The Landlords Letting Company

26 February 2014

New Website Live

We launched our new website in February 2014 and it can be found on the following link:-

www.landlordslettingcompany.co.uk

We have continued to grow to be one of the largest letting agents in Talbot Green.

We have also expanded the area we cover in the north east,. not only do we operate as a letting agent in Caerphilly we also now operate as a letting agent in Sirhowy Valley and as a letting agent in Rhymney Valley.

We also continue to operate as a letting agent in Rhondda Cynon Taff and where our portfolio has continued to see fantastic growth during 2013.

A concerted effort it also being made into growing our portfolio of managed properties in the Bridgend area, we have been operating as a letting agent in Bridgend for some time but only boast a modest amount of properties in that location.

One area where we are considering opening another office is Cardiff. Although we have a number of properties in and around Cardiff it is such a small amount of the market. Certainly to operate as a letting agent in Cardiff it would make a huge difference to the speed at which our business in that area would grow.

26 April 2010

Our website takes another step forward!

10 February 2010

It’s all about multiple Agents!!!!

For some time it’s all been about getting as many letting agents and estate agents on board in competition to rent your property.

We at The Landlords Letting Company have avoided this business with a barge pole.

The reason for this is generally the majority of our landlords are with us on a full management basis. The last thing needed when you are committing to looking after a landlords property is a bad tenant.

A study of over 200 of our properties has shown that tenant find only tenants found on a joint agency basis very rarely stay longer than the 6 month AST. This is down to many reasons but the main three are:-

38% due to rent arrears
24% due to other issues with tenants
19% were only looking for a short tenancy

The main point to note is that all three of the above issues can be minimised just by not selecting the first tenant that passes the basic criteria. When you are in a joint agency agreement your are basically in a race to tenant the property prior to the other agent. Difficulty arises here as if you reject a certain tenant for any reason they will 100% of the time attempt to rent the same property again through the other agent marketing the property.

Generally joint agency is a nightmare for the agents, generally joint agency is bad news for landlords, so why do we continue to run business like this?

While we continue to attempt to educate landlords on the benefit of single agency we have decided to offer joint agency on “tenant find only” we will NOT offer joint agency on managed properties and have no intention of changing that in the future. We are also now maintaining a head to head league table.

The only explanation can be that landlords are so concerned about voids that desperation kicks in. This is the worst move a landlord can make.

I will end with one simple question what would your choice be?

A) Three month void while a single agent searches for a suitable long term tenant is found resulting in a longer tenancy with less probability of arrears or any other issues.
B) 3 Week void as three agents fight to tenant your property, nearly 4 out of 10 of these tenants will have arrears, 2 will cause other issues and nearly two will only have wanted the property for 6 months and had no intention of extending past that.

19 January 2010

Great start to 2010

Are the times ahead rosy for property investors in South Wales?

Property prices are at very reasonable prices when the current rental figures are taken into account.

From the Rhondda Valleys where three bedroom properties can be purchased in rentable condition for around 40-50K mark with rental incomes of £90-£95 p/c/w, all the way to Cardiff where two bedroom properties are being snapped up for around the 100K mark with rental figures up to £550 p/c/m, there seems to be plenty of choice for investors.

We are frequently passed BMV deals in some cases in excess of 30% with the norm around 15%. The rental figures are also stacking up with returns on investment into the high teens giving most professional investors all the indicators that now is the time to buy.

To put a so called cherry on top, there seems to be an abundance of tenants around especially in certain areas and for certain properties. We at The Landlords Letting Company Ltd have had the busiest January in our history, add to that historically February and March are our busiest times of the year I envisage an excellent start to 2010 for the majority involved in property.

In summary excellent times ahead for the short term at least!!!!

19 December 2009

Merry Christmas

We at The Landlords Letting Company would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

8 December 2009

The state of the market!!!

For some time we have seen a buyer’s market with vendors offering discounts off the original market appraisal given by Estate Agents.

Things appear to be turning with news of a 5th consecutive month of house price growth.

While discounts of 15-20% BMV (below market value) are still obtainable in some quarters, this market, to some extent, is cornered by Landlords who have been able to weather the storm and generate funding in this tough economic climate.

It’s great news for Letting agents with further stock being made available into an already healthy market place. There are a number of landlords who are in such a healthy cash flow position that they are increasing their portfolios on a monthly basis.

There seems to be more letting agents per square mile in South Wales now than there ever has been. To be honest there is enough of a market to sustain us all and with an anticipated growth over the foreseeable future, things in the industry seem rosy for now.

How long before the bubble loses some air again? I’m not sure as the mirage of a healthy market is once again due to the lower end of the market being propped up by landlords. If the bank base rate changes drastically would we see another slump or would the first time buyers step into the breach?

Questions, Questions, all I can say with confidence is that we will see growth in this industry for the next 12 months at least. Furthermore I predict we will see the largest growth in lettings during the next 12 months than over recent years. Due to the market conditions I also anticipate the demand for two bedroom properties to soar, as the first time buyers are once again pushed back down the pecking order. The task faced by first time buyers, initially raising adequate deposits and adequate mortgage finance to fund their first step on the property ladder today seems that one small step for man and one giant leap for future financial stability to far.

With this in mind landlords are quietly purchasing these two bedrooms and finding tenants really is not the issue, we currently have a ridiculous list of tenants looking for two bedroom houses and flats in all areas. The great news is that when the market does eventually start to move again, it is normally the lower end of the market that sees the benefits of capital appreciation first.

Great times to be involved in property!!!!