What are the advantages of using Online Letting Agents?
An online letting agency helps to promote, sell and manage rental properties just as an estate agent would but their model is very different from a traditional estate agency. Online letting agencies typically don’t have a physical high street shop front presence but instead utilise smart technology to help fulfill their client’s needs. There are a range of advantages to using an online letting agency including:
Cost and Transparency
The most notable advantage is the cost. As an online letting agent doesn’t need to pay rent for high street premises, they can give this cost-saving back to the customer. Traditional letting agencies typically charge between 8-20% of the property’s rental value for property management services. An online letting agency will charge only a fraction of this. The prices are also often flat, fixed charges that are advertised on their website so you’ll know exactly what you’re paying each month.
Due to the fixed-price format, there is a lot more transparency with an online letting agency. If there are additional costs for repairs and maintenance, these will be identified to the client and you know exactly what you’re paying for.
Always On
Online letting agents aren’t just a 9/5 business. The internet and proptech mean that an online letting agency is open all the time. As properties are advertised online, buyers and renters can see your property at any time. Online letting agencies may also have apps where you can raise an issue rather than waiting for someone to pick this up the next day when they’re back at their desk.
Control
Often online letting agencies can give landlords more control throughout the letting process and help them to self-manage a lot of the property management life cycle. Some online letting agencies have online platforms where landlords can advertise their own properties across a range of key websites, arrange their own viewings and self-manage the rent collection too.
Flexible service
Landlords only need to pay for what they need. Online letting agencies enable landlords to pick and choose the services they need rather than a one size fits all format. Online letting agencies will also help all types of landlords by either providing the tools to help landlords self-manage or offer a full end to end property management for those landlords who want to be completely hands-off. An online letting agency can still have dedicated account managers and maintenance teams to help deal with any issues that arise with tenants or your property and will only be at the end of a phone or an email away. You may not physically go into an estate agency to speak to your account manager so the communication is no different if you’re with an online letting agency.
Dynamic
Online letting agents are the driving force behind the technological innovations that help to give landlords a platform to let their property. They’re always innovating and helping to find solutions to landlords’ pain points rather than continuing with an outdated model that often doesn’t fit a landlord’s needs.
Calum Brannan CEO of online letting agency Howsy says that “landlords and tenants are fed up with the cost, service and inefficiency of the traditional letting agency model and says “It’s a model that simply isn’t working. The market needs to be shaken up.”
Online letting agencies mix the best in technology and service to create bespoke services for each different type of landlord, whether they’re an accidental landlord, a D.I.Y landlord, or a professional landlord with a large buy to let portfolio.
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