Management is more than just collecting the monthly rent which seems to be perceived by most property owners. Quite often when we take over a new property on behalf of a client who has been managing it themselves or have just purchased a new property, we find gaping holes in the costs that should of been charged and in most cases rental arrears.
Many owners forget to charge CPI increases annually, or do not collect the correct or exact amount of outgoings, i.e. they do not read their lease and some charges are completely omitted. In other cases tenants get themselves behind by not paying their outgoings and the owners find it too hard to keep battling with their tenants and often build up relationships that make it difficult to put pressure on them to keep the rent and outgoings up to date.
The screening process of new tenants is very thorough. Each tenant is required to complete an application giving references of previous tenancies and trade references as well as a statement of asset and liabilities, and where required, bank statements. Some tenants prefer to supply references from their accountants. Once references have been thoroughly checked, we refer the information onto the Landlord along with our comments and recommendations. When tenants are approved by the Landlord, we require a deposit from the tenant as a sign of good faith before proceeding with lease preparation.
The Lease Advise Notes are sent to all parties and their solicitors advising of the terms and conditions of the new lease. Once the lease has been signed we assist the tenant with the settling in process of their new premises. If fit out is required by the tenant, we liaise with them as to access times to the premises so as not to disturb other tenants in the property.