New service offers savings for landlords

At a time when property investors are experiencing higher rental achievements than ever before, a new service set to be launched in January offers to save them even more cash when it comes to advertising their properties.

Movestart.co.uk is an online letting service which promises to be of interest to any property investor with a need for landlord insurance. The website is offering to advertise rental property for just £49 which includes a tenant referencing service in the price. The backers of the website believe the one-off price will see thousands of residential landlords advertise their properties with Movestart who say the properties will then go on to sites such as Zoopla and Rightmove.

Landlords will also be offered competitively priced services for all types of certification and Movestart are sure their service will be a hit. Peter Lamb, speaking on behalf of the owners, said “We took a look at the market and tried to develop a truly trail-blazing service. By combining tenant finding with tenant referencing, we can be certain that we are proposing the most suitable tenants for our clients’ properties at a fraction of the costs that are normally incurred.”

The pricing of the service will certainly compare favourably with those charged by local newspapers who expect a fee every seven days and it is roughly half the price that online agents already charge just for advertising a property. The question the website may have to address is just how big a market they have, because the current demand in the letting sector means many landlords do not need to advertise at all.

One person who is sure is Graham Kinnear from Landlord Assist. His company will be providing the tenant referencing and he said: “We are delighted to have been appointed by Movestart as the sole referencing provider for their online venture. Property marketing websites are predominantly aimed at homebuyers, so we are thrilled to see such a comprehensive portal launched for landlords looking to target new tenants.”