Landlord Process

So you have decided to let your property! To get started, you can complete the ‘arrange a valuation’ from this website or contact us to make an appointment for your marketing appraisal and rental valuation. We provide this FREE with no obligation to the current property owner. It allows you to take advantage of our specialist and professional lettings advice - essential if you want to maximise the return on your rental investment.

We have many years’ experience of your local rental market and can advise you on how to prepare your property for your chosen tenant market, whether this is for professional or company lets, families or students and furnished or unfurnished.

We accompany everyone who views your property to ensure that it is presented to them in the most effective and desirable way, whatever their specific needs, and to be on hand to answer any questions that they may have about renting your property. You should make sure that the property is fully cleaned and any repair works are complete before viewings take place. Further items such as property and appliance manuals being in view, keys working correctly, doors and windows opening and locking correctly will help to reassure potential tenants that your property is well looked after and provide the maximum opportunity to let the property quickly and at the best rental. An empty property (or ‘void’ as it is known) is not producing any income!

When a viewer wants to make an offer to rent the property we will contact you to confirm the details and any specific requirements. We agree these provisionally ‘subject to contract’ before we progress an application. The provisional details will include the rent payable, tenancy deposit due, planned start date, duration of the letting and any special requests or terms together with brief details of the prospective tenant’s current employment.

All prospective tenants must fully complete a reference application via our preferred 3rd party referencing company who will confirm their current employment status, credit history and landlord reference. Additional enquires will be made if required from former employers and landlords and a personal referee.

As a landlord you have certain legal obligations to provide certificates confirming the safety of your property such as gas and electrical certificates, which we are here to help you obtain if needed.

We will arrange to receive the first rent payment before the start of tenancy and, if we are managing the property the rent thereafter, monthly on the same day of the month. Otherwise we will arrange for a standing order to be set up from the tenants direct to you.

We will arrange to collect a tenancy deposit when your tenant signs the tenancy agreement and before the actual start of the tenancy. We will agree the amount of this deposit with you when we take instructions to market your property and unless managed by Alex Marks you are required by law register the tenancy deposit with your selected deposit scheme.

We will contact you to arrange the signing of the tenancy agreement and all other tenancy documentation.

Once all the tenancy administration arrangements are complete, we will let your new tenants know that the keys are ready for collection. This is usually by prior appointment to meet at our offices or if requested arranged via our inventory clerk upon checking the tenants into the property.