Making Valuations Count.
October 22, 2014
“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.”
Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart
Property management should be a source of recurring revenue for your business, a stabiliser against market turbulence that affects the transactional sides of your business and a source of leads for transactions.
But do you really know what your property management clients really want?
In a survey of 2,951 landlords carried out by The Property Academy* the two greatest areas of concern to landlords were void periods and property damage.
Chart: What Is Your Current Primary Concern As A Landlord*
The ranking of concerns were consistent across intentional and accidental landlords albeit that accidental landlords are more concerned about property damage than intentional landlords.
Our recent Rental Repairs Survey indicates that landlords have good reason to be concerned about property damage with (on average) each managed rental property requiring 2.8 repairs per year.
The Fixflo Rental Repairs Survey also highlights that landlords are willing to walk away if their repairs expectations are not met with 56% of surveyed property managers knowing a landlord who switched letting agency due to a repair related issue.
The Silver Lining
Winning new instructions can be tricky as it’s hard to show how your service compares to that of your competitors without giving a landlord the chance to experience it.
Your marketing materials are the key to bridging that gap.
The Property Academy Survey* indicates that 87% of landlords read the literature provided by a letting agency when they valued their property.
As a landlord I have experienced a wide range in the quality and quantity of information provided by letting agents valuing my properties for rent.
The one constant, however, is that the marketing materials I received focused on the agency’s experience and credentials with very limited space being devoted to addressing my key concerns.
Critically reviewing and enhancing your marketing materials to address landlord concerns is your opportunity to win more instructions.
Void Periods
While your property management team may deliver a great service to tenants do you have anything you can point to in order to back up your claims.
Jungle Property in Glastonbury surveys each tenant every three months with one simple question: “On a scale of 1 – 10 how happy are you with your property and tenancy”.
This gives them the statistics they need to show landlords why they are the best choice for any prospective landlord in their area.
Property Damage
Small issues can become more severe (and costly) very quickly. Instead of saying that you have a responsive property management team can you show a landlord the processes and systems you have in place for tenants to report repairs quickly and easily?
Emergencies
The nightmare scenario for any landlord is that something major happens to their property. Use your marketing materials to highlight the information you give to every tenant to protect themselves and the landlord’s property if an emergency arises.
Commenting on the opportunity for letting agents, Nicky Stevenson of The Property Academy noted:
‘One of the key findings from our Landlord and Tenant Survey 2014 that we presented at Property Management LIVE was the differences in primary concern for the investor landlord and the non intentional landlord. It was also noted that communication and problem solving were the poorest rated aspects of customer service received by landlords and tenants from their managing agent. Knowing your landlords key concerns and how you can improve on your service is important to keeping your clients happy. For further insights and the full Landlord and Tenant Survey results, please visitwww.propertyacademy.co.uk/surveys“
*Data and chart included with the kind permission of The Property Academy
You May Also Enjoy
More than a third of homes undergo price reduction
The latest research from GetAgent.co.uk has revealed that more than a third (34.4%) of homes sold subject to contract (SSTC) across Britain’s major cities have undergone an asking price reduction, with this figure climbing to more than half in Bournemouth, raising questions over whether sellers, and their agents, are pricing their properties realistically when first…
Read More 
‘Explosion’ in e-signature use at Land Registry spells progress for homebuying reform
The number of e-signatures used at Land Registry has exploded in the latest quarter — jumping more than ten times in just three months to 643, Novus Strategy can reveal. Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES) are a central plank of the revolution unfolding in homebuying because they reduce friction and save time. It’s a combination of…
Read More 
The Flats Above the Shop Problem
Why residential property hidden inside commercial ownership keeps causing trouble By Adam Hills, Client Services Director, LRG Living Markets Somewhere in many commercial property portfolios sits a small collection of front doors that was never really part of the plan. Many large and small retailers inherit residential property portfolios by default as part of mixed-use…
Read More 
Breaking Property News 2/11/26
Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X. April 2027: The date Landlords become data companies From 6 April 2027 some landlords pay 4% more tax – but a bigger burden is the extra governmental red tape Thought leadership by Olivier Jauniaux Founder of NestLink There was a moment in the 2026 Budget speech…
Read More 
Buying Alone? What Solo Buyers Need to Know Before Making an Offer on a House
Figures show that solo buyers accounted for 36.9% of Barclays’ mortgage completions in June 2026, as more people chose to step onto the property ladder without a partner beside them. Choosing independence over waiting for a joint purchase has doubled over the last 50+ years, with solo first-time buyers doubling from 15% before 1980 to…
Read More 
How to Make a New-Build Living Room Feel Less Like a Show Home
An empty new-build living room can be surprisingly difficult to furnish. The walls are freshly painted, the sockets are in place, and there is nothing to remove before decorating begins. Yet once the sofa arrives, the room can still feel unsettled: too bare in some places, awkwardly crowded in others. The answer rarely involves buying…
Read More