lettings
Evolution in referencing
Times change. Once, when we had tape recorders,
telephones and typewriters, tenant references were a simple letter, written by someone who knew the tenant, maybe a previous landlord, maybe just a helpful friend. Now we have iPods, email and more technology than you can shake a stick at – referencing has had to change too.
Homelet, the largest supplier of
referencing to the UK lettings market, has seen the evolution and seen the writing on the wall for the coming few years – it’s going to get tougher folks. The new generation of
referencing and supporting insurances has been developed to meet the needs of today’s agents and landlords who need to be as confident as possible that the potential tenant has the stability, income and integrity to pay the rent and look after the property The bad news is that with the
best will in the world, the information in the reference is still only really a snapshot in time. So for total security, today’s landlords really need rental guarantees in place. These protect the payment of rent and much more besides, including the ultimate sanction, eviction. Read the PROPERTYdrum
exclusive interview with Heidi Abbott, Sales and Operations Director at Homelet, on page 40, to see what the products are and how they can help you and your landlords.
Heidi in
Rolodex days and today!
MARKeting
Transformation for London agent “We wanted our rebrand to
Coopers is an estate agency in Hillingdon, London. Trading very successfully since 1986, the directors decided that 2010 was the year for a new look – and what a new look! Coopers appointed MPL to
rebrand its Hillingdon office and to design its new Ruislip office, which opened in February 2010. David Sargent, Partner at Coopers, is a happy man; “When we decided to rebrand and redesign our office, we originally spoke to a number of companies, but MPL came across very professional and were very helpful with their design ideas. All the designed was bespoke, so we were able to create exactly what we wanted.
give us an even better profile and wanted to create something slightly different that stood us out from the crowd. MPL has helped us do this in different ways than we could have thought of. As a result of their services, we have created an enjoyable working environment, which as a result, has led to more positive customer and client feedback. I think everyone enjoys working within a nice environment and it has definitely increased our profile and given us a more modern and professional look, which in turn gives us an extra confidence with prospective clients and goes some way to
helping us win more business. With MPL’s design ideas, it was not just the office that was updated, as we were able to take what they have done and input it into all of our marketing products. “I would not hesitate to
recommend MPL as they were a pleasure to deal with from start to finish. MPL were always available to speak to, their work was carried out to fantastic standard and on time and their design ideas were so creative and innovative that we would simply not have thought of doing. Also, they recognised that every day you can’t open is costing you money, so their speed was greatly appreciated.”
MARKeting Sell houses… kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms too!
Some buyers just can’t bear living with someone else’s kitchen, or bathroom, or carpets but the
thought of all that refurbishment can put them off buying. Now there is a way to offer
properties that may need some work – with the work all done to the buyer’s specification, quickly and simply, within the agreed purchase price. JKM Property Solutions provides
estate agents with a new opportunity to offer all tired properties for sale as ‘new’ properties – buyers get to choose their own interior design as they would with a new build property, where specified. The service enhances the profile
of a property by offering it for sale with a range of fully guaranteed extras – maybe kitchen, bathroom, windows, complete redecoration – all included in the asking price.
The JKM Property Solutions service is available to anyone who is buying or selling in the UK. The firm will deal with all aspects of the marketing and sale of the property with the estate agent to ensure that the marketing contains details of all the extra key features. The seller decides a price they
are willing to accept for the property and JKM’s Partnership Director discusses what they can do to make the property more attractive. The Partnership Director fixes the (new) asking price for the property and works with the agent on the marketing of the property. A potential purchaser decides
on the changes and once the sale is agreed, the work is completed by JKM prior to the legal completion, with everything is ready for the day that the purchaser moves in. When the sale completes, the seller will receive the price agreed at the outset. Harry Hill, former CEO and Chairman of Countrywide is now
PROPERTYdrum FEBRUARY 2011 7
Chairman of JKM Property Solutions. Harry says, “I share JKM’s view that much of the UK housing stock is ‘tired’ and that a meaningful number would benefit by being restored when the home is sold. I was impressed by their desire to make a small profit on each transaction and be totally transparent with all parties through the process.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68