A high street agent has launched a new company designed to help landlords across the UK let their homes privately.
Jane Morris, pictured, who runs Warwickshire estate agency Longshoot Properties, has established a websit, www.propertyletbyus.com
The new service calls itself an online letting agent. It charges £49 and offers private landlords access to Rightmove, Zoopla and PrimeLocation.
Morris said: “Longshoot has been established for 15 years and we have developed a very strong reputation and have built up great experience in the industry.
“There will always be landlords who want and require a full service from agents such as Longshoot, but there are many out there, particularly now with the web, who want to rent their property privately.
“That is where the new business comes in, because private landlords are unable to get their properties listed on the key websites, but for a small fee they can register the home with us and it will be featured on all the major sites for six months.
“Traditional methods of advertising – such as boards, newspaper advertising and window ads – all remain an integral part of any agency’s marketing strategy.
“But you have to tailor the service you offer to the needs of the individual client and we have seen some major players in London and around the UK offering this kind of facility and we believe we are the first company in the Warwickshire area to launch a company like this.
“There are additional services that we can offer and it was vital that we stayed ahead of the trend and we are confident it will be a very popular site among landlords.
“Our roots are here in north Warwickshire and the Midlands so we anticipate our early business will be with clients in this region, but we see no reason why we can’t operate nationally – that is certainly the aim.”
The issue of giving private landlords and sellers access to portals such as Rightmove was discussed on our sister site EAT on Friday.
http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/news_features/Get-your-properties-on-Rightmove-for-Beeny-tells-sellers
www.propertyletbyus.co.uk
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Comments
This could be a game changer for the many landlord with just one or two properties that they manage themselves.
Another thing!
If it was that simple, I, along with most other agents in the UK would have shut up shop and done this a long time ago.
The private rental sector tends to have a high percentage of poor property and fly by night landlords who aren't willing to meet current legislative compliance. It is also swarming with DSS and poor Tenants who don't have the credentials to go through an agency.
Another guise of something that has been available from various other suppliers for several years.
It may seem appealing to get access to Rightmove etc, but at the end of the day, the Landlord won't be receiving the enquiries. It will still go through the agent. I could see the attraction if all calls went directly to landlord.
The whole 'stack them high and sell them cheap' mentality doesn't and shouldn't work with property lettings or sales. It's just another person trying to make money without putting the effort in. As soon as you take the level of care and attention away from a property, the results are never going to be great.
The website looks awful and the business model mirrors this.
Rightmove really shouldn't be allowing this type of agency to operate and should be protecting the interests of those agencies who actually have to work for their money.
Disgusted
@ray Corner
But not openrent, makeurmove and no doubt countless other websites.
It's fine when she is being charged a branch fee but not when rightmove cotton on and start charging her per individual property.
@ oh dear
As you raised commercial awareness, you ought to be aware that not every part of the country is awash with tenants; in many areas it does take more than local advertising to rent a property and, more often than not, more than a weekend too.
@ john smith
I think you'll find she is priced significantly under the minimum charges for Upad and Rentify, being £99 and £79 plus VAT respectively.
I do not think this will work, rightmove and zoopla will charge for a new branch every 23 properties around £295 per month. Like Andy says, if you can get referencing, inventory and tenancy agreement fees it might work, however I think landlords will be only willing to pay for the basic.
Andy
If the existing customers are getting a FULL letting agency service then why would they worry if someone was paying £49 for an access to portals only service
I didnt need rightmove or zoopla I let my property via a free newspaper with a suitable tenant ina weekend
Why because tenants are local you dont need national coverage
BUT If that didnt work I might try the £49 service
then If that didnt then I would try the full fee service
You demonstrate a limited amount of commercial awareness.
If Rightmove and Zoopla are to have continued growth they must find new business. There are 2.5 million private landlords in the UK 60% of which do not use an Agent. In my opinion that's why they are turning a blind eye to all these new tech companies. If you had a private Landlord site only on this scale RM and Zoop would then have real competition
This is potentially a poorly thought through strategy. Rightmove & Zoopla costs will spiral out of control if landlords register properties outside of the current branch structure. If this product becomes known in the local area, the existing Longshoot landlord customers might well ask difficult questions about the charges that they are paying and possibly switch to the £49.00 service. Unless propertyletbyus.com is brilliant at cross-selling, which I doubt because cross-selling is difficult, this will be an expensive venture and a ‘longshot’ at best……. good luck though, I hope it works out.
I think she may struggle to compete with all the companies currently offering this service for a pittance - upad and rentify to name a few.
Don't you read EAT? someone has been suggesting this on every drivelous online agency story for the past 2 years as a way for traditional Agents to strangle the parasite agents out of existance.
The only thing Jane Morris has done is tried the idea.
What a clever way of getting money to support your Rightmove costs
"It charges £49 and offers private landlords access to Rightmove, Zoopla and PrimeLocation."
This will only get worse whilst Z and RM hold a duopoly and control the industry.