Posts by ARPM
Too hot to handle? The summer ‘sickies’ damaging your business
We’ve had a tantalizing glimpse of summer, with soaring temperatures, the smell of barbeques and a few burnt bits among those determined to make the most of the May sun. While blue skies bring out flip flops and ice cream vans, it also brings out absenteeism – a major workplace scourge that peaks in the…
Read MoreDon’t plan a buy-to-let funeral – Build to Rent could actually herald a rebirth
Is buy-to-let an endangered species? Is it already extinct? Property investment activity has been gathering pace for some years but fears persist that we have passed the peak. Figures from Paragon issued in 2014 showed that the private rental market in 1994 contained ‘tens of thousands’ of landlords. Fast forward to today and there are…
Read MoreBlundered to death by the Budget: the plight of private landlords.
Is Chancellor George Osborne trying to kill off small private landlords? He’d already stuck the knife in by pre-releasing news of the extra 3% stamp duty levy on second property purchases but I feel the knife was well and truly twisted with the introduction of the Lifetime Isa. I’ll start with a thought about the…
Read MoreMind the (rental) gaps.
We know there is a gap in the rental market – a void that needs filling by more quality homes for private rent – but there’s an impending gap in the skills market too. With thousands of privately rented units being constructed across the country under the Build to Rent initiative, the demand for professional…
Read MoreProperty maintenance: weathering winter storms.
Abigail, Barney, Clodagh and Desmond – what the first four severe storms were called following the Met Office’s decision to give bad weather names. It’s another reminder of how our little island gets battered and bruised by Mother Nature. Inclement weather shouldn’t take us by surprise but as we enter the season of gales, snow, sub…
Read MoreProperty Managers: How much more are you expected to do?
The goalposts have shifted. An influx on new lettings laws introduced this October mean the role and remit of a property manager has changed yet again. While the Government want to make life for tenants and landlords more transparent, it becomes murkier and more complex for property managers. Even more rules to abide by and…
Read MoreSeeking new landlords? Look at both ends of the spectrum.
You’ll all be familiar with the phrase ‘generation rent’ but a new report from economists at accountancy firm PwC suggests that the rental market is set to thrive and actually grow over the next 25 years. The research even goes as far as suggesting that over half of under 40s will be living in properties…
Read MoreHow to get buyers and landlords queuing outside your door.
Just imagine the scene. Your team are poised behind their desks. At 9am on the dot, you open you branch door to a queue of people stretching down the street and around the corner. Perhaps 20, 30 even 40 eager buyers are waiting to willingly talk to you and dip their hands in their pockets.…
Read MoreThe lights are on but nobody’s home.
There are many different ways of looking after an empty property. Putting lights on timers, asking a neighbour to pop in and clear the post, nipping backwards and forwards to open the curtains at random times of the day. That’s all well and good if someone is going on holiday for a couple of weeks…
Read MoreDo you know your Murphy’s Law from your Black Swan?
If you’re a letting agency owner or property manager, you should be familiar with both of these terms. For those who need reminding or who don’t know, here’s what they mean. Murphy’s Law is an old adage that assumes that if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. The Black Swan theory, meanwhile, was…
Read MoreStick it! Will Labour’s lettings pledge trip Red Ed?
With less than 24 hours until the polls open, the burning question is ‘who will you vote for?’. In the lettings industry, it may come down to whether personal or professional interests are closest to your heart. It’s no secret that Labour – spearheaded by Ed Miliband – wants to turn the lettings market on…
Read MoreFlash the cash – a note of caution on upfront rental payments.
It used to be home buyers in Central London that bemoaned the cash power of the global elite – making offers on properties they coveted, bandying about sums way above the asking price and paying in cash. And who could blame the vendors for preferring the outright buyer who could move quickly over those trying…
Read MoreDon’t get slapdash when it comes to CVs.
Very rarely is there a time when agency owners aren’t on the lookout for good staff. Perhaps they are expanding; maybe the sales division is surging ahead plus there’s always resignations and retirements to cover. In lettings, the recruitment drive is almost exclusively for experienced, qualified staff that are familiar with the legalities and complex…
Read MoreAre mid-term inspections more important than tenant references?
If you are a lettings agent or property manager, you’ll be forgiven for feeling like a referee. Disputes between tenants and landlords are normally time consuming and complex, with a fall out that can sour relationships with everyone involved. The situation is not helped by a piece of new research by online letting agent PropertyLetByUs,…
Read MoreIs a hybrid estate agency around the corner?
Not even the fanciest of crystal balls has been able to predict the future of the property market but one thing is certain – the way people buy and sell property will change over the new few months and years. Already we have seen a big revolution in the way people search for property, with…
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