When you have a property and have decided to Let, this is the time to call you chosen local letting agent to visit the property. This is known in the industry as the Market Appraisal though some agents still call this a valuation. Technically this is not correct as a Lettings Valuation would simply indicate giving a suggested price which would not provide a Landlord with enough information to make informed decisions about letting on its own.
An agent should be able to provide you a rental price based on their opinion of the property, their experience of what has let recently in the area and in some cases as a mathematical calculation of the return on investment. The latter being not necessarily the correct way to price a property on its own merits.
As part of the process in determining what price to put the property on the market, an agent should be able to show you some comparables of what they have let in the area recently. They should be able to clearly indicate the condition and presentation of the property, what it went on the market and what it finally let at, the term of the tenancy and the caliber of tenant it attracted. A good Lettings professional will walk through the property with you and make suggestions. A little repaint here and there or new carpet could make a huge difference. Most people rely on their senses, Smell, Sight, Touch, Hearing and make “gut” feeling impressions based on this. If you have pets or smoke, the smell may be off putting, if the property has noticeable defects or falls down in some areas on presentation then it may give the impression of being well maintained likewise if surfaces are sticky or grubby to touch. Finally if the property is situated by a busy road or rail line and is noisy this may reduce a possible valuation. All these things need to be taken into consideration when making suggestions to enable the Landlord achieve the best rental possible.
The Lettings professional should then discuss with you what you want or need to achieve. If expectation and reality are poles apart the Letting Agent should be able to make suggestions to close the gap. This may depend on whether you have borrowing by means of a mortgage on the property.
Whilst it may be tempting to go with the highest price valuation, it’s important to get good justification from the agent as to how achievable the valuation is. Price the property incorrectly and you could waste weeks or months waiting for the right tenants to come along and end up accepting a lower than expected rental in the end. Once the void period is calculated as lost rental, nine times out of ten the Landlord would have been better letting the property a month earlier at the lower rental than waiting for the higher figure. Over-valuing is a well known trick that some more unscrupulous letting agents use to “win the instruction” as once you are in a sole agency agreement they can work on getting offers and eventually negotiate a lower price. When choosing your letting agent, price should only be one factor in the decision making process as the whole relationship with the letting agent should be considered with the view to this being a long lasting relationship based on mutual trust and respect.
SurreyLets director, Sally Asling believes that ensuring a new Landlord is supplied with all the information regarding letting their property in Surrey. Sally Says “On a market appraisal I would typically start with a walk through making notes of any defects that may need to be put right before letting. I look for issues that may fall under health and safety for lettings or for things that may cause a problem with any current legislation. Its amazing how many properties have potentially hazardous defects! After explaining this to the prospective Landlord we shall then typically move on the tenant they are likely to attract and I demonstrate comparitable property in the area. We discuss how the property should be presented and how best to market the property and what timescales should be expected. We talk about a realistic achievable price and the on the market price, along with insurances that can leave Landlords fully protected”
If you are thinking of letting your property in the Surrey area, Sally would be delighted to hear from you. SurreyLets can be contacted on 01483 282470 or by mailing info@surreyletsonline.co.uk
