“We take a pretty dim view of outsourcing,” said Marc von Grundherr, Lettings Director at London-based Benham & Reeves. “Yes, it’s cheaper, but a good local agent who is on the ground is often far more effective than a management factory.”

Von Grundherr said that he prefers to use an in-house managing agent as they can physically visit a property to check the status of the home, assess what needs doing in person and ensure the right person for the job is hired.

“Outsourcing is cheaper, but a good local agent who is on the ground is often far more effective than a management factory.” Marc von Grundherr Benham & Reeves

“We recently had an instance where a shower was leaking quite badly,” he added. “To call a plumber to sort it out could have cost the landlord hundreds. Our property manager went round, took one look at it and recognised that one of the door seals were cut too short. She popped to a DIY shop, bought a new strip for 50p and popped it on. I doubt an outsourced property management firm with a call centre up in Glasgow, for example, would have been able to do the same.”

To some, the prospect of earning a property management fee of around five per cent in addition to their standard letting fee will appeal; but this could prove costly too, not to mention time-consuming – how many agents have the spare time to pop to a DIY shop on behalf of their landlords?

Sarah Rushbrook of Rushbrook & Rathbone commented, “Today’s market environment leaves many agents vulnerable. Legislation is complicated and punitive, and a small agency cannot afford in these times to make even one mistake, but employing full-time trained staff specifically to deal with legal documents and rent collection is often not viable.

“Using a specialist partner to outsource tenancy documentation and, if required, property management, can help deliver a first-class service without risking legal repercussions.”

“It is vital, especially as the market improves, that agents manage their increased workload efficiently,” said Ben Robinson, Head of Agency at ETSOS. “Although in times of austerity it often seems to make economic sense to have staff covering all jobs in reality this detracts them from the tasks that make agents money.”

He continued, “As the market improves this  distraction just increases and focus on the core elements is lost. Outsourcing is the low risk approach to managing these ancillary
tasks. There are no fixed costs to take on, you only pay for what you use, and you have a
specialist delivering the service allowing your staff to refocus on the core, money making
activities in confidence.”

Telephone calls

To illustrate just how busy some letting – and estate – agents currently are, in light of a highly active housing market, analysts only need to take a glance at how industrious
some call centres are.

Moneypenny, for instance, which has a dedicated property team answering telephone calls for agents, has recently seen a surge in demand.

On the first two Mondays of March alone Moneypenny, which supports over 800 agents across the UK and handles around 1.1 million overflow calls annually, saw 19 and 21 per cent rises in calls taken over the corresponding Mondays in February. Moneypenny has added two new property-dedicated teams to cope with higher demand.

“Agents take their calls when they can in-house but when they are unable to, Moneypenny Receptionists are right behind them ensuring they are capturing every call and not missing a single opportunity, whether it be a valuation, viewing, tenant query or buyer or rental offer,” said Samantha Jones, Commercial Manager Corporate and Property at Moneypenny. 

She explained, “We take general details from callers and find out their requirements thereby reducing the workload for agents and can give out information when appropriate, for example property details, emergency maintenance numbers, the numbers of emergency contractors and so on. For many agents we extend their virtual opening hours by taking calls from 8am to 8pm and at weekends.”

EPCs

Energy efficiency, which is becoming increasingly important for many people as the cost of energy rises, is another issue that more landlords, letting and property management agents must address and seek expert help with, especially as more tenants are set to become more selective about rental properties.

Despite the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) in 2008, many homes still rank poorly when it comes to energy efficiency, costing tenants money in higher energy bills in the process.

But landlords who fail to improve the energy rating of their property moving forward could soon find themselves losing rental income, which in turn would adversely impact of on a letting agent’s earnings from that client.

“In 2018 landlords or their agents will not be able to let a property unless it has a rating
of an E or higher,” said David Brierley of Evolve. “Agents need to take steps to ensure
that properties under their management do comply or make plans for those that don’t.”

“It is vital, as the market improves, that agents manage their increased workload  efficiently, Outsourcing is the low cost approach.” Ben Robinson ETSOS

Whether booking in EPCs, arranging for inventories to be undertaken, providing adequate property management or simply ensuring that all calls – possibly from prospective tenants – are answered, are all part and parcel of providing your landlord clients with a professional letting service, enhancing your letting agency’s reputation and potentially winning more business in the process.

Therefore if in doubt, source it out!

Contacts:
Rushbrook & Rathbone www.rushbrookrathbone.co.uk
LetCheck Inventories www.letcheck.net
ETSOS www.etsos.co.uk
Evolve www.evolvepartnership.co.uk
Moneypenny www.moneypenny.co.uk
Barton Wyatt www.bartonwyatt.co.uk
Rentify www.rentify.com
Benham & Reeves www.brlets.co.uk