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
London land commands £105,213 per acre
The latest research from LandSale, the new property portal dedicated to land and rural property, has found that land in London commands an estimated average value of £105,213 per acre, almost eight times higher than the British average of £13,281 and higher than every other British region. This premium is being driven by a severe lack…
Read More 
77% of homebuyers seek homes requiring no work
The latest research from Yopa has found that 77% of homebuyers who have purchased within the last year were looking for a property requiring little or no work, highlighting the importance of presenting a market-ready home in current conditions where buyers are harder to come by than they were a year ago. Yopa commissioned a…
Read More 
Riskiest Places to Purchase Property in England
Cash House Buyer Sell House Fast has revealed the riskiest places to buy and sell property in England, based on factors such as crime rates, flood risk, air pollution levels, road collision rates, and coastal erosion risk. The 5 riskiest places for buying and selling property in England: 1 – North East Lincolnshire (Overall Risk…
Read More 
House prices steady in May despite broader market uncertainty
The latest Halifax House Price Index for May 2026 shows that: House prices fell by -0.1% between April 2026 and May 2026. This marks the second consecutive month of marginal monthly decline. Annual house price growth increased slightly to 0.5% in May 2026, up from 0.4% in April 2026. The average UK house price now…
Read More 
Halifax House Price Index – May 2026
House prices steady in May despite broader market uncertainty. House prices edged down -0.1% in May, following a similar -0.1% fall in April Average property price now £298,806, compared with £299,251 in April Annual growth up slightly to +0.5%, from +0.4% in April Northern Ireland continues to record the UK’s strongest annual growth at +7.8%…
Read More 
More mortgage borrowers turning to shorter-term fixes
Borrowers are increasingly turning to shorter-term fixed-rate mortgages in response to higher rates, new analysis of mortgage search activity on Moneyfactscompare.co.uk has found. The share of Moneyfactscompare.co.uk website users comparing two-year fixed-rate mortgages increased from 48.4% in February to 55.6% in May, while demand for five-year fixed deals fell from 27.7% to 21.8% over the…
Read More