog in almost all of us, with everyone from Richard Branson to John Barnes declaring their voting intentions in the run up to the referendum. Now the result is in, what next? The fact is no one…
Read MoreSummer survival guide for letting agents & property managers
Ah summer. The sound of ice cream vans and the waft of slightly burnt burgers filling the air. Across the lettings market however, the air just might be filled with expletives. The warmer months can often be the most challenging for letting agents and property managers for all sorts of reasons. Here is ARPM Outsourced…
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