When it comes to letting your property in and around Darlington there is a vast choice of agents, all – on the surface at least – purposing to do the same thing! BUT there is far more to choosing an agent than just looking at the superficial promises and gloss. Scratc the surface and you will begin to see how and why we are so different and what we can offer you.
Having taken the time to really listen to what landlords want out of a property manager we can offer an expertly tailored package for management designed just for you to deliver a complete peace of mind. So what are our strengths:
Our team
Our individuality and strengths come from your very first interaction with our staff. We are all genuine in our love of property. We are enthusiastic, proactive, straight talking and interested in you. Our ability to speak to people informs and strengthens everything we do for you as a client. It ensures we are working to your expectations and ensures that we can deliver an exacting standard of service as there are no ambiguities.
Local expertise
Local information is vital in knowing the market. It affects pricing, maintenance, refurbishment and even marketing options. Local knowledge is key in knowing how to attract and secure tenants. Bellwood & Harris are well established having worked in and around Darlington for almost a decade building our local knowledge of the area and its residents that we use to your advantage.
A accurate, justified valuation of your property
We are experienced and knowledgeable about the local property market and have an array of “back-room” tools we use to give you an accurate valuation of your rental property backed up with comparables and an explanation of current market trends. We have taken the time to know what tenants value in a property, what we can highlight to achieve a great rental price and how to make sure your property is occupied – because it is only working for you when it is occupied!
The issue of correct valuation is paramount It is critical that you appoint an agent who not only has a track record of successful letting in the area (not just properties on the market) but also has a thorough working knowledge of current rental market activity, and who can interpret prevailing market trends to your advantage.
Marketing
One of our key strengths is in producing marketing materials that really sell your property. The rental market in Darlington is vigorous and competitive. Our descriptions seek to make the most of your property and highlight its strengths so as pull potential tenants in.
With over 80% of people looking to rent using the internet when looking for a property we are also media savvy – ensuring your property is promoted quickly and easily utilising the very best of online opportunities such as social media and portals but we also recognise the value of hard copy particulars and the good old fashioned postal service, paper based advertising and other avenues such as radio advertisements etc.
Our website is updated constantly during the day as are our large prominent windows along Yarm Road ensuring your property is advertised to best effect in the most timely manner.
We use eyecatching boards to promote your property 24/7 and have easy avenues for prospective tenants to book viewings maximising the potential for your property to be seen by the widest spectrum of people and let in the shortest time.
Viewings
We are enthusiastic about your property and it will show in our positive approach to showing your home. We offer flexible viewings from early morning to late night as well as weekends and holidays. Where possible we accompany all viewings – in some cases existing tenants will show potential tenants around. We use our viewings as an oppitnunity to talk to the your potential tenants, to develop a sense of their needs, wants and expectations, a sense of their suitability for the property and to probe and listen for the extra details that can help make your property stand out.
Following viewings we always provide prompt, constructive feedback to landlords so that we can work together to secure a let within the shortest timeframe possible.
Referencing
We fully reference and credit check every tenant. This information, combined with our knowledge of any prospective tenant enables us to come to you with an appropriate recommendation about the suitability of a tenant for your property.
Recognising the financial investment you have made in your property we want to secure the RIGHT tenant for your property – this includes looking at the likely length of tenancy, the referencing results of the applicant and other information –we will conduct visits to applicants existing property’s, utilise social media and also give you our own feedback on prospective tenants to ensure you can make the most informed decision.
Move in
Prior to move in we will discuss with you any and all requests by the tenants, liaise to have works undertaken and ensure all the necessary safety certificates are in place and undertake an inventory for you.
We ensure that your tenants acknowledge service of all necessary documents in line with current government guidelines – this includes the provision of various items of statutory information – such as the Government’s How to rent booklet, details on the bond scheme where a bond is taken and the Energy performance information of the property.
Whilst a dizzying array of documents landlords need to ensure all the correct information is issued to ensure that if required relevant notices can be served later during the tenancy and the tenant has no come back to you the landlord for issues that arise during tenancy.
Following move in we have a selection of services that we can offer – from a completely hassle free Full Management service to a purely advertise only option and everything in between. An overview of these services and they can offer you can be found here.
Communication
As you may have gathered from reading about us – we are big oin communication. We use any and all methods from traditional written letter, to email, social media and even skype to keep in touch with landlords and inform you of property feedback, work issues and any key developments in the tenancy we believe may be relevant to you.