A survey conducted by a leading online letting agency will provide food for thought for many property investors with an interest in landlord insurance.
The survey suggests private landlords should conduct preliminary viewings of their properties with tenants themselves rather than leave it to agents. Online letting experts Upad questioned almost 400 tenants in private accommodation across the UK and found the assumption that tenants preferred to view their potential new home with a professional agent totally wrong. The survey revealed only 15% actively preferred an agent to a landlord while 53% stated a preference for the landlord.
It has long been thought that agents handled viewings better than landlords but the survey does suggest landlords looking for full occupancy in their portfolio may be better off finding time to conduct viewings personally.
James Davis, speaking for Upad, said “From our research, it appears that honesty and obtaining direct answers is of the utmost importance to potential tenants so it makes perfect sense for landlords to self-manage and hold viewings themselves. Landlords who are not doing this are simply missing out. The data speaks for itself and it’s important that UK landlords listen to what tenants want. By cutting out the middle man and dealing directly with tenants, landlords have full control, enabling them to build trust and secure long-lasting relationships with their tenants.”
Feedback from a number of tenants certainly suggests this to be the case with one saying: “Agents are probably more objective about the property they are showing but it is the landlord’s property and therefore he or she is more likely to know the finer details about the house rather than the agent who is simply there to do a job.” Another asserted: “I don’t believe agents are always truthful and because agents only care about the money I believe landlords are better – they actually care about keeping good tenants.”