by admin
As one of many Bristol letting agents, I have seen many times the ebbing and flowing of the rented property market in Bristol. Surplus of property and not enough tenants, and the complete reversal of the situation.
We have been more fortunate than lots of northern cities, which saw massive expansion over the last 8 – 10 years Manchester and Birmingham being an example, with lots of purpose built flats being offered for rent. Bristol was somewhat behind in the mass development of inner city spaces. The credit crunch in rental terms has not hit us a much, infact, if at all. I feel sure numerous landlords out there will be grateful for that, we have been somewhat shielded from the competitive market of masses of purpose built flats, all looking and being similar in specification and size.
However, of the purpose built flats in Bristol, some developments have struggled to find tenants, or purchasers, and some developers have taken to offering large discounts to corporate buyers, some developers taking the direct route of offering out surplus apartments to rent via independent agents.
With the current market place, apparently now being in the landlords favour does not mean a prospective tenant will snatch YOUR particular hand off.
If you go and buy a new flat screen tv, do you shop on price, if so, what do you do when they virtually all offer the same. They all have the same channels showing the same programmes. Most then start to look at the deals on offer, and the features of the individual tv’s. We all want the best value for money, don’t we?
As technology has moved on, so has the rental market. We demand more of technology and tenants demand more for their money also when it comes to renting property.
So, if you have a flat in a modern development, and there are maybe 10 plus vacancies, what do you do? Quite frankly most Landlords just sit and wait for a prospective tenant. Not for a week but they wait weeks, just waiting for someone to take it. On average in Bristol the rent is somewhere in the region of £650 pcm for a one bed flat in good condition and in the right central location. So a void for a month (which is roughly 4 weeks) is not a long period, but its £650 down the drain. Never to be recovered.
So when competition is stiff and it’s every landlord for himself, what are we to do? You need to make your property, stand out from the crowd or at least the other vacancies in the block. Without reducing the rent.
A great way to convince the prospective tenant to pick your property over someone else’s is to entice them with incentives, or add on’s which in most cases either singularly or collectively won’t be more than the rent you would or have already lost. Plus one’s it in situ is their time and time again to use as an incentive to rent your property over someone else’s.
So let’s consider some options
Broadband Internet
I know a lot of landlords are starting to provide free broadband to their tenants. I personally think it’s a great incentive, but then again, I’m an absolute internet geek, so I would say that. Free internet to me is like a free pair of clip-on Spock ears to a Star Trek fan.
Anyhow, the internet is used by pretty much everyone these days, so it’s bound to be appreciated.
Digital TV
Much like the broadband incentive, providing a decent digital TV package is bound to make a few ears prick up. A package which includes the movie and sports channels are going to impress.
Bundle package: phoneline, digital and broadband
Companies like Virgin offer great package deals, where they provide a phone line, digital and broadband at very reasonable package price. The package deals often work out cheaper than getting individual services, and they definitely won’t go unnoticed if you mention it to your prospective tenants. It’s a big winner.
Provide white goods
White goods like a fridge-freezer and washing machine are pretty standard, even in unfurnished properties. But so many landlord don’t actually want to provide a washing machine, well in a house of 5/6 or 7 students one can understand since you can be sure it will be well used and in some cases abused. But in a one or two bedroom flat it’s just going to get normal use, certainly in a flat provide a combined condenser dryer/washer; it avoids the problems of mould at the end of a tenancy which is always a contentious issue. When it comes to Fridge Freezers, most people who rent have grown up with a Fridge Freezer, just like a shower, and I bet you as a landlord have a freezer in your home, so why do you think a tenant wouldn’t want one! For a one bedroom flat I am not saying a full half and half, but sure at the very least a fridge with an ice box. No tenant I have ever come across wants to lug a washing machine or Fridge Freezer around every time they move. Not having white goods does put prospective tenants off and you will lose a lot of interest. Suitable washing machine and Fridge Freezer certainly less than a month’s rent
Providing white goods are especially good because they’re reusable commodities. With good warranties they can last for years and roll over onto several tenants.
Include utility bills
If you can calculate how much the monthly utility bills (e.g. water, electricity, council tax and phone line) would approximately cost, you could add it onto the monthly rent and disclose that bills are included in your marketing campaign. I’ve found that it’s a great incentive for tenants because they’re able to budget their entire month, and the idea of being hassle free of bills is undeniably attractive. The key here is to get the best product rates on the market, so you can keep costs to a minimum. Low rent, with bills included, it’s a no-brainer. But I still prefer the other incentives first over this one.
Contents Insurance
Everyone loves security, and everyone feels happier knowing that their personal possessions are protected. Why not offer contents insurance as part of the deal? While you’re casually showing prospective tenants around, simply say, “oh, this entire property comes with contents insurance, so your items will be safe” But you do need to emphasis this as so many tenants think that the landlords insurance covers them anyway. Sadly they get a rude awakening if they get broken into. Since Buildings insurance doesn’t cover tenant’s contents.
It might impress your tenants, it might not, but it wouldn’t harm you trying to sell it. Moreover, your tenants may get the impression that you’re a genuinely caring landlord, everyone loves a caring landlord.
Remember, don’t actually purchase the contents insurance until your tenants sign the AST and pay their deposit.
One major tips is, Think before saying “NO”
Landlords are notorious for being shall we say, prudent, when it comes to spending money. So I am sure if you have managed to get this far in the article, your either deciding it makes sense, or you will soon be off to the bathroom to be sick, or take a long lie down on the bed, at the sheer thought of paying out for such little extras. But think of it this way, if you provide one or more of these incentives, it may mean having a vacant property for a lot less period of time. These incentives are actually investments, and good ways to secure tenants, which could ultimately be cheaper than being…cheap.
The main reason to use these incentives is to get people in the door and to occupy your vacant units. If you’re unable to attract tenants because of a slow rental market, maybe these ideas can help you to either bring in people who weren’t considering the unit in the first place or attract people deciding between someone else’s apartment and yours.
I have found these types of incentives to be very useful if the property is priced above the market, or is older and less desirable than the competition
as Igloolets.com. It is a common trait of Landlords to focus on the initial let, but it is more important to focus on what happens during the tenancy and in between lets. If you decide to have your property managed, ask how your agents plans ahead , will they communicate with the tenants or expect the tenant to communicate beyond the fixed term of the tenancy, to find out their intentions.
