Hi,
I am a first-time landlord and finding it difficult to get any interest for my property. Comparable properties are listed by estate agents slightly above mine (£1775/pm). Mine is pet-friendly, parking included, etc.
This is my property. It’s on Rightmove, Zoopla and other portals included through OpenRent.
Not sure if the main issue is pricing, this is what I am starting to think really.
Any feedback much appreciated!
Looks like a nice flat and pictures are OK. At that price point, £25 won’t make much difference. How many similar properties are listed currently and how long have they been on for.
If you’re going to drop price, £1699 looks significantly different even though it’s only 4.3% cheaper.
Set up an alert on rightmove to look for comparable rental properties in your area. That’ll give you an idea of how fluid the market is.
looking on rightmove there are 10 1bed flats advertised in IG10, several at 1350-1450pcm
There’s a 2bed [same floor area as yours] at 1600pcm 1 bedroom apartment for rent in Willingale Road, Loughton, IG10 - this has a separate decent size kitchen too - so why would somebody pay 1750 for a 1 bed
floorplan suggests various storage rather than living space - your photos dont make it seem at all spacious either not helped by dark walls which arent everybody’s taste - try using a wide angle, and letting the light in
get some local agents to value it for you
good luck
Thank you! Yes, I was thinking of dropping to £1675 to make it more competitive. The other two similar properties have been there since 19th of May and 2nd of June, just £25/pm higher.
Thank you! Very helpful points on letting the light in and show it as it is really a very bright apartment and the pics don’t do much justice to it in retrospect.
19th of May is a red flag. Two months indicates that price is entirely unrealistic or there’s something seriously wrong with it. 2nd of June indicates that they’ve not been overwhelmed by demand.
Unless you’re very familiar with the market over time in your area, then it’s usually not good practice to simply match the highest listings. Just cos something’s on the shelf for a particular price doesn’t mean it’s actually worth that price.
Ps better to say how far (km or time average speed in google) not 'within walking distance ’ - if you dont say then people may well assume it’s not near
-for some people walking distance could be a mile or more
That’s very good feedback, I’ve reduced the price to make it more competitive now based on other properties I am seeing in the area, their age and what they offer additionally.
Thank you for that, I did not stop to think about it! I’ve been more explicit about distances to tube stations and the gym which is a 3-min walk! Appreciate your help.
With 10 similar properties to rent at various figures you will have a struggle to get yours tenanted in a reasonable timescale unless yours is the best condition and location and facilities.
get a few local agents to give you their opinions of a suitable rent to fill quickly and discuss their terms.
Open Rent is great when you have some experience of being a self managing LL and happy vetting prospective tenants.
Unless there are compelling reasons not to use an Agent and only to use Open Rent. Just some thoughts ?
Best
Thank you Ray. I would like to avoid EA if I can, the reason is it will eat too much into my profit. I would be already at a loss due to service charge by renting at the current price. Hence it will eat even more and make it quite hard. Selling is not an option at the moment either at least for a few years due to market values that have gone down and a quite hefty ERC if I was to sell now.
I have improved the lightning in my ad pictures, but not getting much interest yet. Other similar properties have been let in the past few months for even slightly higher than mine. I guess my best bet may be to wait for 2-3 more weeks and if not let then I’ll have to go down the EA route. But I also like to feel in control and meet/choose my own tenants due to the new RRA as well. I trust my gut more than relying on EA without meeting my tenants. Hope this makes sense.
The LESS PROMOTED offering from an EA is ‘tenant find’ for a fee of around the 1st months rent or so, depending on location. If its in the South East / London they like to charge more cos the rent is more. Thats it. You will need a valid EPC, EICR and Gas Safety.
You do not have to have an ongoing monthly relationship with them. The EA will do all the leg work and present to you suitable tenants, vetted and referenced. you can agree to them or not and meet them if you so wish. As long as the rent level is appropriate and accurate to the property - you should get solid worthwhile interest.
I have done all three arrangements in the past. Full management by an EA, Just Tenant find service for a single one off fee with my local EA, and now Open Rent.
I recently rented a house in the East Midlands and the Tenant find fee was about 50% of the 1st months rent. Referencing was £35 per person on top. It took 3 weeks to sift and find working professional tenants with a very high monthly joint income. Moved in 2 weeks later.
They are great tenants - a couple, both working in the area having relocated for a job change.
Good luck
Get valuations and advice from local EAs on price (some will overvalue to try to get your business) and anything else putting people off
Get costs from EAs for tenant find only service and consider it. They will get others looking in neighboring areas who hadn’t considered your postcode etc
Remember void cost is way more than any small reduction in monthly rent
Good luck