Landlord Guide
Why take our advice when letting your property?
Our Residential Lettings and Management Team has helped with the rental of every kind of home, from one-bedroom flats to country mansions. We’ve learnt a lot during the course of our 150 years in the property business, which we’re happy to share with our customers to give them the best possible let.
We take a traditional approach to service – being friendly, approachable and diligent helps. We’ve also got the modern technology to back it up, with our own internal data sharing and specialist systems to give landlords a better service. From the first appraisal, to marketing strategy and ongoing management, we understand how to let successfully.
Letting out your property
Once you instruct us to let your property, we’ll input the details and make them instantly available to all 19 of our local branches across Staffordshire, Cheshire, Shropshire and West Midlands, widening the search and increasing the chances of finding the best tenant. We approach your let with a proven system that we know works for our area:
- butters john bee takes your instruction to let
- We put up signage outside the property
- Your property appears across all 19 butters john bee branches
- We create a professional property brochure
- Tenants who meet your criteria are sent alerts
- We place your property on global Internet property sites
- We take viewings, note feedback and update you immediately
- A suitable tenant is found.
How to find the best tenant for your property
Finding the ideal tenant means asking the right questions, and using the best technology to profile your applicants. We are registered users of Blinc Referencing, one of the country’s most advanced screening specialists. This means we’re able to profile your tenants against all the most important factors when it comes to letting your home, including:
- Comprehensive credit check looking for CCJ’s, IVA’s and bankruptcies
- ID verification – checking UK and international passports, UK drivers licences and European ID cards to verify real documents
- Right to rent – confirming applicants right to rent status and correct documentation, international travel visa verification and Home Office reference number confirmation
- Bank account verification (checking registered addresses)
- Anti-Money Laundering and International financial sanctions search
- Mortality register fraud prevention check
- Land registry search for current UK homeowners
- Applicants possible linked addresses
- Alias name searches
- Employment references and income confirmation
- Residency references up to 3 years (where required)
Legal Insurance can be arranged as well as Buildings & contents Insurance. Please ask for further information.
Find out how much your property is worth using our free online property valuation tool. It takes less than a minute.
Safeguarding your deposits' and rental income
Two areas of letting that can cause problems for unprotected landlords are deposits and rent guarantees. Today, it’s the law that all deposits for Assured Short-hold Tenancies are covered by a Tenancy Deport Scheme. This protects the deposit in an independent and safe way. butters john bee is a member of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme and can manage all aspects of deposits for you.
If the worst ever happens, and your tenant is no longer able or willing to pay rent, then Rent Guarantee Insurance will cover the cost of unpaid rent and legal expenses. butters john bee can advise you on how to purchase and use Rent Guarantee Insurance.
Choosing the right letting service for your needs
Over the years, we’ve developed a specialised approach to the marketing, letting and management of properties. This means that we have a tiered system, with two different levels of service so you get exactly what you need at the best possible value.
Let Only
- We will inspect your property and agree an asking rent
- We market the property, find and introduce a potential tenant
- We process tenancy applications including residency, identity checks, employment checks and landlord references (where applicable)
- We will prepare the tenancy agreement
- We collect your deposit and forward it to your Deposit Protection Scheme.
Managed Services
- We take an inventory of the property before the lease begins
- We’ll liaise with all utility suppliers
- We can register and hold the deposit
- We’ll collect the rent and supply a statement at the end of an agreed period
- We can make payments directly to your bank account
- We’re able to monitor rent payments and alert you if a tenant falls behind
- We carry out interim inspections, organise repairs and settle the invoices
- Towards the end of the tenancy, we can arrange the renewal of tenancy agreements
- We’ll notify you when your tenants give notice to vacate
- We can arrange an end-of-tenancy inspection and agree any dilapidations with tenants
- We will keep you informed about works needed before the property is marketed again
- *Contact us for details of services that incur extra costs.
Making sure your property is always in great shape
It’s crucial that your property is always well managed. This guarantees you’ll always find the best tenants, and maximise your rental income. As soon as we inspect your property, we’ll advise you on how it can reach its full potential.
Firstly, we’ll make sure your property complies with safety and legislative requirements. This includes Energy Performance Certificates, gas, electrical and fire safety, furniture and furnishings regulations, and Landlord’s Building Insurance.
Secondly, we’ll prepare a comprehensive inventory at the start of the tenancy, which will include the condition of all fixtures, fittings, decoration and floor coverings. If you choose our Managed Services, we’ll also review the property for you before the tenant leaves and negotiate the costs of dilapidations with them before releasing the deposit. Those with our Managed Services can also ask us to carry out repairs and maintenance during the tenancy using your approved contractors, with your consent.
How to maximise your rental income
Maximising your rental income is a matter of finding the best tenants at the best rent, and reducing the amount of time your property is empty. That’s where an established firm with linked branches in the local area can offer you more. As soon as we know your tenant is leaving the property, we’ll get it back on the market right away across all our branches and begin the process of finding a new tenant without delay. We’ve found that our process can significantly reduce the time your property stands empty and therefore maximise your returns.
Tariff of charges
Click here to find out about our competitive rates for letting your property.