grow O
Andrea Kirkby on how outsourced property management can free you to grow your business.
utsourcing has been the big trend of the last ten years and property management is no exception. An increasing number of property
management firms offer lettings agencies the opportunity to outsource their back office operations, freeing up their staff to focus on drumming up new business rather than dealing with the nitty-gritty of lease contracts or rent chasing. For instance Jenny Markham, founder
of The Letting Bureau, says, “I started this business because I saw a gap in the market for a company to provide all the back office services to people getting into lettings from a standing start. They can sell, get new business – and show people round the properties; we will do everything else.” Some outsourcing firms have grown to
a respectable size. ARPM now employs 20 full time staff in its Rickmansworth offices and another five people in its inventories business. Yet Simon Duce, its Managing Director, admits he got into the business by accident. “We started as Ash Lettings, doing the whole lettings job with front office as well, but within six months we had
JENNY MARKHAM LETTING BUREAU
Agencies can pick and choose, from our
toolbox, what actually suits their business and what is affordable within their budget.”
ended up doing more back office work for other people. I recognised a growing need in the business for really good back end support and we went on from there.” Outsourced property companies manage
what Simon Duce calls “the unglamorous end” of the business. He says, “We deal with the stuff that people don’t want to deal with. It’s a thankless task; no one ever rings up and says wow, thank you so much, you managed my property so well.” The range of services offered is diverse;
some offer a complete property management service, while others focus purely on administration. Rushbrook &
Rathbone, for example, deals with everything from the moment the negotiator receives an offer, including arranging for cleaning services, gas and electrical checks and repairs and maintenance. On the other hand Jenny Markham says The Letting Bureau doesn’t get involved in maintenance; “We don’t let properties, we don’t do inventories and we don’t do maintenance. We do everything else.” Within that range of services, she says,
“agencies can pick and choose out of our toolbox, what actually suits their business and what is affordable within their budget.”
PROPERTYdrum JANUARY 2011 55
Freedom to
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