Is there any means of marking that a person failed to attend the booked appointment to view?
I had doubts about the person - and was not surprised when she didn’t turn up, but it’s annoying to have it show as though they did attend.
It would be worth having a feedback on applicants that book appointments and fail to show to save other people wasting their time.
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some little chance of that
Thanks Colin, we are new to sourcing our own tenants, and have been surprised that two prospective tenants have wanted to send relatives to view rather than coming themselves. What would other landlords do when this is requested? I am edgy about it, as we would want to meet with the prospective tenant to establish their requirements and to verify their ID before commencing referencing. Are we being unreasonable in asking that the potential tenant comes to view it themselves?
If they want someone else to view it. DO NOT entertain them at all . It is a red flag . You MUST personally interview the prospective tenants. Why would a person not want to see the place where they want to live. It is crazy.
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I agree! this would be a good feature.
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I always insist on meeting the tenant. Relatives would not be acceptable. I like to talk to them and get a feel for them then When I feel comfortable with them I do the referencing and on passing back it up with a rent guarantee policy.
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Hi Kim
i personal find the best way is to arrange 1 date for viewings and book as many 20 min slots in that day that suits your self. there will always be timewasters unfortunately but at least if one doesn’t turn up you have a few more that hopefully will whilst your there so as to not make a totally wasted trip… yes it can be frustrating… also never entertain anyone that doesn’t want to view the property themselves. you want to see the client yourselves as its good for your initial instincts… it they don’t see to be the perfect tenant at first instinct forget it, the right one will come along soon enough… and always do all background / financial checks to make sure they really are what they seem… a lot seem the perfect tenant and end up been bankrupt. bad debt non payers etc. be as thorough as you can… 
good luck in your new venture
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Thanks to you all for confirming my own thoughts that I wanted to see the potential tenant in person. We seem to have found a perfect tenant who was both very likable when we met, and passed the comprehensive referencing. I filtered a few dubious applicants (people who didn’t put their full name or put a name which appeared to be contrived) by sending a set of additional questions to answer before booking the appointment, that cleared six people off the list straight away as 5 didn’t come back requesting a day for the viewing, and one who was already booked but I had doubts about FTA’d after having the additional questions sent. Best advice to anyone advertising is not to feel rushed into accepting someone. When we advertised through a very expensive letting agent for a previous property they were quite happy to accept someone living with mum and dad, with a debt relief order for not paying Gym membership - they seemed surprised when I said an emphatic NO and asked me why! Using open rent has been a learning curve but once we were more confident in asking for more information it made our own lives much easier. I like getting to see the prospective tenants and very much like not having a fee costing hundreds of pounds to have someone else make the choice. We will definitely use again in the future.
We always insist upon confirmation from a viewer 30 mins before the appointment. Even so, we’ve still had people not show up after this call, unbelievable!
What annoys me is that most no shows don’t have the common courtesy to call and cancel the appointment.
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glad to hear you are on track letting agents don’t care if someone doesn’t pay you or smashes up you houses they just want quick commission!! stay well away. your doing the right thing good luck in your new venture
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Guess we have to view it as a lucky escape, better that they don’t turn up, than end up being a terrible tenant
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30% of prospects dont turn up in my experience, that is why i block viewings together at 20 min intervals.
others viewing on someones behalf is a waste of time. if the decision maker isnt there maybe fit them in around others as they are just screening.
ask yourself would you rent a flat you hadnt seen. sometimes i have viewed other flats in an area to see if i am charging the right amount
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Good idea to view other flats, but when you make an appointment to view or they ask for a reference before a viewing ,what do you say then as you are not going to rent it? Where do you find the time to do this? I hardly have time to eat !
I found asking additional questions and making clear that we would be seeking references resulted in some of the applicants not coming back to me, so reduced the number of no shows as they didn’t get an appointment in the first place.
this was when i was starting out and wanted to learn the market i dont do it now. as this LL was new it can be useful.
at 73 why keep so busy, do you really want to be the richest man in the graveyard? a friend said that to me and we started selling and spending more, in fact last year is the first year i have ever spent more than i had earned. it felt good
Its about giving my money to the kids and stopping the goverment getting it . i also like working ,meeting different people, new challenges